The Collection

The Los Angeles Public Library has a collection of over 6 million U.S. Patents and several million patents from other countries. This collection is the only complete collection of U.S. Patents in Southern California and one of two complete collections in the state of California. An inventor can make a preliminary search to determine whether a patent has previously been granted for the unique features of his invention.

Files are also maintained of U.S. Trademarks and a search may be performed to determine if a trademark has already been registered. Copyright records are also a part of the collection. It is possible to verify the existence of a copyright and the owner.

Library staff assists individuals using various search tools. The staff does not make the actual search or interpret patent, trademark, or copyright law. The Library also provides a listing of patent attorneys and agents registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program

The Los Angeles Public Library is one of over seventy U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries located throughout the United States. These libraries assist the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in disseminating patent and trademark information. Other Patent Depository Libraries in California are:

• CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY, SACRAMENTO
• SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY
• SUNNYVALE CENTER FOR INNOVATION, INVENTION, AND IDEAS
• SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Patents at the Los Angeles Public Library

PATENT INFORMATION:

What a Patent Is?

A patent is a grant of a property right by the Government to the inventor 'to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention.' Patents are granted for a term of 20 years from the date of filing, or 17 years from the date of issuance , whichever is longer. They may be extended only by a special act of Congress (except for certain pharmaceutical patents). After expiration of the term, the patentee loses rights to the invention. Design patents are granted for 14 years from the date of issuance.

When to Obtain a Patent?

A valid patent may not be obtained if the invention was in public use or on sale in this country for more than one year prior to the filing of your patent application. Your own use and sale of the invention for more than a year before your application is filed will bar your right to a patent just as effectively as though this use and sale had been done by someone else.

Who May Obtain a Patent?

Patents are granted only to the true inventor. Methods of doing business and printed matter cannot be patented. A patent cannot be obtained on a mere idea or suggestion.

Types of Patents

The patent law provides for the granting of patents in three major categories:

Utility Patents are granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. 'Process' means a process or method; new industrial or technical processes may be patented. 'Manufacture' refers to articles which are made. 'Composition of matter' relates to chemical compositions and may include mixtures of ingredients as well as new chemical compounds.

Design Patents are granted to any person who has invented a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. The appearance of the article is protected.

Plant Patents are granted to any person who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state.

Ownership and Sale of Patent Rights

The inventor may sell all or part of his interest in the patent application or patent to anyone by a properly worded assignment. The application must be filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the invention of the true inventor, however, and not as the invention of the person who has purchased the invention from the inventor.

Correspondence with USPTO

The Office will answer an applicant's inquiries about the status of an application, but if you have an attorney or agent, correspondence should be forwarded through them. It is not necessary to come to the Office in person, as most business is conducted through correspondence. The agency does not have field offices. All correspondence should be addressed to:

Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
Washington, DC 20231.

How to Obtain Patent Copies?

Printed copies of any patent identified by its patent number, may be purchased from the USPTO. Orders should be mailed to:

United States Patent and Trademark Office
Washington, D.C. 20231.

Copies may also be obtained from Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries like this one. Patents numbered 3,930,271 and higher are available on the Internet. Try either of the web sites listed below:

U.S. Patent Office

What does Patent Pending mean?

The terms 'patent pending' and 'patent applied for' are used by a manufacturer or seller of an article to inform the public that an application for a patent on that article is on file. The law imposes a fee on those who use these terms falsely.

Patent Protection in Foreign Countries

The United States patent protects your invention only in this country. Normally a license must be obtained from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks before you can file for a patent in another country, unless the filing in another country occurs more than six months after the filing in this country, in which case no license is necessary.

Patent Attorney and Agents

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cannot assist in preparation of application papers and strongly advises prospective applicants to engage the services of a patent attorney or agent. The Office does not control fees charged by attorneys and agents, nor can it recommend any particular attorney or agent. Applicants may consult local telephone directories or the roster of attorneys and agents registered to practice available at any Patent and Trademark Depository Library.

Patent Promotion Organizations

The Office has no control over, and does not maintain information about, patent promotion organizations. It is advisable to check on the reputation of such firms before making any commitments by inquiring of Better Business Bureaus or asking your patent attorney or agent.

Marketing Inventions

The Office cannot assist in the development and marketing of an invention, but will publish, at a patent owner's request, a notice in the weekly Official Gazette that the patent is available for licensing or sale. See publication list for current price. You may want to consult chambers of commerce, banks, industrial development organizations, or similar groups for help in promoting your invention. Consult local directories or write to state authorities for names and addresses of such organizations.

Adapted from "General Information Concerning Patents" by the US Patent and Trademark Office February 13, 1996 by the staff of the Science/Technology/Patents Department of the Los Angeles Public Library

Official U.S. Patent Office Publications

International Patent Documents

U.S. Patent Databases

Complete patent searching through the WorldWide Web is still a few years away, but in the meantime there are two places where you can search more recent patents.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office Server The USPTO has front page information on all U.S.Patents since 1976. There are no images available. It is possible to conduct an advanced search by class and subclass.

Both of these databases are good places to start a search, however, neither database satisfies the requirement of a complete patent search.

Trademarks at the Los Angeles Public Library

A Federal trademark is a name, symbol, phrase, scent, or sound used in foreign or interstate commerce to identify a product or service. A business or company name is a trade name and cannot be registered federally.

Publications About Trademarks

Copyrights at the Los Angeles Public Library

A copyright protects artistic and literary works such as books, motion pictures, visual and performing arts, computer software and sound recordings.

Searching the U.S. Copyright Database

You can search the database of U.S.Copyrights that have been registered or renewed since 1978 by searching the catalog of the Library of Congress, LOCIS. This database does not contain the text of any copyrighted material, nor does it have the address of any copyright holder. You can use it to verify the registration date of a copyright.

U.S. Copyright Office Publications

Publications about International Copyrights

Services

Cassis

Cassis is a CD-ROM database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office available free of charge at Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries since 1982. CASSIS assists in patent classification searches, updates some materials, and provides a separate portion containing trademark data. Ask library staff for instruction in its use and to reserve time. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended.

APS

The Automated Patent System (APS) is an online, full-text database consisting of United States patents issued from 1971 through the present. It is available by appointment only. The charge to use it is $10 per half-hour. Please telephone for further information.

Photocopy Services

Photocopy machines are available in the Library for use to copy library materials. The Central Library also provides photocopies requested by fax, telephone, e-mail or regular mail for the following charges:

• $.25 per page
• $3.00 in-house pick up fee per item
• $5.00 mailing and handling charge per item
• $5.00 fax and handling charge per item (local) [up to 50 pages per item]
• $10.00 fax and handling charge per item (long distance) [up to 50 pages per item]
• $10.00 additional rush fee (36 hours guaranteed) per item

How to perform a patent or trademark search?

Trademarks

A TRADEMARK is a word, phrase, symbol, design, sound, scent or any combination thereof which identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Normally, a mark for goods appears on the product or on its packaging, while a service mark appears in advertising for the services. A trademark is protected for 10 years. It is renewable indefinitely as long as the mark is still in use. A trademark is different from a copyright or a patent. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. A patent protects an invention.

To determine whether there is a conflict between two marks, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) decides whether there would be likelihood of confusion. That is, whether consumers would confuse the goods or services of one party with those of the other party as a result of the use of the marks. The principal factors considered in reaching this decision are the similarity of the marks and the commercial relationship between the goods and services identified by the marks. For there to be a conflict, the marks need not be identical, and the goods and services do not have to be the same.

A trademark application may be rejected on the grounds that it is merely descriptive of the product or service. Sometimes a trademark loses its distinctiveness and becomes generic such as the words "aspirin" and "escalator".

Basic Facts About Registering a Trademark is a pamphlet published by the PTO. It contains basic information and application forms and may be purchased at the United States Government Bookstore, ARCO Plaza, C-Level, 505 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Their telephone number is (213) 239-9844. Both VISA and MasterCard are accepted. This publication is also provided by the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC), at (703) 308-9000 and on the PTO's World Wide Web site at www.uspto.gov. Staff at TAC will answer general trademark questions but questions pertaining to an application under examination will still be directed to the appropriate examining attorney.

Trademark: How to Name Your Business & Product, published by Nolo Press, is a self-help book designed for the layperson. It is available from Nolo Press at (800) 992-6656, at the Legal Book Store, 316 West Second Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 626-2139 and other larger bookstores.

For information about California State Trademarks, telephone the State Trademark Examiner at (916) 653-4984.

Trademark Searching Using Cassis at Los Angeles Public Library

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) provides a CD-ROM product of Federal trademarks called Cassis. Check both the Trademarks Registered and Trademarks Pending files.

Search Mark Combined Search . This index includes the following three fields:

1. Word Mark
2. Pseudo Mark
3. Translation

Use the "F3:Display" and "F2:Browse" commands to display search results. By using " * " as a truncation symbol, any number of characters in a search term may be retrieved. For example, "star*" will retrieve star, starlight, stars and more.

1. Word Mark: The Word Mark field may be searched for a mark or portion of a mark which contains words, letters or numbers.
2. Pseudo Mark: Search the Pseudo Mark field for alternative spellings of actual trademarks listed in the Word Mark field, based on the concept of "likelihood of confusion" between marks. This field often contains words that are very similar or phonetically equivalent to the word mark; e.g., if "QUICK" is searched in this field, records containing "QUICK", as well as, "KWIK", "KWIX", "QUIK", etc., should be retrieved.
3. Translation: The translation field retrieves foreign language equivalents of the input English word, and vice versa.

Use F2 to browse the words indexed in the above-mentioned fields. The Browse command gives you a list of all terms indexed for the current search field. Move the cursor to the first letter of the first word. Then press the "F2" key. In some cases, fields have two index lists:

1. Words ---- Individual words are indexed
2. Entries----Complete entries from a line index are indexed

Select either type of index and press "Enter".

For information about searching a design, please ask staff.

Searching on Cassis is not comprehensive nor is it definitive proof of trademark status. Cassis does not include state or common law trademarks. Consult staff if you wish to broaden your search to include state trademark agencies, trade directories, telephone books, product catalogs and magazines.

Staff is not permitted to perform searches, fill out forms, or give opinions or advice.

How to Perform a Patent Search?

Before applying for a patent it is advised that you perform what is known as a prior art search. This means that you need to check previously issued patents to see if your invention might already have been patented. This search may seem difficult at first, but staff at the Patents Desk will be able to help you through this. This search will not be performed for you, however.

There are two major steps in performing a patent search. The first step is finding the class and subclass that your invention is classified in. The second step is looking at patents that have been assigned to that class and subclass.

Finding the class and subclass

1. Index to the U.S. Patent Classification System (Ask for at Patents Desk) This is an alphabetical subject index to the Manual of Classification. Look up your invention using common terms describing its function, effect, end-product, structure, or use. Try to avoid brand names. Write down all relevant class and subclass numbers. Especially note if a subclass number has a "+" after it.
2. Manual of Classification (Ask for at Patents Desk) This is a large two-volume set. Look up your class/subclass numbers in these books. The subclass numbers are not necessarily listed in numerical order. Take special notice of the dot indent. Revise your search strategy as needed.
3. Classification Definitions (Ask for at Patents Desk) Read these definitions to establish the scope of classes and subclasses. These often provide search notes and suggestions for further search. Design classes do not have definitions.

Finding the patents

1. The Cassis computer databases (Ask at Patents Desk for availability. There is no charge.) The Patent and Trademark Office has two CD-ROM's that will be helpful to you in your patent search. One is the Patent Bibliographic Information CD-ROM. This disc has patent titles back to 1969 and abstracts of patents for about the last 30-36 months. You can use this to see if your class/subclass describes inventions similar to yours. Keep in mind that there are no drawings available on the computer. The second CD-ROM you will need to look at is Patents Classification. This allows you to enter a class and subclass and retrieve a list of all U.S. patents that have been classified or cross-referenced into a particular class/subclass. This list could contain patents as far back as 1790. However, there is no information available from this list other than patent numbers.
2. The Official Gazette (Blue volumes on tall shelves near the Patents Desk) Starting in 1872, the Patent Office has published a weekly compilation of all patents issued. Take your list of patent numbers and check them against the summaries of the patents contained in the Official Gazettes. Take special note of inventions that you may wish to see more information about. The Official Gazette contains one drawing and one claim for every patent. Most patents will have 7 digit numbers; these are utility patents. Others will be 6 digits and be proceeded by a "D". These are design patents. Go to the volume of the Official Gazette that has the corresponding number listed on the spine. The most recent volumes are paperback.
3. Complete patent documents (Microfilm cabinets) If there is a patent for which you wish to see all of the information, you will need to look at it on microfilm. All of the patents are in microfilm format. The complete patent will contain all of the drawings and claims. You can make copies of the microfilm on our reader/printer machines for 25¢ per page.

Computer access to patent information? The Los Angeles PTDL also provides access to APS, the Automated Patent System, which provides full-text, up to date listings for all U.S. Patents since 1971. There is a charge of $10 per ½ hour (or portion thereof) for using this system. It is available for use by appointment only. Ask the Patents Desk staff for more information if you think you need to use APS. Also, ask staff about information available on the Internet and on commercial databases.

The University of Texas Engineering Library has produced two excellent online tutorials that can show you some of the steps you will go through in performing a patent or trademark search at any Patent and Trademark Depository Library. Some parts of the search are different at the Los Angeles Public Library, but those are very minor.

How to perform a patent search