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A U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center will open at Durango Public Library on Tuesday.
Library Director Sandy Irwin said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was interested in opening a resource center in Durango because the nearest one is in Denver. Resource centers are also located in Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“If you look at a map of resource centers, there’s this big void, and we fill it,” Irwin said.
At the center, visitors can access specialized databases on two computers that offer specific information about existing patents and trademarks that help them prepare applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect their own ideas, Irwin said. The library has six staff members who can help visitors learn to use the databases.
“We have a lot of creative people, not only in La Plata County but throughout the region, and Fort Lewis College is an incredible educational center that I think will find this as a valuable resource,” Irwin said.
Collection librarian Donna Arment trained with officials from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and she will oversee Durango’s Patent and Trademark Resource Center. Those who wish to use the databases can use one of the library’s private study spaces. Anyone can make an appointment to use the databases by calling or visiting the library.
Several workshops with officials from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, are planned for Tuesday and registration for the workshops has been extended until Monday.
The workshop schedule includes:
9:15-10:30 a.m.: An Overview of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets.10:45 to noon: Conducting Preliminary Federal Trademark Search Using USPTO Website.1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Seven-Step Strategy for Preliminary U.S. Patent Search Using USPTO Databases. 2:45 to 3:15 p.m.: Non-USPTO Solicitations and Invention Promotion Scams: Asking the Right Questions. 3:15-4:15 p.m.: A local panel for resources on patent and trademark issues with Ken Freudenberg, an intellectual property attorney; Ryan Finnigan, co-founder of the Maker Lab at the Powerhouse Science Center; Mark Radtke, assistant regional director for the Rocky Mountain Regional Patent and Trademark Office in Denver; John Wolgamott, president of StoneAge Inc.; and Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of La Plata Economic Development Alliance.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
9:15-10:30 a.m.: An Overview of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets.10:45 to noon: Conducting Preliminary Federal Trademark Search Using USPTO Website.1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Seven-Step Strategy for Preliminary U.S. Patent Search Using USPTO Databases. 2:45 to 3:15 p.m.: Non-USPTO Solicitations and Invention Promotion Scams: Asking the Right Questions. 3:15-4:15 p.m.: A local panel for resources on patent and trademark issues with Ken Freudenberg, an intellectual property attorney; Ryan Finnigan, co-founder of the Maker Lab at the Powerhouse Science Center; Mark Radtke, assistant regional director for the Rocky Mountain Regional Patent and Trademark Office in Denver; John Wolgamott, president of StoneAge Inc.; and Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of La Plata Economic Development Alliance.
If you go
A welcoming and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Tuesday to introduce the new patent and trademark center at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave. Opening remarks will be made at 9 a.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 4:40 p.m. and will include an hors d’oeuvres and beverage reception.
