About the PTRC program - Patent
The Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program manages a nationwide network of academic, public, and state libraries that have been designated a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC). These resource centers provide the public with various trademark and patent assistance.
A primary purpose of the program is to assist and advise inventors and entrepreneurs in researching existing patents as part of their invention's development process; additionally, the PTRC representative at JMU Libraries can connect users to resources regarding patent registration.
This expertise is also readily available to JMU students who may be researching patents for assignments or other class activities.
Patent basics
A patent is a property right granted "to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" an invention in the U.S., or importing the invention into the U.S., according to the language of both the legal statute and the patent grant. This right only excludes, and does not give the right to do any of the above. Enforcing the patent is the responsibility of the inventor/patent owner.
In the U.S., patents are issued at the federal level by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
- Introduction to Patents
A micro-course on patent basics from University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.