RESOURCES FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  • United States Patent & Trademark Office - The USPTO offers free search engines for patents and trademarks as well as free information and educational literature for inventors.  Please be sure to review their scam prevention PDF regarding the "invention marketing and submission" companies out there.  Also, as of March 16, 2013 the United States and its territories have moved to a first-to-file (rather than a first-to-invent) system so the filing of a provisional patent (one year protection generally used to complete the research & development of the idea) or non-provisional patent (the regular full term patent) has become a more critical factor in protecting your intellectual property.  Contracts, including as non-disclosure agreements, can include clauses that ensure you retain ownership of your intellectual property with those you share or develop your new product or company idea with.*
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Trademarks - Learn more about the USPTO's process involving researching & obtaining intellectual property protection for trademarks.
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Patent Search - Learn more about how to search the USPTO's patent database for existing concepts.  Knowing what is already out there can help ensure the design team steers clear of and, with the help of qualified patent attorneys, works around existing any patents.
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Patents - Learn more about the USPTO's process involving researching & obtaining intellectual property protection for articles of manufacture (i.e. product ideas), mechanisms, processes, composition of matter (materials), plants (new species of vegetation), and ornamental designs (the aesthetic look of something).
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Learning Resources - A general help and educational page for the USPTO.gov website.
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Fees & Payments - Learn more about the USPTO's filing fees for patents and trademarks.
  • United States Patent & Trademark Office: Informational Videos - Watch informative How-To videos on how to navigate the USPTO's website and their processes for intellectual property protection.
  • Simple Patents - A free informational website with a wealth of informative articles on various patent related topics.

 

          *Please note, Design Launchers is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.