Finding Patent & Trademarks
Recommended book from the Madison College Libraries:
Patent, Copyright and Trademark by
Whether you're an inventor, designer, writer or programmer, you need to understand the language of intellectual property law. Otherwise, you can't intelligently deal with intellectual property issues such as: who owns creative works or valuable information, how owners can protect and enforce their ownership rights, how ownership rights can best be transferred to others.
ISBN: 1413319696Publication Date: 2014-03-31
Patents
What is a patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. -U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- 7-Step US Patent Search StrategyA brief overview on conducting a patent search on the Patent Office’s website
- US Patent and Trademark OfficeThe US Government's portal for all things Patent and Trademark-related.
- Inventors Assistance Center (IAC)Staffed by former patent examiners, the IAC offers patent information and services to the public. The IAC can: answer general questions regarding patent examining policy, assist you with filling out forms and provide you with general information concerning rules, procedures, and fees.
- The LensA free open source global patent search site, geared to allow users to not only search and find patents, but easily share and annotate the documents, integrating these to scholarly literature and for other individual research purposes.
Why search for patents? What is a patent? Patent Searching Basics | MIT Libraries
Trademarks
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a brand name. A trademark or service mark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services. -U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- US Patent and Trademark OfficeThe US Government's portal for all things Patent and Trademark-related.
- Trademark Electronic Search ServiceThis page is the starting point for researching trademarks through the federal government.
Copyright
- Stanford Copyright and Fair Use ResourcesStanford University resources on Copyright and the concept of Fair Use.
Patent & Trademark Depository Library
"A Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL) is a library designated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to receive and house copies of U.S. patents and patent and trademark materials, to make them freely available to the public, and to actively disseminate patent and trademark information."