trade marks

Canadian Trademarks Database

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office's Canadian Trademarks Database enables users to search for all active and many inactive trademarks in Canada along with words and designs that are not strictly trademarks. Keywords can be used in a variety of search fields including owner name, trademark description and registration number. Trademarks can also be searched by date, category and status. Records can be downloaded in full and there is guidance on searching the database. Users can search either an English or French language version of the same database.

Journal of Intellectual Property

Website of the Journal of Intellectual Property, published 3 times a year by students at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, USA. The journal began in Spring 1999 and provides full text articles from this date onwards. The journal aims to include articles on copyright, patents, trademark law, and trade secrets. The website offers pages on intellectual property issues, which summarise news, cases and developments on these subjects, with links where possible to full-text of cases and statutes.

European Union Intellectual Property Office

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), formerly the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), is the EU body ressponsible for the uniform protection of trade marks and industrial designs. It maintains registers of trademarks and designs and has a role in the prosecution of infringements. The EUIPO website covers the legal framework and the remit of the Office and its Boards of Appeal, as well as an online registration facility, databases, publications, news and more.

Intellectual Property Office

The Intellectual Property Office is responsible for granting intellectual property (IP) rights in the United Kingdom. Its website provides information about patents, designs, trade mark, including legislation, official notices, research commissioned by the IPO, procedural forms, guidance and databases of trademarks, registered designs and patents.

J-PlatPat (Japan Platform for Patent Information)

Free searchable database with English interface providing information on Japanese patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks issued by the Japan Patent Office. Users can search a range of resources applicable to the different types of industrial property including applications, gazettes and bibliographies. A simple search option uses keyword or number searching and an advanced search provides additional parameters eg. date, classification etc. The site also has trial decisions and online help with using the database and the Japanese design classification scheme. 

National Intellectual Property Center

Website of the National Intellectual Property Center (previously the Georgian Patent Office) the body responsible for granting patents and registering trademarks in Georgia. The site provides history and background to the setting up of the Center and the development of the legal framework relating to intellectual property protection in Georgia. There is guidance to patent law, trademark registration and copyright protection in Georgia including copies of the relevant legislation (in English) and PDF copies of required forms.

Free Patents Online

Free Patents Online (FPO) provides a searchable database of patent records. The site was established by patent searcher James Ryley and includes US and European patents and abstracts of Japanese patents. The database currently holds all patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since December 1976. Images can be viewed in PDF or TIFF formats. There is background information on patents and trademarks and help with using the database.

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.

Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks

Information about the Madrid System For the International Registration of Trademarks, on the World Intellectual Property Organization's website. The site gives an overview of the System, along with a more detailed procedural guide. The relevant legal texts are made available, including the Madrid Protocol, the Madrid Agreement, Common Regulations and Administrative Instructions. Information notices relating to changes or amendments in the system are provided, along with forms and other details.

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