Holiday Toys Protected by Patents and Trademarks

With the new Star Wars movie setting attendance records, Star Wars toys are popular gifts during this holiday season. As to be expected, patent and trademark protection was sought when they were created. A sampling of design patents include Boba Fett (D264109), Yoda (D265754), Hoth Stormtrooper (D265332) and Jabba the Hutt (D277211) to name a few.  Trademarks range from film names like the Empire Strikes Back to character names like Luke Skywalker now even used on wine products (Skywalker Vineyards).  

2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees

The National Inventors Hall of Fame has announced the 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, a diverse group of living and deceased groundbreaking scientists whose inventions have made a tangible impact on society. The winners will be formally inducted on May 5, 2016 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
More information is available from http://invent.org/inductees/ or from a CBS news story.

Dossier Access - New USPTO Tool

Announcement from the USPTO:

On November 23, 2015 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the first service for Global Dossier - Dossier Access  a user-friendly online interface, which will make it easier for patent applicants to quickly and easily view, monitor and manage intellectual property (IP) protection worldwide by providing access to the dossiers of related applications filed at participating offices.

Searching Dossier Access allow users to see the patent family for an application as well as related applications filed at member offices (the EPO, JPO, KIPO, SIPO, and the USPTO).  Users can also access documents related to the application(s) as well as classification data and citation data.

Global Dossier is a set of business services aimed at modernizing the global patent system and delivering benefits to all stakeholders through a single portal/user interface. Though Dossier Access, the public will be able to obtain data that is timely, reliable understandable, standardized and of high quality.

The USPTO, in the furtherance of the Global Dossier Initiative, will be continuing to enhance the services of Global Dossier. We have several high priority services that we are currently evaluating, including a mechanism for sharing documents between offices. The business services of Global Dossier are being designed with users in mind and the USPTO will be seeking public input throughout the entire development process. IdeaScale is one of the ways that the USTPO’s Office of International Patent Cooperation (OIPC) will be gathering stakeholder input, feedback, and suggestions on Global Dossier.

For more information about Global Dossier, please visit www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/international-protection/global-dossier-initiative.

Regional USPTO Office in Dallas Opened Nov. 9, 2015

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) opened its fourth regional office on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015 in Dallas, Texas serving Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Located in the Terminal Annex Federal Building in Dallas, the building includes a public search facility, a training room and spaces for conferences with patent examiners. See more information in the USPTO's Nov. 13 blog post (https://www.commerce.gov/…/us-patent-and-trademark-office-o…)
and on the webpage of the Dallas office (http://www.uspto.gov/about-us/uspto-locations/dallas-texas).

Patent and Trademark Searching for Business Owners Webinar

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are offering a free three-day webinar series next week to help business owners, inventors, entrepreneurs, and start-ups understand the value of conducting proper prior patent and trademark searches.

What Will Be Covered:

•   What are patents and trademarks?

•   What are the benefits of patent and trademark searching?

•   What are some of the strategies for conducting a search?

•   What are some of the factors to consider when you conduct a search?

Webinar Topics, USPTO Speakers, and Access Information:

Day 1 – November 17, 1 p.m.  ET – Patent Searching – Gwen Blackwell

Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6dd5325b8a5b560aa7b83a331fa20865

Event number: 995 336 700 Event password: 12345

Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 336 700

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Day 2 - November 18, 1 p.m. ET – Trademark Searching – Catherine Cain

Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e7792abfcd6fb30f104f369217e276d1a  

Event number: 995 724 657 Event password: 12345

Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 724 657

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Day 3 – November 19, 1 p.m. ET – General Town Hall Q&A Session – Anthony Knight and Scott Baldwin

Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3bd93d06f680e2289b81446df670c4cf  

Event number: 991 047 950 Event password: 12345

Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 991 047 950