ARE 306: Agricultural Law

U.S. Patents

Inventors fully describe their invention to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in exchange for a time-limited exclusive right to manufacture or sell their invention. The information in these disclosures becomes public knowledge and is available electronically from the Patent and Trademark Office.

The USPTO also administers a nationwide network of public, state and academic libraries designated as Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries authorized by 35 U.S.C. 12 to:
Disseminate Patent and Trademark Information.
Support Diverse Intellectual Property Needs of the Public.
The NCSU Libraries is one of those libraries. The collection of patents in the D.H. Hill Library dates back to 1790 and includes more than 7.2 million documents (July 2007). The library's holdings are described on these pages: NCSU Libraries Patent and Trademark Depository Library

Until recently being a Patent Depository Library was pretty exclusive. Our library was the only place between Richmond and Atlanta with such a collection, but now a great deal of patent literature is available on the Internet.

USPTO Web Patent Database: This Patent Office web site has the full text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790.

Independent Inventor Resources: General information about patents and resources for the independent inventor are available from this Patent Office's web site.

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