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Patent Virtual Library

The "Patent Virtual Library" contains helpful links to web sites dealing with intellectual property.  This site's main focus is to educate independent inventors on the process necessary to secure a patent.  Furthermore, this site will stimulate the creative process of the independent inventor, thus leading to the proliferation of the U.S. patent system.

The information is divided into the following categories:

• The Psychology of an Invention
• What is a Patent ?
• Patent Searches
• Patent Applications
• The Money Making Inventor
• Intellectual Property Magazines
• Archives of Inventions
• Electronic Filing System (EFS)
• Searching the USPTO Server
• The Independent Inventor - Resources for the independent inventor at USPTO
• FAQ - General Information Concerning Patents

The Psychology of an Invention

Cognitive psychology identifies five basic functions of thinking which organize into the circle of thought: describe, elaborate, decide, plan, and act.

• The Psychology of an invention - Imagination, 3M Collaborative Invention Unit

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What is a Patent?

These sites offer an excellent description of "what is a patent".

• University of Michigan Media Union Library - topics include what a patent is not, what is patenable, getting your patent
• The Chartered Institute of Patent Agents - a United Kingdom perspective
• Software Patent Institute Database of Software Technologies - everything you want to know about software patents
• FAQ - General Information Concerning Patents

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Patent Applications

• Reference Book: How to write a patent application - Practising Law Institute, law publishers catalog, search for Patent Law: A Practitioner’s Guide By Ronald B. Hildreth
• Drafting claims - apparatus
• On-Line Dictionary - of technical terms
• Provisional Patent Application - Find out how to obtain an early filing date
• Published Patent Applications - USPTO Web Site (published since 15 March 2001)

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Patent Searches
 

There are logical step involved in conducting a patent search. Check out the sites below . . .

• University of Michigan: Media Union Library: Searching for Patents - U.S. Patent Searching on the Web - Exploratory Tutorial
• US Patent and Trademark Office Databases - Search by invention's title, inventor's name, patent number
• University of North Carolina Patent Search System - Source Translation & optimization's Search (STO) system
•  Delphion Intellectual Property Patent Server - Search, Delphion, the world's most popular online destination for researching intellectual property.
• Other "patent searching" web sites - Business 2.0 web site

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The Money Making Inventor

• Starting a Business - business plan by Howard University Small Business Development Center
• Microsoft bCentral - Small business resource

• National Federation of Independent Business - the voice of small business. Check out the four p's of marketing -- product, price, place and promotion.

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Intellectual Property Magazines

• Intellectual Property Today - Intellectual Property Today^TM is a publication focused on issues in intellectual property (patent, trademark and copyright ) law.
• Source Translation & Optimization (STO) - Legal resources and tools for surviving the patenting frenzy of the Internet, bioinformatics, and electronic commerce. Why many invalid patents are being issued by the Patent Office - authored by Greg Aharonian.
• Internet Patent News Service - The Internet Patent News Service is a mostly daily news service dealing with information about the patenting world.

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Archives of Inventions

Take a look at the past and help shape the future

• Louisiana State University Libraries - Important Historical Inventions and Inventors

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Please address comments or questions to Eustace Franklin Jr. patents@patent-software.com
Copyright (c) 1997 through 2001 Eufra Patent Software company. All rights reserved.
Revised: February 14, 2008.