This guide suggests sources for researching intellectual property--patents, trademarks and copyright. For legal advice, consult a legal professional or expert.

• What Are Patents, Trademarks, Servicemarks, and Copyrights?
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Home Page.  The U.S. Government site for patents and trademarks, including databases, FAQs and information on applying for a patent or trademark.
• U.S. Copyright Office Home Page.  The U.S. Government site for copyright, including brochures, FAQs, and information on applying for copyright.

Other sources:

• Intellectual property: A guide for engineers. 2001. American Bar Association, Committee on Public Information, Section on Intellectual Property Law. NY: ASME Press.
• Intellectual property law for engineers and scientists. 2004. Hoboken NJ: IEEE Press.
• Intellectual property rights for engineers. 2005. London: IEE.
• Computer and Internet use on campus: A legal guide to issues of intellectual property, free speech, and privacy. 2001. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.

Patent literature is useful for both inventors who want to file a patent and for people seeking technical or business information from patents.

Patent & Trademark Depository Libraries

Each state in the U.S. has at least one Patent & Trademark Depository Library.  Contacting a Depository Library is a good way to begin patent research. The Denver Public Library is the depository library closest to the Colorado School of Mines. DPL has patents registered from 1790 on, and specialists to help you.  You can search for full-text, full-image of patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and from the list of Databases of Patents below.

Search for patents using: 

• U.S. Patents: Databases and Search Resources, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office [USPTO].   Includes data from January 1 1976 to the current week, and links to G4 TIFF patent images.
• Google Patents.  US patent data with graphics and links to related patents.
• Canadian Patent Database
• Delphion Intellectual Property Network.   The Delphion company provides for-fee services but their  "Intellectual Property Network" site links to  freely searchable databases too, including: United States patents, European patents and patent applications, PCT application data from the World Intellectual Property Office, Patent Abstracts of Japan, INPADOC family and legal status data, and IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletins. U.S. patents can be browsed by classification by title or by number.
• European Patent Office
• Europe's Network of Patent Databases
• U.K. Patent Office
• Science & technology databases. Some sci/tech databases, for example Chemical Abstracts, include patents in that field.

Guides on Patents and  Patent Research

• BustPatents: Legal resources and tools for surviving the Bad Patents patenting frenzy of the Internet, bioinformatics, and electronic commerce.   Provides explanations and examples of "bad" or invalid patents. While the site's emphasis is to educate visitors about bad patents, the information can be useful to understand what makes a good patent.
  • The Useful Patent Internet Sites section provides an extensive list of links for patent information on the Web.
• General Information Concerning Patents.   A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site explains patents, patent law, patent research, the application process, and the function of the U.S. PTO.
  • Frequently-Asked Questions about Patents.   This FAQ provides a quick introduction to patents, and is an excerpt from General Information Concerning Patents.
• Patent and Trademark Information.  This guide from the University of California, Berkeley Library has some site-specific information but the resources described are the same for any patent library. Includes
  • Step by Step Patent Searching
• The Patent Cafe.   Self-described as a place "where inventors, entrepreneurs, attorneys, kids, find help on patents." This is an information-rich site--start with the Inventors Gateway which has a link to "the Five Ps of Inventing" and other introductory material. The site includes sections for kids, teachers, lawyers, and small businesses.
• Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, & Copyright.   From Utah State's "Internet Quick Reference site," this guide provides a good list of links for patents, copyright, and trademarks information. Especially useful are the links to sites for international and foreign information and databases.
• Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Searching on the Internet. Sharpe, Charles C., 2000. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., Inc.  This book provides search tips, describes patents, trademarks and copyrights, and explains the application process.
• U.S. Patent Searching on the Web -- Exploratory Tutorial.  Although written for users of the Patent & Trademark Depository at the Richard W. McKinney Engineering Library, University of Texas at Austin, this step-by-step tutorial covers the fundamentals of patent searching for all researchers.

FAQs on Patent Information

• Where can I get help researching a patent?
  • The librarians at the CSM Library can help you get started using patent databases.
  • Denver Public Library is our nearest U.S. Patent & Trademark Depository Library.
  • The U.S. PTO and other resources listed above have information on patent research.
• Is "everything" available from the U.S. PTO website?
  • No--While the U.S. PTO offers open Internet access to full-text and full-image databases of U.S. patents, the site has limitations including:
    • the full-text database is from 1976 on
    • selected patents are missing from the full-text database
    • changes to patent documents are not included in the full-text database
    • assignment changes made at the U.S. PTO are not included in the full-text or full-image databases
  • WARNING! THE U.S. PTO requires a special plug-in to display images.
• CSM faculty--What if I have a patentable invention?
  • Contact CSM's Office of Technology Transfer.
• CSM graduate students--What if I have something potentially patentable in my thesis or dissertation?
  • Discuss this with your advisor.
  • Inform the CSM Library of the situation BEFORE submitting your thesis to the Library. Failure to do so may jeopardize your claim to a patent.

• Basic Facts about Trademarks.   This U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site explains trademarks, the registration process, filing requirements, and links to download forms.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Trademarks.   This U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site's FAQs have numerous explanatory notes and links to key forms and documents.
• Patent Cafe: Trademark Search Databases.   This site provides an annotated list of links to trademark search databases, both for U.S. and international trademarks.
• Patent, Trademark, and copyright Searching on the Internet. Sharpe, Charles C., 2000. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers.  This book provides search tips, describes patents, trademarks and copyrights, and explains the application process.
• U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).   Select TESS under "Search." This is the official trademarks search database from the U.S. PTO, offering the same text and image database of trademarks as currently are provided to examining attorneys at the U.S. PTO.
• What Are Patents, Trademarks, Servicemarks, and Copyrights?   Provides explanations of the three types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

• Copyright: An overview. Cornell University. 2003. Legal Information Institute, Cornell University.
• Copyright and fair use. Stanford University Libraries. 2004.
• Copyright essentials. Indiana University-Purdue University. 2003. Copyright Management Center, IUPUI.
• Copyright handbook: How to protect and use written works. Fishman, S. 2000. Berkeley CA: Nolo.com.
• Digital copyright: Protecting intellectual property on the Internet, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, .... Litman, J. 2001. Amherst NY: Promethius Books.
• Getting permission: How to license and clear copyrighted material online and off. Stim, R. 2000. Berkeley CA: Nolo.com.
• U.S. Copyright Office.  The US Government site for copyright, including brochures, FAQs, and information on applying for copyright. Includes:
  • "In answer to your query: Fair use."

• Commonsense copyright: A guide for educators and librarians. Talab, R.S. 1999. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Co.
• Computer and Internet use on campus: A legal guide to issues of intellectual property, free speech, and privacy. Hawke, C.S. 2001. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Copyright and fair use in the classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web. Adelphi MD: Univ. of Maryland University College. 2003.
• Copyright essentials for librarians and educators. Crews, K. D. 2000. Chicago IL: ALA.
• Copyright in cyberspace: Questions and answers for librarians. Hoffmann, G.M. 2001. NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
• Crash Course in Copyright. University of Texas System.
• Growing pains: Adapting copyright for libraries, education, and society. Gassaway, L. 1997. Littleton CO: F.B. Rothman.
• Primer on the Digital Millennium: What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act mean for the library community. Lutzker, A.P. 2003.
• SHERPA. Want to find out how you can use your own work once you've signed a copyright transfer agreement with a publisher? This site provides "a summary of permissions that are normally given as part of each publisher's copyright transfer agreement."
• Technology and copyright law: A guidebook for the library, research, and teaching professions. Bielefield, A., Cheeseman, L. 1997. NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
• What colleges and universities need to know about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Lide, C. 1999. Cause/Effect 22(1). EDUCAUSE.

• Creative Commons. Offers tools for the creators of intellectual property to define the rights they want, encouraging collaboration and use of their work by others.
• PLoS (Public Library of Science). Open access to scientific ideas.
• PubMed Central's Open Access Publishing Statements
• SHERPA.  Describes activities related to development of open access institutional repositories. Includes lists of publishers' copyright policies, digital archives, funding agencies' archiving policies.
  • OpenDOAR, worldwide Directory of Open Access Repositories.

• American Distance Education Consortium. 2002. University intellectual property policies.
• American Library Association. Distance education and the TEACH Act.
• American Library Association. 2003. TEACH Act best practices using Blackboard™.
• Crews, K.D. 2002 New copyright law for distance education: The meaning and importance of the TEACH Act. American Library Association.
• Kansas State University. 2003. The TEACH toolkit.
• North Carolina State University. 2002. The TEACH Act toolkit.
• Princeton University. 2005.  Blackboard™ FAQ.
• Wake Forest University. 2004. Copyright and Blackboard™.

• How can I tell if a work is copyrighted, or if it is in the public domain?
  • Check the U.S. Copyright Office's guidelines and other authoritative sources to get an idea of what characteristics you should look for.
• Do copyrighted works have to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and/ or include a © symbol?
  • No. Unlike patents and trademarks, copyright doesn't require registration with the .U.S Copyright Office or a © symbol. So--you can't necessarily determine if a work is copyrighted by checking with the U.S. Copyright Office.
• How do I copyright my own work?
  • According to the U.S. Copyright Office, "Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
  • Registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office does have benefits--check their website.
• Who do I rely on for copyright advice? Copyright questions can be very complex, and your own personal level of involvement can vary considerably.
  • "Rely on" is a loaded phrase. So is "advice."  What's your acceptable risk?
  • Serious about this? CSM Legal Services can advise you on how to proceed with your question.
  • At the "curious" stage?
    • To get a feel for what the issues are, you can start with authoritative websites such as the U.S. Copyright Office and intellectual property websites from established organizations and major universities.
    • Look for best practices for educators and researchers from universities with strong intellectual property law resources.