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Patent and Trademark Information on the Web:
Bitlaw A comprehensive resource on intellectual property law. Lays out the intricacies of patent, trademark, copyright, and internet legal issues.
Franklin Pierce Law Center Discussion of basic patent, trademark, and copyright information (scroll to "IP Basics for Artists, Authors, Inventors, Web Page Designers..."). Much here is aimed at first-time inventors and small-business owners.
Introduction to the Patent System This 17-minute downloadable video from the Federal Judicial Center is aimed at informing jurors about the patent system. Recommended to anyone seeking a lucid summary of patents and the patenting process.
Inventors Assistance Center at the USPTO. Lists contact information for help with filling out forms, for general information concerning rules and procedures, and for answers to general questions regarding patent examining policy.
National Inventor Fraud Center A patent attorney's site. Lively, candid discussion aimed at informing inventors about the predatory tactics of some invention promotion companies.
Intellectual Property Databases:
Search U. S. patents and patent applications at USPTO.
Search U. S. trademarks at USPTO.
Braindex Enter the country code and patent number and download the patent image as a pdf document.
Search Canadian patents at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Search Chinese patents (abstracts in English, full text in the original language) at
the China Patent Information Center (click the red link "China Patent Abstract Database" in the top part of the screen to bring up a search screen in English). An FAQ on Chinese patents can be found on the European Patent Office site.
Search European patents (abstracts in English, full text in the original language) at the European Patent Office. The database also contains U. S. patents and patent applications and abstracts in English for applications from China and Japan).
Google Patent Search The most recent few months of issued U. S. patents are not yet searchable, but Google's database lets you search the full text of older patents.
Search Japanese patents and trademarks at the JPO's Industrial Property Digital Library. For English machine-translations of Japanese patent and utility model documents from 1993 onwards, choose the "Patent & Utility Model Gazette DB" link. A number search will return the PAJ English abstract, where available. Clicking the "Detail" button on the top of the result screen will start the machine-translation of the original unexamined application. Alternatively, clicking the "Japanese" button will display the original Japanese document. In cases where no PAJ English abstracts exist you will immediately get the machine-translation from the Japanese. An FAQ on Japanese patents can be found on the European Patent Office site.
pat2pdf.org Enter a U. S. patent number and download the patent image as a pdf document.
Search Tennessee Trademarks at the Tennessee Department of State.