During the last days, United States have experienced a Federal Government shutdown. This will continue until the Government finds a solution. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) remains open. This is possible because the USPTO is a fee-funded agency.
According to the USPTO website, the agency is operating as normal because they have access to prior-year fee collections. This fund may help the agency operate for few more weeks until Federal Government find a solution to the situation.
