502 WASHINGTON AVENUE - SUITE 605 TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 410-659-9550 94 NAROD BOULEVARD WATER MILL, NY  11976 631-237-4891 larry@guffeylaw.com Senior Patent Counsel OLIVER & GRIMSLEY, LLC 443-541-5680
"Maximizing the Returns on Your Intellectual Endeavors"

Articles:

"Overview of the Process for Obtaining a U.S. Utility Patent" by Larry J. Guffey, 1996.

"Overview of the U.S. Trademark Registration Process" by Larry J. Guffey, 1997.

"Overview of the U.S. Copyright Registration Process" by Larry J. Guffey, 1997.

"Patents for Software-Related Inventions" by Jeffrey R. Kuester and Ann K. Moceyunas, March 1995.

"Protecting Trademarks in Europe - Community Trademarks" from Ladas & Parry, 1996.

"Provisional Patent Applications" from Ladas & Parry, 1996.

"Law of Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Antipiracy Agreements - A Practical Guide for Businesses & In-House Lawyers" by Glenn S. Bacal, 1996.

Websites:

Franklin Pierce Law Center - IP Mall - Excellent intellectual property law site, with much information on patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc. Extensive linkages to other IP sites, with an annotated guide to some of the more popular sites. Start here and you'll be well on your way to linking to all of the most informative IP sites. You'll also get a better impression of the extent of the amount of IP material available on the Internet than if you start with one of the many other sites which have many fewer linkages.

FPLC: Basic Intellectual Property Information - Many informative articles on patent, trademark and copyright law, most of which were written by FPLC Professor Thomas G. Field.

Access IP Law - Commercial site with many informative IP links.

United States Patent and Trademark Office - Primary source for information about patent and trademark registration processes. However, don't overlook the many helpful articles regarding these processes that can be found from the IP Mall site.

United States Copyright Office - Primary source for information about copyright registration processes. See helpful articles to be found by starting from the IP Mall site.

Law Journal Extra - IP Center - Latest IP news.

Intellectual Property Magazine - Newsworthy, electronic IP magazine.

Yahoo Government Law - IP - IP search engine.

FindLaw - Internet Legal Resources - General legal search engine.

Index to U.S. Patent Classifications - Use words descriptive of a new invention to identify possible classes-subclasses where it would eventually be classified. Then use this information at U.S. Boolean Search Page or other such search engines to get a listing of possible prior art within U.S. patents issued since 1977. This is also a possible tool for researchers/engineers to identify the classes-subclasses that are relevant to their development interests, and then monitor the information revealed in the patents issuing in these areas.

U.S. Patent Boolean Search Page - Search engine for U.S. patents issued since 1977. Can also be used to identify prior art or patents relevant to areas of technical interests by performing a word search on the patents included within this data base. Gives a list of the numbers of relevant patents, abstracts of them, along with the vital facts about the patents (e.g., names of inventors, assignees, date issued), but no drawings.

IBM Patent Server - Free search engine for the entire text of U.S. patents, including the drawings for those issued since 1/1/80. This site is sometimes a bit slow, but its inclusion of the patent drawings make it the best free, U.S. patent resource on the Internet.

Micropatent - One of the better commercial services that, for a fee, deliver patent copies. It provides, over the Internet, copies of U.S., PCT publications and European patents.

Thomson & Thomson IP Resource Center - Commercial service for copyright and trademark information.

The Trade Secrets Homepage - R.M. Halligan, Esq.'s informative collection of trade secret articles and links to statutory law.

Inventors' Digest Online - One of the few sites directed at the independent inventor. If for no other reason, this site is valuable for the warning it provides about invention marketing companies -- Note: We actually have one in Towson, MD.

The Hook Appropriate Technology - a technology commercialization, marketing and new product development firm that promises to work with independent inventors without charging upfront fees.