University News
Libraries to Host 'Patents and Trademarks 101' Sept. 13
August 29, 2012
MACOMB, IL – Some of the world's star players, Apple and Samsung, in the game of mobile device technological innovation have been center stage recently in a well-publicized patent dispute. According to an Aug. 25 CNN report, Samsung plans to challenge a U.S. court ruling that recommends the company award more than $1 billion in damages to Apple. With the current verdict, it seems even the biggest "stars" of invention and innovation may require more information about intellectual property rights and the legal protections patents and trademarks provide to inventors and innovators.
Next month, at Western Illinois University, that information will be readily available for players of all sizes, when Western Illinois University Libraries will officially be designated as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
According to Chuck Malone, coordinator of University Libraries' government, legal, spatial and data services unit, as well as of the new Patent and Trademark Resource Center, to kick off the PTRC opening, WIU Libraries will host, "Patents and Trademarks 101: A Free Seminar for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Educators, Students and Legal Professionals" from 9:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 in the Leslie F. Malpass Library Garden Lounge on the WIU-Macomb campus (see schedule below).
"As a Patent and Trademark Resource Center, our unit at Western Illinois University Libraries has been designated by the USPTO to help users access online U.S. patents and patent and trademark materials," Malone explained. "In addition to making this information freely available to the public, part of our duty as a PTRC is to actively teach users how to access patent and trademark information themselves. Our initial seminar, 'Patents and Trademarks 101' will be a unique opportunity for people to learn about patents and trademarks from experts from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."
According to David Kappos, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, PTRCs serve as the face of the USPTO in local communities.
"PTRCs promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that ensures potential filers have the local resources necessary to draw on for support as they begin their quest for commercial success with their intellectual property," Kappos said.
As illustrated by the enormous judgment against Samsung in the Apple vs. Samsung patent dispute, patents protect high-stakes investments in intellectual property (IP)-intensive industries. Malone noted, in 2010, IP-intensive industries contributed $5.06 trillion to the U.S. economy or 34.8 percent of GDP (gross domestic product).
"And 40 million jobs—or 27.7 percent of all jobs—were directly or indirectly attributable to the most IP-intensive industries in 2010," Malone explained. "Between 2010 and 2011, the economic recovery led to a 1.6 percent increase in direct employment in IP-intensive industries, faster than the 1.0 percent growth in non-IP-intensive industries. Merchandise exports of IP-intensive industries totaled $775 billion in 2010, accounting for 60.7 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports," he added.
At the Sept. 13 "Patents and Trademarks 101" seminar, Malone said representatives from the USPTO, as well as Western Illinois University faculty and regional entrepreneurs will be providing important information about patent and trademark resources, including an overview of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Presenters will also talk about how to conduct, step by step, patent and a federal trademark searches. In addition, a panel of individuals will discuss local resources and provide information for inventors and entrepreneurs.
"One panel member, William Pratt, director of WIU-QC's engineering program, has six patents to his name," Malone noted. "For his part in the afternoon panel, he will talk about one of the favorite patents he received and the process of coming up with an idea, as well as his experience in obtaining a patent on that idea."
"Patents and Trademarks 101" is open free to the public, but registration is required.
Interested individuals can register at online at www.wiu.edu/libraries/news/2010s/2012/patentsAndTrademarksSeminar.php; by contacting Malone at (309) 298-2719; or by sending an email to C-Malone@wiu.edu. (The message must include: name, phone number and address. For a parking pass, please send the year of your vehicle, model, and license plate number.)
"Patents and Trademarks 101: A Free Seminar for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Educators, Students, and Legal Professionals" Sept. 13, Malpass Library Garden Lounge, Western Illinois University
- 9:30 a.m. – Registration
- 10 a.m. – Welcome and Ribbon Cutting (celebrating Western Illinois University Libraries' designation as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center)
- 10:10 a.m. – Overview of Patents, Trademarks Copyrights and Trade Secrets
- 10:45 a.m. – Break
- 11 a.m. – Conducting a Patent Search, Step by Step
- noon – Lunch on your own
- 1 p.m. – Conducting a Federal Trademark Search, Step by Step
- 2 p.m. – Local Resources and Information for Inventors and Entrepreneurs panel discussion. Panel members include: Chris Merrett, director, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at WIU (Macomb); Gregg Garrett, director, Illinois Small Business Development Center (unit of WIU in Macomb); Ryan Lilly manager, The Entrepreneurship Center of West Central Illinois (Galesburg, IL); William Pratt, director, WIU-QC engineering program (Moline, IL); William Lindquist, retired patent judge for USPTO's Office of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Aledo, IL).
- 3:15 p.m. – Wrap up
Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
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