Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs) are a nationwide network of public, state and academic libraries that are designated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to disseminate patent and trademark information and to support the diverse intellectual property needs of the public.
The Arkansas State Library is the only designated PTRC for the state of Arkansas. Our patent librarians work closely with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA and the USPTO Texas Regional Office in Dallas, TX. Staff also collaborate with the United States Small Business Administration, various divisions within the Arkansas Department of Commerce, and the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center to promote awareness of intellectual property rights and help facilitate entrepreunership and small business development within Arkansas.
Services Available
Reference staff is happy to answer questions and provide training to inventors, businesses, attorneys and their staff or other interested persons with their U.S. patent or trademark issues.
Our USPTO-trained reference staff provide the following materials and services:
- Access to Patent Public Search;
- Information about the application process and fee schedule;
- Directory of local patent attorneys licensed to practice before the USPTO;
- Demonstrations of how to use search tools to conduct a patent or trademark search;
- Access the core patent collection, including comprehensive coverage of the official patent and trademark gazettes and indexes.
- Access to supplemental research materials, including legislative histories, treatises, documents, and other publications relating to copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
Reference staff also provides assistance and information about Arkansas trademarks.
Contact the Information Services unit during business hours at (501) 682-2053, or anytime via online form.
USPTO Resources
- Directory of attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; searchable by state, name, and address.
- Patent Pro Bono Program: includes information and eligibility requirements about the Pro bono program, a nationwide network of independently operated regional programs that match volunteer patent professionals with financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses for the purpose of securing patent protection.
Patents
- USPTO Web Patent Database: provides full-text of all U.S. patents issued since January 1, 1976, and images and PDFs of every patent issued since 1790.
- General Information Concerning Patents: provides information about the application process and granting of patents, including answers to frequently asked questions.
- Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP): USPTO Patent Examiners’ guide to examination practice.
- How to Conduct a Preliminary U.S. Patent Search: A Step by Step Strategy: video tutorial (36 minutes).
- Multi-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy: outlines USPTO’s suggested procedure for patent searching.
Trademarks
- Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS): provides access to the same trademark databaseused by examining attorneys at the USPTO.
- Basic Facts About Trademarks: includes forms and instructions for filing applications to register trademarks and service marks.
- Developing an Effective Federal Trademark Search Strategy: outlines USPTO’s suggested procedure for trademark searching.
- Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP): USPTO Trademark Examiners’ guide to examination practice.
- Trademark Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual: index of goods and services identified by International class.
- International Schedule of Classes of Goods and Services: International trademark classification and the headings of the international trademark classes.
