The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the opening of its newest Concord Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC).
Located at the University of New Hampshire’s School of Law Library, the center has opened to meet the intellectual property (IP) needs of people living and working in the state.
It was designated as the USPTO’s PTRC on January 30th 2012, and has been created to serve as the face of USPTO – the federal trademark body – on a local level.
Under-secretary of commerce for IP and director of the USPTO David Kappos said the new center is designed to “promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship” in New Hampshire.
The PTRC will ensure potential filers have “the resources necessary to draw on for support as they begin their quest for commercial success with their intellectual property”, he stated.
“We look forward to working with the University of New Hampshire School of Law, formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center, to better serve New Hampshire’s IP community,” Mr. Kappos stated.
At present, PTRC-designated libraries can be found in 46 states across the US, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
This network of more than 80 public, academic, state and special libraries offers support to inventors, IP attorneys/agents, businesspeople, researchers, entrepreneurs, students and historians, USPTO stated.
The centers offer free electronic services and resources designed to meet the IP needs and requirements of local and state patrons.
But in addition, the Concord Patent and Trademark Resource Centers employ USPTO-trained librarians to provide customer assistance on the use of the agency’s patent and trademark databases and public seminars on IP topics.
The modern PTRC network has its foundations in the 1800s, when Congress provided printed copies of patents to libraries for use by the public.
USPTO established training support and membership standards for these libraries in 1977.