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Library Books
Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks - Matthew Lance Cole
Inventor's Notebook - Fred E. Grissom
Patent, Copyright & Trademark - Richard StimPatent Pending in 24 Hours - Richard Stim & David Pressman
Patent It Yourself - David Pressman
Trademark: Legal Care for your Business & Product Name - Stephen Elias
Governmental Web Sites
- US Patent & Trademark Office
Search the patent and trademark databases. This site also provides answers to general questions about patents and trademarks. Includes a glossary and guides. - California Business Portal - Trademarks and Service Marks Forms and fees, frequently asked questions, etc.
- The Sawyer Center Located in Santa Rosa, the Sawyer Center offers one-on-one counseling and informational assistance on new product development and intellectual property including patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
- Federal Trade Commission - Invention Promotion Firms Have an patent you want to have manufactured? Learn how to protect yourself against unscrupulous promoters who take advantage of an inventor's enthusiasm for a new product or service.
- World Intellectual Property Organization This is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced international intellectual property (IP) system.
Associations and Organizations
- Invention Dimension This is a one-stop informational center for inventors, innovators and students. This free site advertises awards and opportunities, provides an Inventor's Handbook, and includes info on how to apply for a patent.
- Inventors' Alliance: San Francisco Bay Area The Web site for an "all-volunteer resource and mutual help group for inventors in the San Francisco Bay Area." Site includes membership and meeting information, newsletter archive, and a browsable list of links to resources for inventors/entrepreneurs.
- American Society of Inventors The Inventor's Web Portal.
- Inventor's Assistance League A self-help program that is understandable, easy-to-use and authoritative for the amateur and professional inventor.
- United Inventors Association of the USA A nonprofit inventor support group serving the invention community since 1990.
- InventNET - The Inventor's Network Run by a nonprofit group of independent inventors, this site has advice on everything from patent law and software to marketing your invention: classified ads, a newsletter, an online forum, Web links, and inventions for sale.
- TDC Trade In addition to doing a preliminary U.S. patent search, check this Hong Kong Trade Development Website to see if your product idea is being manufactured in China.
Other Patent Search Sites
Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs)
- Nondisclosure Agreements for Free From the website of Attorney Richard Stim, author of many Nolo legal books. read about NDA's and why "signing a document titled 'Nondisclosure Agreement' will not automatically erect a shield around your business information".
PTDLs
California has 6 libraries designated U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs):
- San Francisco Public Library - (415) 557-4500
- Sunnyvale Public Library - (408) 730-7300
- Sacramento: California State Library - (916) 654-0069
- Los Angeles Public Library - (213) 228-7220
- San Diego Public Library - (619) 236-5813
- Rivera Library, University of California, Riverside - (951) 827-3226
PTDLs provide public access to patent and trademark information received from the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO). This information includes all issued patents, all registered trademarks, the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, research tools such as the Cassis CD-ROM suite of products and supplemental information in a variety of formats including online, optical disc, microfilm and paper. Each PTDL also offers access to USPTO resources on the Internet and to PubWEST (Web based examiner search tool), a system used by patent examiners that is not available on the Internet.
Staff assistance and training is provided in the use of this information. All information is available free of charge. However, there may be charges associated with the use of photocopying and related services.
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office gives the "Top Ten Scam Warning Signs" on invention promotion, marketing and licensing firms.
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