U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK DEPOSITORY LIBRARY

Funding for the Patent and Trademark Depository Library was provided by the Fogler Library Friends.

About our PTDL U.S. Patents International Patents U.S. Trademarks Maine Trademarks International Trademarks

Copyright Resources Trade Shows Product Directories Internet Directories Research Guide

U.S. Patents: Prior Art Searching Tutorial

The value of a patent search

PTDL 7-Step Strategy for Patent Searching

Patent searching on the Internet: Keyword Searching & Classification System

Obtaining copies of U.S. patents

Searching for pre-1976 patents

Websites and library resources on historical patents

Maine Statewide databases and free Internet databases for prior art searching

Patent and Trademark Research Guide.Guide to a wide variety of patent, trademark, and business resources. Compiled by the Orono, PTDL..

University of Texas McKinney Engineering Library Patent Searching Tutorial - Recommended by the USPTO training team, thorough and easy to follow tutorial for conducting a patent search. .

U.S. Patents

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. General Information Concerning Patents: This is a helpful booklet available at the Orono PTDL or at this web site.  Also see the Independent Inventor Resources.

U.S. Patent Database Full page images of patents in TIFF format from 1790 to the present. Searching by title and abstracts words, full text of patent, inventor or assignee is only available for 1976 to the present. Comprehensive searching requires the use of the Patent Classification System. See the tutorial for assistance in utilizing all the capabilities of this database. The patent applications published since March 2001 are also searchable in a separate database..

Internet Sites providing PDF's of U.S. Patents: .

Pat2pdf.org Provides U.S. patents granted from 1838 to present.
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Free Patents Online Provides access to U.S. patents from number 4,000,000 to the present..

Patents on Cloud 8. Charge is $0.49 per patent. They provides patents from many countries and will send them zipped together in PDF format..

Electronic Patent Official Gazette. Announcements of issued patents from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The most recent 52 issues of the Patent Official Gazette are available online. Prior issues of the Gazette are available at the PTDL's. The Electronic Patent Official Gazette allows you to browse or search through the patents issued each week. You can browse by geographic origin of the inventor, inventor or assignee name and patent class and subclass. The Official Gazette includes the summary of the patent and a representative drawing. You can link to the full text of the patent from the Gazette..

USPTO Patent Assignments. Updated continuously as assignments are recorded. Determine who has the rights to a particular patent or patent application.  .

U.S. Patent Office. Electronic Filing System. and Fee schedule.

Patent Application Information Retrieval. (PAIR) This system retrieves patented and pending published applications. PAIR makes available the Image File Wrapper (IFW) which is the scanned images of many of the application documents that were submitted. Some inventors still request that their application remain unpublished and unavailable. .

Patent Maintenance Fees. Provides the means for patent holders to pay maintenance fees and also allows checking on who currently owns a patent and if the fees are up-to-date or if the patent has been abandoned..

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. (MPEP) 8th ed., 2001. Rev. 2004. U.S. Patent Office..

Forms for conducting business with the U.S. Patent Office..

Registered patent agents and attorneys in Maine   Database of attorneys that have licenses to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For attorneys specializing in trademarks, contact the Maine State Bar Association at 1-800-860-1460 or 1-207-622-1460. .
Maine Patent Program:. is funded by the state legislature "to support the commercialization and manufacturing of innovations in the State by providing education and assistance with the patent process" They provide prior art search assistance and evaluation. .

International Patent Offices and Databases

British LibraryPatents at the British Library. Links to databases, web sites, and patent and trademark information worldwide..

Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Canadian Patent Office and Database

DEPATISnet. German Patent and Trademark Office. Includes many foreign patents. Offers 5 search modes including Assisted Search. Through this method you can request assistance from the experts at the Patent Information Center and receive via email suggested search strategies..

European Patent Office Patent Information Web site. Access their database Esp@cenet to search U.S., European, Japanese, and World Intellectual Property Organizationpatents. Please note that U.S. patents are searchable by title and inventor back to 1920. Very detailed internet directory of Patent Information on the Internet.

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. SurfIP provides search access to 12 countries patent databases. Also provides access to technical and business and web sources. Register for a free account..

Japan Patent Office. Search the Patent Abstracts of Japan.

UK Patent Office. Patent information services.

World Intellectual Property Organization Patent information page.List of WIPO searchable databases.

Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA) Provided by the WIPO. This database provides access to intellectual property legislation from a wide range of countries and regions as well as to treaties on intellectual property. .

U.S. Trademarks: General information and trademark databases

U.S. Trademarks Page.

Basic Facts About Trademarks. Defines trademarks and details the registration process and filing requirements. A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publication. .

Frequently asked questions about trademarks.

U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System. TESS. (First choice in the center column) TESS contains more than 3 million pending, registered and dead federal trademarks. Starting point for determining if a name is already in use..

U.S. Trademark Assignment Query Menu. Trademark assignments recorded 1955 to present..

Electronic Trademark Official Gazette. The Electronic Trademark Official Gazette allows you to browse or search through the trademarks issued each week The most recent 5 issues are being made available online. Prior issues of the Trademark Gazette are available at the PTDL's. The Electronic Trademark Official Gazette is available as a PDF file and you must use the Find within Adobe to locate information in a particular weekly issue..

U.S. Trademarks: Application and trademark status systems.

U.S. Trademark Electronic Application System. TEAS. TEAS allows you to fill out a form, check it for completeness, and then submit the form directly to the USPTO over the internet, making an official trademark application online..

U.S. Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure. TMEP. 4th edition. This work contains the practices and procedures applied to trademark applications..

U.S. Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR).. Retrieve status information about pending and registered trademarks from the USPTO’s internal database by simply entering a valid trademark serial number or registration number..

U.S. Electronic Trademark Assignment System. eTAS. Forms to complete to assign or change ownership of a trademark..

U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeals Board. TAAB.  . Board that settles trademark disputes. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP) Rev. 3/12/04..

Madrid Protocol Forms and guidelines.

USPTO News. Archive of news announcements..

Maine and State Trademarks

State of Maine. Dept. of the Secretary of State. Search for trademarks that are registered within the state of Maine. The Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions provides information on conducting business in Maine and the Trademark guide, forms and fees.   Searching for Maine trademarks and corporate names.

State Trademark Agencies and Databases. Provides address and website information for the state agencies and links to databases for each state to search for trademarks registered in those states. For those states where a database is not listed, check the link to the government agency provided. Many states have added databases recently..

International Trademark Databases

Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Canadian Trademarks Page.

Canadian Trademarks Database.

European Union. Community Trademarks and Community Designs

International Trademark Laws, Rules, Databases and Treaties

United Kingdom. Trademark Database

Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA) Provided by the WIPO. This database provides access to intellectual property legislation from a wide range of countries and regions as well as to treaties on intellectual property. .

Copyright Resources

United States Copyright Office Home Page The Copyright Office is a division of the Library of Congress. Copyright Basics provides essential background information on copyright, fair use, and the advantages of registration. Information Circulars are available on specific topics such as copyright renewal, reproduction of works by educators, and registration of various types of materials such as cartoons, visual materials and music. This site provides the forms and instructions necessary to register..

U.S. Copyright databases: copyright registrations and ownership documents. Coverage is 1978 to present. For registrations prior to 1978 use the Catalog of Copyright Entries, U.S. Library of Congress. ORO GOV DOCS STORAGE: LC 3.6/5.   See also How to investigate the copyright status of a work.

Copyright term - length of protection for published and unpublished works. See also Copyright Circular 15A - Duration of Copyright.

Copyright and Fair Use (Stanford University):An excellent, well-organized website including links to overviews of the Copyright Law, primary materials (statutes, judicial opinions, regulations, treaties), current legislation, and other copyright and fair use sites on the Internet..

Copyright Clearance Center.Obtain permission to use print or digital formats that are under copyright protection. They provide an efficient mechanism for paying for using materials for reserve, coursepacks, handouts, etc..

Copyright Website: This practical website provides basic information on copyright in a user-friendly format..

Copyright Society of the USA Provides links to copyright information resources all around the world..

Creative Commons. A nonprofit organization assists authors and artists with establishing a flexible range of copyright protections. Rather than "all rights reserved" they provide tools to establish "some rights reserved." They also provide links to photograph and image collections, music, online books, etc. that allow educational and possibly commercial uses. They will launch the Science Commons on 1/1/05.

American Association of Law Libraries. Copyright Committee

American Libraries Association. Washington Office. Copyright Issues. Addresses many issues including fair use, electronic reserves, distance education, etc..

Association of Research Libraries. Copyright and Intellectual Property.

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act. (UCITA) ALA's site on this proposed state contract law designed to standardize the law and provide the default rules for licensing software and all other forms of digital information including computer software, on-line databases, electronic journals, e-books, CD-ROMs, and videos. This law has not been adopted in Maine. .

University of Texas. Crash course in copyright.   Contains tutorials and courses on digital libraries, multimedia presentations, dissertation, and many other topics..

Copyright: An overview.Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. .

Franklin Pierce Law Center. IP Mall. Copyright..

University of Maine System. Statement of Policy Governing Patents and Copyrights. February 2002..

    International Copyright

World Intellectual Property OrganizationI . WIPO provides electronic versions of international treaties, documents, press releases, and other information on international aspects of intellectual property. Copyright and Related Rights page.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters.

   Digital Information and Copyright

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. Provide assistance concerning the protections that the First Amendment and intellectual property laws give to your online activities. Joint effort of several law schools and universities..

Digital Future Coalition..

Electronic Intellectual Property Journals

Entrepreneur Magazine Online. Coverage is 1997 to present - full text of articles..

Intellectual Property (IP) Journal of the PTDLA

Invention & Technology.

Invent Resources

Inventors' Digest Magazine

WIPO Magazine. Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. 2000+ is online..

British Library. Intellectual Property online journals and newsletters

Trade Shows and Inventors Congresses

See TSSN.com: The Ultimate Trade Show Resource. Searchable index of trade shows by state, city and industry. .

Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX). America's largest annual invention trade show.

Inventors' Digest. Trade Shows and Workshops

Minnesota Inventors Congress.

New England Products Trade Show(NEPTS): March 19-21, 2005, Portland Sports Center, Portland, Maine. Best of New England - business to business show..

Yankee Invention Exposition. (YIE)

Product and Company Directories: Search to see if a similar product is already being sold. Also search for similar product and company names to check on trademark status.

Building Materials by McGraw-Hill Sweet's. Construction industry marketplace that lists close to 60,000 products.

Consumer Search.. Provides reviews of products.

Hoover's Online

ManufacturingNet. The manufacturing marketplace.

New Interactive Yellow Pages.

Telephonebook.com. Online yellow and white pages. U.S. nationwide and regional resources and foreign directories..

Thomas Register. Lists over 173,000 U.S. and Canadian manufacturers.

Thomas Global Register of Europe.

Yahoo Business directories and yellow pages .

Internet Directories for Intellectual Property

British Library. Patents page.

European Patent Office. Patent Information on the Internet.

Inventor's Connection/Resources page.

Lemelson - MIT Program: Links and Resources.

Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association. Online Resources

Pipers Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys

For more information, contact:
Martin Wallace
Science and Engineering Center
Patent and Trademark Depository
Raymond H. Fogler Library
Orono, Maine 04469-5729
Phone: 207-581-1678

Last Updated by: Martin Wallace: 04/23/2008 .

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