Target Audience: Information professionals in law firms, corporations, and law schools whose clientele - whether attorneys or the general public - want to research intellectual property (IP) issues Learning Outcomes: 1. Participants will locate 60 useful intellectual property (IP) resources available on the web. 2. Participants will evaluate which resources will be most useful in their particular work environment.
Given the current economic changes, intellectual property (IP) protection is more important then ever to major corporations and small start-ups, both in this country and abroad. The number of patents granted annually has steadily increased over the last decade, as has the number of infringement litigation lawsuits. In response, both international IP offices and vendors have developed a wide variety of databases and services, which are constantly being upgraded and changed. Law librarians serving patrons seeking information on obtaining, licensing and/or enforcing strong patents, trademarks and copyrights must be able to evaluate and guide their patrons to the most appropriate resources available. An annotated handout listing web site names and URLs for patent, trademark and copyright research will accompany this presentation.
