PRESS RELEASE Contact: Ruth Nyblod 703-305-8341 ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov October 3, 2002 #02-63 COMPLETE COLLECTION OF U.S. PATENTS NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD-ROM USAPat’s 200 years of patented technology is one of the world’s largest collections of information on DVD-ROM The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) now offers the complete collection of U.S. patents on DVD-ROM discs. USAPat, as the collection is known, provides images of over 6.5 million patent grants issued from 1790 through today. “This collection provides a unique snapshot of the first two centuries of American technology and is an especially significant accomplishment during the bicentennial year of the United States Patent and Trademark Office,” noted Under Secretary James E. Rogan. “This milestone is the latest example of the USPTO’s ongoing commitment to improving quality and productivity by offering our products and services in user-friendly, cost-effective, state-of-the-art electronic formats.” In 2000, the USPTO began storing new patent grants on DVD-ROM to make it possible for the 3,500 patents issued each week to fit on just one disc rather than four to six CD-ROMS. At the same time, the agency undertook a monumental project to put the full text and drawings of all U.S. patents granted from 1790 through 1999 on DVD-ROM. Now complete, the entire back file collection of patent images fits on just 423 discs. Completion of this project ensures continued public access to U.S. patents in the event of interrupted online service. It also reduces the cost of supplying patents to other intellectual property offices around the world. For more information on USAPat and other optical disc products, see the USPTO Web site at: : http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/catalog/products/cassis.htm. # # #