The Midwest Regional USPTO in Detroit serves the Midwest region including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The office provides free outreach services for inventors, entrepreneurs, startups, researchers and others to:
- The Midwest Regional Office hosts a variety of events that are free and open to the public. Please check our Midwest Region Events Page.
- View live Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings at the Midwest Regional Office. The office has a hearing room to host PTAB proceedings. Please visit the Hearing Schedule to view information on upcoming hearings.
- Search existing patents and trademarks on designated workstations.
- Use collaborative spaces enabling region educators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and IP community to collaborate while allowing USPTO to provide them with information and resources.
- Attend workshops, trainings, conferences and roundtables designed for various experience levels.
- Obtain information about the USPTO through walk-in services.
- Take scheduled public tours. Please call us for tour schedule.
- Use interview rooms for applicants to connect with working at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia and across the country. Schedule with your examiner.
NOTE: Almost all new patent applications or correspondence related to patent prosecution may be submitted using EFS-Web, the USPTO’s web-based patent application and document submission system. Learn about submitting patent applications or patent prosecution correspondence.
Regional Director Speaking Engagements
Join Regional Director Dr. Christal Sheppard at the below upcoming events:
Seminar for Startups: Understanding Intellectual Property
Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 14, 2017
Is your group interested in having Director Sheppard or a member of our Outreach Team speak to your organization or at your event about Intellectual Property and the USPTO? Please fill out a speaker request form.
Visiting Us
Free parking is available at 600 River Place, adjacent to our building. Guests must state they are visiting USPTO.
Paid parking is across the street, payment is required just after parking ($4). Validate self-parking in the lobby with security, the parking attendant will provide a refund upon exit. Valet parking is not refundable. The parking fee refund is provided by building management. The USPTO is not responsible for parking fee refunds or any parking-related issues.
Visitors must have a valid form of government-issued identification to gain access. Proceed to the building security desk; security guards will contact the USPTO. Go to the 2nd floor to Suite 2900. Ring the doorbell for admittance.
Public Searching
Public searching on universal public workstations is available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday - Friday, except federal holidays. Consider making a reservation before visiting. Universal Public Workstations provide access to the agency’s public electronic patent and trademark collections. We have public workstations with the same access requirements and print capabilities as public workstations in the Public Search Facility at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
Customers who have limited experience in patent or trademark searching are strongly encouraged to first contact or pay a visit to the Detroit Public Library. The library is a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) that offers beginner orientation on searching for patents and trademarks and is located four miles from our office.