PRESS RELEASE #00-14 February 29, 2000 CONTACT: Brigid Quinn Kim Byars 703-305-8341 PTO INTRODUCES NEW TRADEMARK ELECTRONIC SEARCH SYSTEM The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is proud to announce Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), another addition to the agency’s e-commerce initiatives. TESS allows the public to search and retrieve, for free via an Internet browser, the 2.6 million plus pending, registered, abandoned, cancelled or expired trademark records found in PTO’s X-Search system. PTO’s X-Search is the same database and search system used by PTO’s examining attorneys for examination of trademark applications. TESS is slated to replace the online trademark search database that PTO made available to the public in August 1998. In order to provide an easy transition, both search systems will run parallel until at least March 14, 2000. The previous online trademark search database was updated with new information only every two months. The TESS system is updated five times per week. For the first time, the public will have access within 24 hours of entry to the same trademark data as the PTO’s examining attorneys. The PTO is the Commerce Department’s user fee-funded bureau that administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks; advises the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the Administration on patent, trademark and copyright protection; and advises the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the Administration on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property. Over 6 million patents have been issued since the first patent in 1790. Last year PTO issued 161,000 patents and registered 104,000 trademarks. # # #