Fogler Library: U.S. Patent & Trademark Depository Library Program

Home | A-Z Directory | MaineStreet | Campus Map | Calendar

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

About our PTRC | U.S. Patents | U.S. Trademarks | Maine Trademarks

U.S. Patents: Prior Art Searching Tutorial

Please view this thirty-six minute patent searching tutorial How to Conduct a Preliminary Patent Search prior to contacting the PTRC for assistance. Below is a listing of other self-help tools for searching patents.

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

U.S. Patents

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. General Information Concerning Patents: This is a helpful booklet available at the Orono PTRC 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.
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 PTRCs. 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., Rev. 6, 2007. U.S. Patent Office.
Forms for conducting business with the U.S. Patent Office.
Search for 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.

U.S. Patent Resources in Fogler Library

Index to the U.S. Patent Classification. (SciPTDL T223.A25) December 2003. Also see the online version. Provides a starting point to look for classification numbers.
Manual of Classification. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (SciPTDL T223.F4U5a) Updated for 2002. Also see the online version. Can scan through the classes to find possible appropriate class number to search.
U.S. Patent Classification System Classification Definitions. (SciPTDL Microfiche, C21.3/2) Also see the online version. (Need to choose the definitions.) Provides in depth scope notes and see references for how the classification system is applied by the examiners.
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). 8th ed., Rev. 6, 2007. U.S. Patent Office.
Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued by the United States Patent Office, 1790 to 1873. (SciPTDL T223.D7A45 1976 v.1 - 3). Helpful subject index which provides patent number, date of registration, inventor, and inventor residence. For newer indexes, see Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents and General Index of the Official Gazette, below.
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents and General Index of the Official Gazette. 1840-2002. Indexes by inventor and assignee name and by general subject or title words. They provide the patent number, registration date and the volume and page number where it can be located in the Official Gazette. These are the most effective method for starting an investigation of an older patent or inventor. (SciPTDL T223.D3). Also, limited online availability from University of Michigan MBooks Project. For older indexes, see Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued by the United States Patent Office, 1790-1873, above.

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.
Official Gazette for Trademarks. The Trademark Official Gazette allows you to browse or search through the trademarks issued each week. The most recent 52 issues are available online. Prior issues of the Trademark Gazette are available at the PTRCs. The 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. 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.

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.

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 Circular 15A - Duration of Copyright. - length of protection for published and unpublished works.
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 Renewal Database. Copyright renewal records received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1992 for books published in the US between 1923 and 1963. Created by Stanford University.
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. Also see the Science Commons.
American Association of Law Libraries. Copyright Committee
American Libraries Association. Copyright Issues. Addresses many issues including fair use, electronic reserves, distance education, etc.
Association of Research Libraries. Copyright and Intellectual Property.
University of Texas. Copyright Crash Course. 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.
Intellectual Property (IP). Journal of the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association (PTDLA).
Invent Resources.
Inventors' Digest Magazine.
Managing intellectual property. A leading international magazine for owners of patents, trademarks and copyrights; provides news, comment, data and authoritative analysis, including the World IP Survey. Fogler Library has access from July 1998 up to 1 month ago.
Patent Information News. Quarterly publication of European patent information published by the European Patent Office (EPO).
WIPO Magazine. Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
World Patent Information. The International Journal for Industrial Property Documentation, Information, Classification and Statistics. Subscription e-journal, requires authentication.
British Library. Intellectual Property online journals and newsletters.

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.
Electronic Orange Book. Find patent and other useful information on pharmaceutical drugs. Search by patent number, company name, active ingredient or proprietary drug name. Database provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
eMolecules. Find Suppliers and Information for over 8 Million Unique Chemicals.
Hoover's Online
ManufacturingNet. The manufacturing marketplace.
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 .

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

Created by: Martin Wallace | Revised: 01/30/2013

The University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469
207-581-1110