MADA: Patenting, Locating Available Technologies, & Licensing

PATENTING, LOCATING AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES, & LICENSING

MSU TechLink

MSU TechLink maintains a database of DoD, NASA, and MSU patented technologies available for licensing. Industry focus areas include: aerospace, agriculture, advanced materials and nanotechnology, biomedicine and biotechnology, environmental electronics, photonics and sensors, and software. The database is searchable by keyword. Check out MSU TechLink

TechLink's professional staff offers client companies assistance in licensing technology from NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, commercializing new technology licensed from these agencies, partnering with NASA and DoD labs for joint technology research and development, gaining access to world-class federal research facilities, and competing effectively for federal R&D funding. More information on TechLink services.

Montana Patent and Trademark Depository

The Montana Tech Library is the designated Patent & Trademark Depository Library for the state of Montana. While a basic patent or trademark search can be conducted online through the U.S. Patent & Trademark office website, the depository has librarians who are trained to assist patrons in patent and trademark searching as well as resources that are not available online such as filed patent applications, Official Gazettes, reissued patents, and other collections. While librarians cannot conduct the search for a patron and cannot say whether an invention or innovation will receive a patent, they can assist with the search and provide information on further resources. As a depository, the library has also collected online resources which may be helpful to inventors and others interested in intellectual property issues.

The Patent & Trademark Depository is fully integrated into the Montana Tech Library. It is open during the library's regular open hours. It is recommended, however, that patrons make an appointment so that the library can ensure a librarian is available. The librarian in charge of the depository program is Betsy Harper, and she is happy to answer any questions patrons may have. She can be contacted by phone at 406/496-4523 or through email at eharper@mtech.edu. Happy searching!

Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Resources Online

Many resources are available online, including:

U.S. Copyright Office. This huge site contains information on copyright basics, registration procedures, copyright forms, and more.
U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. Searchable patent and trademark databases, comprehensive information on the patent and trademark processes, forms, updates, and more.
Canadian Patents Database. Access more than 75 years of patent descriptions and images, search more than 1,400,000 patent documents.
European Patent Office. Information Gateway to free patent searching, information on patent application, centers, seminars, and more.
Firstuse.com. This site states that it is a "worldwide Internet-based registry that provides confidential, secure, digital fingerprinting and time stamped registration of intellectual property and important records in the event that someone ever challenges your ideas or the integrity of your files."
LatiPat Spain's Office of Patents and Trademarks. Has indexed patent and trademark information from Central and Latin American countries as well as Spain and Mexico. In Spanish.
Russian Patent Information. The International Library, Information and Analytical Center is a non-profit corporation formed by Russian and American interests to foster business, scientific, and research interests between Russia and western nations. They provide searching of Russian patents and trademarks, as well as selected access to patents and trademarks from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
University of Texas at Austin Patent Information. Access tutorials on patent searching, information on intellectual property and more.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Registered Attorneys and Agents. This index contains contact information for attorneys and agents with licenses to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office. There are 6861 active agents and 21955 active attorneys.