Patent and Trademark Searching
What is intellectual property? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines it as: "Creations of the mind - creative works or ideas embodied in a form that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them." There are four main ways to protect intellectual property - patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights.
- Patent and Trademark OverviewAn excellent guide created by Jan Comfort, Engineering Librarian at Clemson University. This will guide you in finding information about various types of intellectual property.
- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)The USPTO is the Federal Agency charged with granting U.S. Patents and registering Federal Trademarks.
A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the U.S. government 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.
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in business.
A service mark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods. The term “trademark” is often used to refer to both trademarks and service marks.
Royalties
- RoyaltyRange One SearchPlace a request with RoyaltyRange, selecting your search criteria and search objectives (e.g., “I need royalty rates for coffee trademark agreements”).
Utility Patent
Trademarks
