ResearchGuides: Patents and Trademarks: Additional Resources

Assistance and Training

NOTE: Neither LHL staff nor the Assistance Center staff are permitted to give legal advice or conduct patent/trademark searches.

The Trademark Assistance Center can provide information about registering a trademark; help users start the application process; give updates on the status of applications and registrations; and help applicants navigate the electronic forms and systems.
The Inventors Assistance Center helps applicants answer questions regarding patent examining policy, including patent examining rules, procedures, drawings, and fees. They can also assist with application forms and questions about the formats and items needed for a patent application.
Contact Patents is the landing page for contact information for the Electronic Business Center, Application Assistance Center, and other entities.

U.S. PTO Events
U.S. PTO Subscription Center. For newsletters and/or information alerts
Follow the PTO's activities on Eventbrite

Inventor Websites

Inventors Center of Kansas City (ICKC)
ICKC is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping first-time inventors bring their ideas to fruition by serving as a source of education and a guide to entrepreneurial success.
Inventors Digest
Magazine aims to educate and inspire independent and professional inventors.
LHL subscribes to print issues.
Inventors Groups of America (IGA)
Founded in 2017 by the leaders of the inventing community, the group teaches individuals how to best commercialize their product ideas, and provides support to other inventor groups throughout the nation.
National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
The Academy is an organization of over 4,600 members. It is affiliated with more than 300 institutions worldwide, including U.S. and international universities; governmental agencies; and non-profit research institutes.
United Inventors Association
The United Inventors Association is a non-profit national membership foundation dedicated to inventor education and support.

Official Gazettes

LHL owns print issues in various formats from 1872 through 2005.

Trademarks Official Gazette (TMOG)
Published each Tuesday, the TMOG contains bibliographic information and a representative drawing for each trademark published, along with a list of canceled and renewed registrations.
Official Gazette for Patents
The OG is published each Tuesday in electronic form only, and contains bibliographic (front page) text, a representative claim, and a drawing (if applicable) of each patent issued that week. The Notices provide important information and changes in rules concerning both patents and trademarks.

Legal Topics

Scam prevention (U.S. PTO)
U.S. PTO Patent Pro Bono Program
A series of videos for applicants who may qualify for free legal assistance.
Invention promotion scams (Federal Trade Commission)
Protect against trademark scams (U.S. PTO)
Hiring a U.S.-licensed attorney (U.S. PTO)
IP legal assistance programs (U.S. PTO)
Filing a patent application on your own
Information about the Pro Se Assistance program and the patent process training.
Video - Trademarks scams: How to avoid them... (2023; 89 mins)
Video - Licensing Your Intellectual Property (2023; 57 mins.)

Patent Application and Trademark Registration

Patent Center is a single-interface tool for filing and managing patent applications and requests. It replaces EFS-Web and Private PAIR. Users can now submit the specifications, claims, abstract, and drawings in a single DOCX document, and upload multiple files at once.

Patent Center User Guide
Video - Video - Making the transition to Patent Center (2023; 41 mins.)
Patent Center FAQs
Patent Assistance

Contact information for the Electronic Business Center, Application Assistance Center and, other entities.

Using TEAS (Trademark Electronic Application System) requires an account on USPTO.gov. MyUSPTO is a widget allowing users to create a USPTO account to manage their patent and trademark applications in one central location.

Alternative Patent Databases

Espacenet This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Euopean Patent Office, the Espacenet patent database provides free access to more than 70 million patent documents worldwide.

Patent Knowledge Nuggets (Espacenet)
Playlist of videos on searching Espacenet.
FreePatentsOnline
This commercial website offers a free patent searching database
Google Patents
Search for U.S. issued patents and patent applications.
Patent Lens
A free search system. The Lens aggregates the metadata of patent databases (including biological sequences), scholarly works, and other sources.

Stay Informed

Podcast - Invention
74 episodes; latest is April 2020.
Player FM's Patent Podcasts
Blog - IP Watchdog
Invention Stories
Podcast and YouTube channel

Reference Assistance

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Contact us:

Phone: 800.662.1545 or 816.926.8701.
For questions about the collections or resources: reference@lindahall.org, or complete the Reference Request Form.
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Check one of the Reference Guides that may provide additional help.

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