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A
patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United
States to an inventor “to exclude others from making,
using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the
United States or importing the invention into the United States”
for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the
invention when the patent is granted.
Be aware
that the process of researching patents and trademarks is
complicated and that you may require professional assistance to do
a thorough search.
You can
find previously issued patents and patent applications at the Patent
Image and Full-Text Databases website.
Submit patent
applications electronically.
Locate
registered patent attorneys and agents.
The Fogler
Library at the University of Maine, Orono, is a Patent
and Trademark Depository Libary (PTDL). It has the full
text of patents, 1790-1917, and will provide copies on
interlibrary loan if supplied with a patent number. The
Library also has search tools necessary to do a complete patent
search. Visit the website or call them at 207-581-1678.
The Legal
Information Institute at Cornell University Law School
provides an overview of patent law.
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Trademarks
protect words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish
goods and services. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed
forever as long as they are being used in business.
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Research
pending and federally registered trademarks at the U.S.
Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
Review
current regulatory information at the U.S.
Patent and Tradmark Office, which exists to protect the rights
of inventors to their discoveries by issuing patents and
registering trademarks.
The Maine
Dept. of the Secretary of State provides access to basic
information about all business entities and trademarks registered
in Maine.
Research Official
Gazette notices concerning patents and trademarks for 1995 to
the present online.
Cornell
University Law School's Legal
Information Institute provides an overview of trademark law,
recent court decisions, uniform trademarks laws and state
statutes.
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Copyright
is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States
to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other
intellectual works. This protection is available to both published
and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act
generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do
and to authorize others to reproduce the work, prepare derivative
works from it, distribute copies or phonorecords of the work,
perform the work publicly, display the work publicly, and, in the
case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of
digital audio transmission.
The U.S.
Copyright Office is the office of record where claims to
copyright are registered and where documents relating to copyright
may be recorded when the requirements of the copyright law are
met. Learn the basics, review FAQ's, access forms, learn
about copyright law online.
Register your work
through the Copyright Office via eCO Online, with fill-in Form
CO, or learn which paper form will be right for you. How long is
a copyright? View Chart - Copyright
Term and the Public Domain in the United States.
The
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) provides access to national
copyright and related rights legislation of its member states.
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Patents,
Trademarks and Copyright
