PRESS RELEASE Contact: Ruth Nyblod 703-305-8341 ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov December 18, 2002 #02-75 USPTO Enhances Web Site To Assist Independent Inventors E-Government Allows Agency to Reach Out to America’s Innovators The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently updated its Web site (www.uspto.gov) to specifically meet the special needs and interests of independent inventors and entrepreneurs. “How to” brochures, previously available only in paper, are now posted on USPTO Web pages expressly designed for independent inventors. Links to other useful USPTO Web pages, such as the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program and Patent Cooperation Treaty, have been added, as have links to other government agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, each of which have programs and information useful to independent inventors. USPTO’s independent inventor Web site now also has a useful “tip of the month.” “USPTO’s updated independent inventor Web site supports the vision of our 21st Century Strategic Plan to leverage technology to make doing business with the agency easier, faster and more efficient,” noted James E. Rogan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. “Our independent inventor site is particularly valuable to our customers who are not well versed in intellectual property law and the often-complex procedures for protecting their creative works.” In addition to information geared toward independent inventors, USPTO’s Web site offers tools for all users to conduct much of their patent- or trademark-related business electronically. USPTO Web users can conduct a preliminary search of the patent and trademark databases prior to filing an application; review general information, examination manuals, treaties, laws and regulations; and securely apply for a U.S. patent or trademark registration over the Internet. America's independent inventors comprise about 18% of filers with the USPTO. The Inventor Assistance Program Web site is located at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.html. # # #