Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP)

STEPP provides attorneys, agents, and inventors with a better understanding of how, and why, an examiner makes decisions while reviewing patent applications. STEPP courses are led by USPTO trainers and based on material developed for training new patent examiners. We offer three different STEPP course types:

• Inventor 4-Day Course (virtual)
• Agent/Attorney 4-day Course (virtual - domestic & international)
• Agent/Attorney 3-Day Course (in-person****)

See the full course schedule below for topics, dates, places, times, intended audience, and CLE credit information.

Courses are free.

CLE credit may be available for an Agent/Attorney Course; however, CLE accreditation will generally only be available for the state in which the course runs. Please review the available course schedule below for CLE availability for each course. 

The STEPP program is an important part of the USPTO’s mission to deliver intellectual property information and education to external stakeholders. It is administered by the Office of Patents Stakeholder Experience (OPSE).

• Provide the public with the same training that USPTO patent examiners receive and to be transparent about this process
• Increase transparency by making USPTO training on examination practice and procedure available to external stakeholders
• Enable attorneys, agents, and inventors to understand an examiner’s perspective when rendering a decision about an application
• Provide perspective to external stakeholders by detailing what an examiner considers in preparing an office action
• Aid in compact prosecution by showing external stakeholders how examiners are taught to use the MPEP to interpret applicants' disclosure 

The STEPP program is not intended for applicants to discuss pending applications with patent examiners or to circumvent normal communications between applicants or their representatives and patent examiners. Applicants should continue to resolve any application-specific issues through the examiner of record or the Ombudsman program, as appropriate.

For more information:  

Contact STEPP@uspto.gov by email.

Note:  All courses, times, and dates are subject to change and may be canceled at any time prior to registration opening.

FY 2025 Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP)^t

*Agents and Attorneys - Those registered to practice law in patent matters before the USPTO
**Inventors - Those not registered to practice law in patent matters before the USPTO
*** CLE - Continuing legal education
**** In-person - Returning in 2025

While our in-person course materials are workshop-specific and designed for in-class use, they are derived from public material used to train USPTO patent examiners and are available on our Examiner Training Materials page or the Examination Guidance and Training Materials page. Here are specific courses we are currently offering:

Inventor four-day course (virtual)

This course is intended for current and future inventors. It is limited to those who cannot represent applicants before the USPTO. The training covers statutes, rules, and guidelines relevant to submitting a patent application.

The four sessions will focus on how examiners review patent applications according to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). Each module builds on the preceding session as follows:

• Day 1 focuses on the role of examiners and the steps they take when reading an application for the first time.
• Day 2 uses the information gathered during Day 1 to plan and conduct a search and focuses on application formalities.
• Day 3 builds on Day 2 in mapping prior art to claims.
• Day 4 finishes discussing the mapping of art to claims and focuses on writing an office action.

The course ends with a presentation on resources available to inventors, plus a roundtable discussion. Similar to the training of new USPTO examiners, a sample application will be provided as the focus of exercises during each module.

Prior to attending, those accepted into the course may wish to complete pre-activity homework. This includes reviewing several computer-based training (CBT) modules and reading the sample application.

For a detailed schedule, please view the appropriate webpage. Please note that the content and schedule are subject to change.

Agent/attorney four-day course (virtual - Domestic/International)

This course is limited to USPTO-registered patent attorneys and agents. The training covers statutes, rules, and guidelines relevant to practicing before the USPTO. 

The four sessions will focus on how examiners review patent applications according to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). Each module builds on the preceding session as follows:

• Day 1 focuses on the role of examiners and the steps they take when reading an application for the first time.
• Day 2 uses the information gathered during Day 1 to plan and conduct a search and focuses on application formalities.
• Day 3 builds on Day 2 in mapping prior art to claims.
• Day 4 finishes discussing the mapping of art to claims and focuses on writing an office action.

The course ends with presentations on pro bono and professional responsibility, as well as a roundtable discussion. Similar to the training of new USPTO examiners, a sample application will be provided as the focus of exercises during each module.

Prior to attending, those accepted into the course may wish to complete pre-activity homework. This includes reviewing several computer-based training (CBT) modules and reading the sample application.

For a detailed schedule, please view the STEPP international agent/attorney 4-day course schedule. Please note that the content and schedule are subject to change.

Agent/attorney three-day course (in-person^****)

This course is similar in detail to the four-day virtual course for USPTO-registered patent attorneys and agents but is held in-person over three days. Each module builds on the preceding session as follows:

• Day 1 focuses on the role of examiners and the steps they take when reading an application for the first time.
• Day 2 uses the information gathered during Day 1 to plan and conduct a search, and focuses on application formalities.
• Day 3 builds on Day 2 in mapping prior art to claims and focuses on writing an office action (these elements are covered in one day as opposed to two in the virtual course)

For a detailed schedule, please view the appropriate webpage. Please note that as with the four-day virtual course, the content and schedule are subject to change. This offering is slated to return in 2025.

Course enrollment for interested STEPP participants

Entry into the STEPP program is granted based on available resources, slots available, and the intended target audience for each course. While our in-person course materials are workshop-specific and designed for in-class use, they are based on public material used to train USPTO patent examiners and may be found on either the Examiner Training Materials or Examination Guidance and Training Materials pages.

Are there other examination practice and procedure topics you’d like to receive training in?  Does the current STEPP meet your needs? Please fill out our needs assessment survey so that we can help you in the future.

Looking for additional information on examination practice and procedure? Publicly available material used to train USPTO patent examiners is available on our Examiner Training Materials page and the Examination Guidance and Training Materials page. 

You may also be interested in these resources:

Stakeholder Offerings and Resources (SOaR)

The SOaR program offers:

• Interactive online courses
• In-depth topic discussions
• Legal and CLE trainings
• Expanded trainings for non-professional (pro se) applicants

For more information on the SOaR program, please contact SOaR@uspto.gov.

USPTO events offering CLE credits

The USPTO regularly organizes or participates in continuing legal education (CLE) credit offerings across the country and covering a variety of topics.  To learn more, visit the USPTO CLE events page.

Patent Examiner Technical Training Program (PETTP)

Are you or your client interested in providing technical training to patent examiners? The Patent Examiner Technical Training Program (PETTP) offers technologists, scientists, engineers, and other experts from industry and academia an opportunity to voluntarily provide technical training and expertise to patent examiners in-person or virtually from their own location. 

In-person presentations can be made at our Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters or at one of our USPTO regional offices in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, and San Jose.

To learn more, visit the PETTP page.

Site Experience Education (SEE) Program

Are you or your client interested in hosting patent examiners at your office or facility? The Site Experience Education (SEE) program provides commercial, industrial, and academic institutions within the continental U.S. the opportunity to voluntarily host patent examiner technical site visits. The USPTO funds all SEE travel costs for patent examiner visits to host organizations. 

To learn more, visit the SEE Program page.