Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP)

The Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) program is administered by the Office of Patent Training (OPT) under the third pillar (Pillar 3, Excellence in Customer Service), of the  Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative (EPQI) and is a new and important part of the USPTO’s mission to deliver intellectual property information and education to external stakeholders.

Training delivered through STEPP is designed to provide external stakeholders with a better understanding of how and why an examiner makes decisions while examining a patent application. In person courses are led by USPTO trainers and based on material developed for training employees of the USPTO.  

Currently courses provided through STEPP are free to attend.  In addition, the USPTO is in the process of determining the applicability of providing CLE credits for attending STEPP courses.  Additional CLE information will be provided to you if you are selected to participate in a class. Registration has closed for this free event.

For more information about a sample Agenda from a past training.

For more information about STEPP.

For inquiries about the event, please call 313-446-4800.  Coming to the Midwest Regional Office for an event? View parking information.

The USPTO is a federal facility and visitors are required to show a valid form of government issued ID (driver's license or passport), and may be subject to security screening.