Patent Law News

Patent and Trademark Experts Advise Inventors and Entrepreneurs on Protecting Their Intellectual Property

Washington, D.C. - The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Inventor's Hall of Fame joined forces today to host the 11 th Annual Independent Inventors Conference, the premier conference for aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs. The conference taking place today and tomorrow brings together leading intellectual property experts, as well as some of the nation's most inspiring inventors to provide over 200 conference attendees useful tips on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in the United States and around the world.

"Innovation is driving the 21 st century economy," said Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Steve Pinkos in a speech today to those attending the conference. "And inventors are the backbone of American ingenuity. Their spirit, drive, and enthusiasm are why America leads the world in innovation."

Pinkos also talked to inventors about what the U.S. government is doing to combat intellectual property theft. He pointed out "that while intellectual property theft poses a threat to all American businesses, small businesses and independent inventors are particularly susceptible because they often lack the resources and expertise available to larger corporations."

Other topics for sessions include patent application preparation, patent searching, licensing, commercializing your idea and resources, grants and funding. Special guest speakers will provide valuable insights for conference attendees including Greg Hart, recent winner of the History Channel's Modern Marvels contest; and Louis Foreman, CEO of Enventys, a product design and manufacturing firm and producer of "Everyday Edisons," which will premiere on public television this fall.

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	Did You Know?
	Your invention may already be patented. Public users may perform preliminary searches of patent information in a variety of formats including on-line, microfilm, and print at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Public Search Facility located in Alexandria, VA. State of the art computer workstations provide automated searching of patents issued from 1790 to the current week of issue. Full document text may be searched on U.S. patents issued since 1971 and OCR text from 1920 to 1970. U.S. patent images from 1790 to the present may be retrieved for viewing or printing. Some foreign patent documents are available.