Patents

IP Watchdog

IP Watchdog is a website providing information on intellectual property, internet and antitrust law. The site is produced by Gene Quinn, a patent attorney and professor of law, and focuses on United States law. There are sections dealing with different aspects of patent, copyright and trademark law, inventions and confidentiality agreements. There is a section aimed at businesses and one providing advice on Patent Bar exams. The inventions section provides guidance on the patent and invention process and intellectual property issues.

Hungarian Intellectual Property Office

The website of the Hungarian Patent Office provides guidance and legal information on obtaining patents and trademarks in Hungary. Copies of Hungarian laws and regulations are provided online along with contact details of Hungarian patent agents. The site also includes information on plant variety protection, utility model protection, trademarks, designs and copyright issues in Hungary. The Hungarian Industrial Property Database, which has information on patents, utility models, trademarks and designs protected in Hungary, is free to search on the site.

Trademark and Patent Assignments on the Web

The Trademark Assignments and Patent Assignments on the Web databases are provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and made freely available on their website. The trademark database provides information on ownership of trademarks from 1955 to date and patent information is available from 1980 onwards. The database can be searched using a range of criteria including registration or serial number and by assignor or assignee name, applicant name or registrant name.

Community Plant Variety Office

The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) implements and applies the European Community's system for the protection of plant variety rights which "allows intellectual property rights, valid throughout the Community, to be granted for plant varieties". It has been operating since 1995 and is based at Angers in France. Its website gives details of its work; has a section containing the relevant legislation and published decisions of the CPVO's councils and boards of appeal. Application forms for plant variety rights can be downloaded.

esp@cenet

esp@cenet is a free gateway to a patents search engine which can find UK, European, US and Japanese patent applications using one single search form. The esp@cenet quick search option defaults to the Worldwide database where users can search by words in the title or abstract or persons or organisations. Users can also conduct searches by number, classification or a range of parameters using the advanced search option. If available, the original application along with a description of the invention and drawings are made freely available online.

Williams Powell

Willams Powell is a London-based firm of patent and trade mark attorneys. Their website gives a brief introduction to and definitions of patents, trade marks, design and copyright. General guidance is provided on filing a patent, writing a patent specification, patent searching and the likely costs involved. There is also advice on choosing and registering trade marks. Advice for overseas patent and trade mark attorneys is given on the site and brief guidance for people wishing to register patents or trade marks abroad.

Australian Patent Office Decisions

An AustLII Web database containing decisions of the Australian Patents Office from 1981 onwards. Decision texts are in HTML format. The service features full search facilities, a case name search, alphabetical browse option and recent cases list. AustLII, the Australasian Legal Information Institute has been developed by the University of Technology in Sydney to provide public access to primary legal materials. The data from the Australian Patent Office is supplied by IP Australia.

England and Wales High Court (Patents Court) Decisions

A BAILII database containing selected decisions of the Patents Court of the High Court of England and Wales. The database features all decisions made publicly available through the Courts service from 1997 onwards to date. Cases are listed alphabetically by party name and chronologically by year. The system features a sophisticated search facility and Recent Cases listing. The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) is a collaborative service aiming to provide free access to primary legal materials for the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Asian Patent Attorneys Association

Website of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), an NGO that seeks to promote intellectual property protection in the Asian region (including Australia and New Zealand). The site provides a newsletter and gives details of APAA committees and regional groups, a history of the organisation, and details of conferences and meetings. Parts of the site are restricted to members.

Digital Law Online

Digital Law Online was established by Professor Lee A. Hollaar of the School of Computing at the University of Utah and was last updated in 2016. It contains an online version of Professor Hollaar's 2002 book, "Legal Protection of Digital Information." The book deals with copyright and patent law, including protection of software and other digital works; the emphasis is on US law. Links are given to all cases, statutes and congressional reports referred to in the text. The book is updated on the site and supplementary information is provided.

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