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Libraries to mark 40-year partnership with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Daylong program offered for local inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, students and legal professionals

Credit: United States Patent and Trademark OfficeAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries will hold a full-day seminar to celebrate a 40-year partnership between the University Libraries and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus or via MediaSite

Experts from the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) will offer public programming during the event for inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, students and legal professionals. The seminar, which takes place during Penn State’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), is free and open to the public, but registration is required by Nov. 7 at http://bit.ly/PTRC2018UP or by calling 814-867-1448.

The schedule of public events for the University Libraries’ USPTO 40th Anniversary program is as follows. All events are free and located in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library:

  • 8:30-9 a.m — Sign-in and registration packets issued   
  • 9 a.m. — Welcome, Karen Estlund, Associate Dean of University Libraries
  • 9:15-10:30 a.m. — Overview of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets: Discover the different types of intellectual property protection and build up a fundamental understanding for later sessions.  Presented by experts from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Resource Center Program from Alexandria, Virginia.
  • 10:45-noon — Conducting a Preliminary Federal Trademark Search Using USPTO Databases: Learn how to search federal trademarks using U.S. Patent and Trademark Office databases. USPTO representatives will show how to find existing trademark registrations, including advanced search strategies combining works and images.  Brands and company identify can be valuable intellectual property for any business or venture.
  • 2:45-3:15 p.m. — Non-USPTO Solicitations and Invention Promotion Scams: Asking the Right Questions: Identify possible disreputable practices and potentially misleading advertisements from invention promotion firms.  Startups and new ventures should be aware of their legal rights and how to avoid jeopardizing their intellectual property. Presented by experts from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Resource Center Program from Alexandria, Virginia.
  • 3:15-4 p.m. — Invent Penn State Panel: Learn about Penn State and Pennsylvania specific sources of information and legal help in this panel of local programs. Inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, students and legal professionals should come to learn and ask questions of the University Libraries, Penn State Law clinics, and other Invent Penn State initiatives.
  • 4-4:15 p.m. — Presentation of Certificate to the University Libraries from the USPTO
  • 4:15-5:15 p.m. — Reception with light refreshments: Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library

Since 1979, Penn State University Libraries has been an official depository library for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, offering free services to all local residents, answering patent and trademark questions and teaching effective search methods. Penn State’s Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) is one of only three such centers in the state, joining the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices in support of entrepreneurs and inventors across the Commonwealth. As part of the Invent Penn State Team in the University Libraries, the PTRC supports the land-grant mission of Penn State by offering free services to all residents.

“For almost 40 years the PTRC has helped users with patent and trademark information requests, taught effective searching techniques and provided information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,” said John Meier, associate librarian in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library, and Patent and Trademark Resource Center Librarian for Penn State University Libraries. “We are privileged to have staff from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office visit Penn State during Global Entrepreneurship Week to speak directly to our students, staff, faculty and community.”

During the public Nov. 14 event, the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program will discuss overview of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets; conducting patent searches; invention promotion firms; and how to conduct a federal trademark search. The program is sponsored by the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library, and can be viewed remotely via MediaSite Live at:

For more information, contact John Meier at 814-867-1448 or meier@psu.edu.

Last Updated October 31, 2018