Links to Other Websites
for Inventors
(Please note that these links are provided for your convenience. The author of
this page makes no representation as to the accuracy of whatever information
you receive from any site.)
If you’re new to the game, you may want to start with a page of Frequently Asked Questions
This is a big page, so you might want to jump to an area of interest by
clicking here:
Getting started searching for prior art
Looking for components?
Marketing, Manufacturing and Financial links
Magazines & other info sources
Newsgroups for inventors
Patenting details: forms, rules, etc.
Want to find inventors'
networking opportunities?
Looking for a local agent or attorney?
Patent Search Sites -- Searching skills are required if you want good results
USPTO patent searches – The USPTO’s site is a valuable resource. Here are some tricks for searching it
Google provides a search of US patents (only) that is far easier to use than the USPTO’s site.
The European Patent Office has a site at http://ep.espacenet.com with search capabilities in English, French and German. Click the link to “Quick Search” to get keyword access to 30 million patent documents, or click on the “Advanced Search” option for structured searches. In addition, each EPO country also has its own site, with the URL formed by replacing "ep" in the above URL with the appropriate two letter country designation.
Some of the more popular European sites are:
France
Germany – Searchable in German or
English. Has a different search engine and is worth a try if you have trouble
with the EPO site.
United Kingdom:
PCT applications can be searched at a WIPO facility
Search major patent and non-patent reference sources of your choice with a single, simple keyword phrase at a one-stop search facility offered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (you'll need Internet Explorer 5.0 or later to use this site)
Outside of
Japanese patent abstracts (in English)
A good search has to use the site’s
patent classification system. The two major ones are:
The Manual of Classification of Patents (US) -- which has recently upgraded to include an index, definitions of the classes, and a concordance with the international classification system
Other search sites for competing products,
useful components or services
Thomas Register: An on-line version of the huge directory of manufacturers
McMaster-Carr's catalog of industrial products
Marketing,
Manufacturing & Finance Resources
A guide to tradeshows can be found at TradeShow NewsNetwork
An invention evaluation service
(university affiliated) can be found at The Innovation Institute
Sources
for R&D funding and assistance
NASA provides up to 40 hrs of free technical consultation and engineering work through the SATOP program
Various government agencies set aside some of their R&D funding through Small Business Independent Research (SBIR) programs. These programs are set up to solve real problems identified by the sponsoring agency. They are not set up to fund programs suggested by inventors. Much of the SBIR funding comes from the Department of Defense and some is funded by US Government civilian agencies
--- licensing and start-up help
The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) provides start-up counseling
The Licensing Executives Society
Phony Services, Real SCAMS -- f you run across something that sounds too good to be true, take a look at
a Scambuster's check list from the Nat'l Congress of Inventors' Organzations) ;
a similar one frin InventNET-The Inventors Network or another from InventorED
or a listing of inventors’ complaints filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office
Invention Dimension: An inventor of the week & lots of links at this kid-friendly site operated by M.I.T.
InventNet (also maintains the Inventors'
"How Stuff Works" -- a very popular site with great explanatory graphics
Other patent & invention information
Download forms from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Latest US Manual of Patent Examining Procedures (latest version at USPTO’s site)
European Patent Office -- home page
World Intellectual Property Organization Homepage
Want to register a copyright in the US?
Decisions from the CAFC – court of last resort in most
Recent decisions are at the court’s website
Older ones are available from Georgetown University
National Institute of Standards and Technology
IP MENU, a portal to Intellectual Property on the Internet, is provided by an Australian law firm
Inventors' Clubs,
Organizations, and On-Line Discussion Opportunities
Inventor’s groups can be very helpful in finding resources, scoping out a marketing approach, and helping you get a ‘School of Hard Knocks’ education without having to suffer the ‘knocks’. Most of this is readily available on the internet. For example:
InventorEd.org is a site where you can sign up for several of the most active and fruitful of invention-related discussion groups
The
Several usenet groups are:
alt.inventors (an active group)
misc.int-property (an even mix of people who think "int" means
intellectual and those who read it as "international" and have real
estate to sell
alt.inventorworld (much less active)
In addition
The United Inventors Association is a
The USPTO's Register of Attorneys and
Agents is searchable by state and ZIP
David
A. Kiewit
Registered Patent Agent
St. Petersburg FL 33705-5305
+1 (727) 866-0669 (voice/fax)
questions to: dak@patent-faq.com
Copyright 2007 by David A. Kiewit
All rights reserved
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