October 22, 2009

Press Release, 09-24

USPTO Names Connecticut Library to Support Intellectual Property Needs of Inventors and Entrepreneurs

Ryan-Matura Library of Sacred Heart University Designated a Patent and Trademark Depository Library

 

WASHINGTON -- The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office today announced the designation of the Ryan-Matura Library of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., as a Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL). PTDLs maintain complete collections of over 8 million patents and nearly 2 million active or pending trademark registrations, as well as other related information in various print and electronic media to support the diverse intellectual property needs of the public.  This designation restores PTDL services to the State of Connecticut and will assist those businesses, innovators and inventors who are trying to get the patents and trademarks they need to bring new products to the marketplace and in turn create American jobs. 

“Even though the great majority of patent and trademark information is available electronically, the PTDL at Sacred Heart University will be of great value to its patrons in helping them know what to look for and how to use it,” noted Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos.

A grand opening celebration will be held at the library in Fairfield on October 26.

USPTO’s patent and trademark depository library program is a nationwide network of public, state, special, and academic libraries authorized to disseminate patent and trademark information and to support inventors, intellectual property attorneys and agents, business people, researchers, entrepreneurs, students, historians and the general public who are not able to come to USPTO's offices in Alexandria, Va. Services at the libraries are free, and include assistance in accessing and using patent and trademark documents, training on USPTO databases, obtaining access to the USPTO Web site, and hosting public seminars on intellectual property topics for novice and experienced innovators.

The patent and trademark depository library program began in 1871 when federal law first provided for the distribution of printed patents to libraries for use by the public. The addition of the Ryan-Matura Library to the PTDL network makes a total of 82 libraries located in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A list of all the current libraries can be found on USPTO's Web site at www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl/.

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