Is bioengineering treated the same as biomedical engineering?

Both qualify. Bioengineering is a separate Category A subject; the USPTO added it to the list in its September 2021 bulletin update.

Which USPTO Technology Center examines medical device patents?

Technology Center 3700, whose scope includes medical devices and processes. Biologic materials go to Technology Center 1600 and material compositions to Technology Center 1700.

Patent bar eligibility by degree

Biomedical Engineering and the Patent Bar

Q: Does my biomedical engineering program need ABET accreditation?

No. Category A refers to a degree from an accredited college or university, or a foreign equivalent. Program-level ABET accreditation is not required.

Biomedical Engineering is a Category A subject in the USPTO General Requirements Bulletin, and Bioengineering has been listed separately since 2021. Either degree, at bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. level, qualifies you to apply for the patent bar.

Check your eligibility Full eligibility guide

At a glance

USPTO category: Category A
Listed subjects: Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering
Degree levels: Bachelor's, master's or Ph.D.
Main Technology Centers: TC 3700, TC 1600, TC 1700

Checked against the August 2026 bulletin

Eligibility

Does a Biomedical Engineering degree qualify?

Yes. The USPTO General Requirements Bulletin (August 2026 edition) lists Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering in Category A, the degree-based route to the registration exam. An applicant with a bachelor's, master's or Doctor of Philosophy degree in a listed subject from an accredited U.S. college or university, or the foreign equivalent, meets the scientific and technical requirement without a course-by-course review.

Category A asks for a degree from an accredited college or university (or a foreign equivalent). It does not require ABET accreditation of your program; the USPTO dropped its last ABET rule, which applied to Computer Science, in 2023.

Your OED application

Exactly what to submit

An official transcript from the college or university that shows the degree was awarded. A transcript issued to you is accepted if it carries the school's stamp or seal.
Not a diploma or a letter. A diploma, a copy of a transcript or a registrar's letter naming your degree does not meet the requirement.
Course descriptions if the title isn't an exact match. If your degree title differs from the listed subject, OED checks equivalence; the OED FAQ suggests sending course descriptions with the first application to avoid delay.
Foreign degrees: objective evidence of U.S. equivalence, such as an evaluation from a foreign-credential evaluation service, alongside the transcript.

The rest of the application (forms, fees and the moral-character questions) is covered step by step in the OED application guide.

Practice

Patent work for biomedical engineering graduates

Registered practitioners usually draft and prosecute applications in the technology they trained in. In this field that means work such as:

Technology area	Example inventions
Implantable devices	Stents, orthopedic implants, neurostimulators.
Surgical instruments and robotics	Stapler mechanisms, robotic surgical arms, energy-based instruments.
Diagnostics and monitoring	Wearable physiological sensors, point-of-care test devices.
Drug delivery devices	Infusion pumps, autoinjectors, microneedle patches.
Biomaterials and tissue engineering	Tissue scaffolds, hydrogel compositions, coated implants.

USPTO

Which Technology Centers examine this work

The USPTO routes each application to one of its Technology Centers by its classification. For biomedical engineering subject matter, these are the ones you will deal with most:

Technology Center	Why it applies
TC 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Products	Medical devices and processes are part of its scope, alongside mechanical engineering and manufacturing.
TC 1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry	Claims to cells, tissues or biologic materials.
TC 1700 Chemical and Materials Engineering	Claims to polymer, coating or material compositions.

Routing follows each application's classification, so a single application can land outside these centers.

Patent law

Medical-procedure patents and device-versus-method restriction

U.S. law allows patents on medical and surgical methods, but 35 U.S.C. 287(c) limits remedies against medical practitioners who perform them. Device applications that also claim a method of use often draw restriction requirements (MPEP chapter 800), a frequent patent bar topic.

The registration exam itself tests patent law and USPTO procedure from the MPEP, not your technical field. See the patent bar exam overview for format and scoring.

Pay data

What the occupation pays

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $109,370 for bioengineers and biomedical engineers as of May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

That figure is for the engineering or science occupation itself, not for patent agents or attorneys.

Other routes

If your degree title differs

Category A is matched on the subject your transcript names. Titles close to biomedical engineering are handled like this:

Biomedical Science: A different subject, added to Category A in August 2026. See the Biomedical Science page.
Biological or Biosystems Engineering: Not printed in the bulletin (Agricultural Engineering and Bioengineering are). OED decides equivalence; include course descriptions.
Biomedical Engineering Technology: Not on the Category A list. Category B review would apply.

If you don't qualify under Category A, Category B counts science and engineering coursework (courses for science or engineering majors, grade C- or better):

Option 1: 24 semester hours in physics (physics courses for physics majors).
Option 2: 32 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 24 in biology, botany, microbiology or molecular biology.
Option 3: 30 semester hours in chemistry (chemistry courses for chemistry majors).
Option 4: 40 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 32 in other listed science and engineering subjects.

Category C is for applicants with a bachelor's degree who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Run your transcript through Do I Qualify? for a quick check, then read the full eligibility guide.

FAQ