United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in Arlington, Virginia.
This Website has a summary of requirements for patents and trademarks, a section on frequently asked questions, forms, news and notices from the PTO, a roster of Patent Attorneys and Agents, United States Patent search capabilities, patent law, patent examination procedure, and a wealth of other information related to patents and trademarks.  The current patent searchable data is from January 1, 1976 to the present and is capable of receiving images.  In addition, patents are available by number only (no search engine capability); all the way back to the first U.S. patent, being number X000001 dated July 31, 1790.  See the PTO Website for details.      
www.uspto.gov

 

United States Copyright Office in Washington D.C.
This Website has a summary of copyright basics, frequently asked questions, forms, copyright regulations, copyright registration search records from 1978, and further links to many copyright related Websites.
www.loc.gov/copyright     

 

Government Printing Office in Washington D.C.
This website is a resource to order federal codes, regulations, and all other federal publications with links to many other federal government agencies and to the actual codes,  regulations, etc. www.access.gpo.gov

 

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland and New York, New York.
A branch of the United Nations WIPO primarily creates and administers international treaties for the protection of intellectual property.  The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is probably the best-known treaty that allows for a patent applicant to simultaneously file and start prosecution in many countries at once.  WIPO is also involved with international treaties concerning copyrights, trademarks, electronic commerce, arbitration, and private dispute settlements. 
www.wipo.int

 

European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, Germany and The Hague, Netherlands with subsidiary offices in Berlin, Germany and Vienna Austria.
The European Patent Office is headquartered in Munich accepts applications, conducts searches, examinations, publishes patent applications, oppositions and grants.  World-wide search capabilities exist for most patent abstracts back to 1970, also European patent applications can be searched, with Website link access to many individual country patent office Websites, however not all Websites have English language capability.  As with the USPTO a roster in available for licensed EPO patent practitioners. 
www.european-patent-office.org

 

European Trademark Law (Community Trademark), Office for the Harmonization in the Internal Market.
This organization covers Trademarks and Designs that are applied for to receive European Union coverage and is located in Alicante, Spain. 
www.oami.eu.int 

 

European Union Portal Website.
This site is a good starting point for finding out information on the European Union and has many links to specific countries to help you find out information related to marketing products in Europe. 
www.europa.eu.int

 

Max Plank Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright, and Competition Law.
The institute does research on the effects of international intellectual property law on business and publishes numerous articles in the area.  The institute is located in Munich, Germany.  
www.intellecprop.mpg.de

 

European Patent Institute (epi) in Munich Germany.
An organization representing European Patent Attorneys that distributes information on the European Patenting system, EPO qualifying exams, and various others issues related to the practice of European Patent Law.   
www.patentepi.com

 

International Association for the Protection of Industrial property (AIPPI).
This website is for owners of international intellectual property (IP) rights and provides a forum for networking and review of international laws and treaties and their effect upon international IP rights.  
www.aippi.org

 

United Kingdom (UK) (England) Patent Office in London, England.
Copyrights, Designs, Patents, and Trademarks are granted for the UK.  Information on applications, procedures, and various other services is available.  Also links to many other countries national patent offices are available, keep in mind that not all of these websites have English language availability.
www.patent.gov.uk/ 

 

Swedish Patent and Registration Office in Stockholm, Sweden.
Patents and Trademarks are granted for Sweden.  General information is available on searches, procedures, and resources for patents and trademarks.
www.prv.se 

 

Australian Patent Office in Sydney, Australia.
Patents, Designs, and Trademarks are granted for Australia.  Application information, forms, and other general intellectual property information is available. 
www.aipo.gov.au/  

 

Canadian Intellectual Property Office in Quebec.
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Designs are granted for Canada.  Application information and office procedures are available.  Search capabilities exist for 75 years of Canadian patents and trademarks.
www.cipo.gc.ca 

   

Japanese Patent Office (JPO)  in Tokyo, Japan.
Patents, Trademarks, Designs, and Utility Models are granted for Japan with information relating to applications, and links to Asian intellectual property Websites.
www.jpo.miti.go.jp/

 

Brazilian Industrial Property Office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Patents, Trademarks, Designs, are granted with information on various office procedures.
www.inpi.gov.br    

 

American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) in Arlington, Virginia.
An organization representing lawyers, companies, and other entities involved in patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and other areas related to intellectual property law.  AIPLA distributes publications related to developments in intellectual property and is involved with issues that can affect practitioner and owners of intellectual property.  
www.aipla.org

 

Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) in Washington D.C.
An organization of intellectual property owners in Corporations and Small Businesses and related entities to promote issues in intellectual property of particular interest to the owners of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and related items.  
www.ipo.org 

 

Rocky Mountain Inventors and Entrepreneurs Association (RMIA) in Denver, Colorado.
An organization dedicated to supporting and educating inventors from idea conception to commercialization.  Meetings, conferences, and roundtable discussions are held frequently to exchange information among inventors and related service providers. 
www.rminventor.org

 

Delphion
A patent search database covering the United States, Europe, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), plus German and Japanese abstracts. 
www.delphion.com

 

National Inventor Fraud Center, Inc. in Fargo, North Dakota.
A clearinghouse of information for inventors to be aware of to make informed decisions about using inventor’s services.  This Website contains checklists of questions to ask a service provider prior to using their services and shares prior inventors experiences both good and bad.
www.inventorfraud.com 

 

Inventors Digest Magazine
A magazine oriented toward inventors and deals with an inventors first steps to prototyping, and commercialization.  Inventor’s success stories and various tips from experienced inventors are included. 
www.inventorsdigest.com

 

Intellectual Property Today Magazine
A magazine oriented toward intellectual property law legal practitioners for trends in litigation, law, legal statistics, and the various services available to intellectual property legal practitioners.
www.lawworks-iptoday.com

 

International Trademark Association in New York, New York
An organization of trademark owners to exchange information and educate others on the use and promotion of trademarks to strengthen businesses.
www.inta.org

 

Thomson & Thomson in Washington D.C.
A for charge search service covering trademarks, copyrights, domain names, and infringement watches that has both international and domestic capabilities where searches can be tailored to your requirements.  Searches cover word matches, phonetic matches, variant spellings, and similar marks in a number of databases such as Federal and State applications, IP law citations, and common law sources i.e. phone listings, business directories, domain names, etc. 
www.thomson-thomson.com

 

Stanford University in Stanford, California
Extensive information on copyright law and further links to copyright related websites.  Also information on copyright permission issues and permission exceptions. 
fairuse.stanford.edu

 

The Copyright Website
This website provides copyright information as it relates to the Web and other associated issues. 
www.benedict.com

 

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Marina del Rey, California
Administers domain name / trademark disputes, domain name allocation, and develops policy for address space allocation.   
www.icann.org 

 

Association of University Technology Managers, Inc.
A support and education group for individuals who obtain and manage intellectual property from university research, non-profit institutions, and teaching hospitals.  A wealth of information on launching new products, capital sources, and business incubation. 
www.autm.net

 

Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire
An excellent resource for intellectual property basics and pitfalls to avoid for business owners.  Explanation on the various interrelationships of the many aspects of intellectual property is laid out as well as checklists of questions to answer at the sequential phases of the product conception process.
www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm

 

Bitlaw.
This website is a resource on Internet law as related to intellectual property, with additional information on software patents. 
www.bitlaw.com

 

Patent Café in Yuba City, California
A resource for inventors on clubs, groups, service providers, inventors chat forum, and many other items of interest to inventors.
www.patentcafe.com

 

Thomas Register
This website is an invaluable resource for finding companies and products with key word searching having links to company websites.
www.thomasregister.com

 

Inventors Hall of Fame
This website has biographies of famous inventors who made significant contributions to society and whose products were or are commonly known.
www.invent.org

 

The Patent and Trademark Office Society
This is an organization whose purpose is the improvement of the Patent and Trademark Office systems and procedures. 
www.ptos.org

 

Licensing Executives Society (LES) in Alexandria, Virginia
An organization representing individuals involved in licensing technology and the transferring of intellectual property rights.  LES has publications and conducts training to educate practitioners on the transfer of technology.
www.usa-canada.les.org   (USA and Canada)
www.lesi.org   (International)

 

FindLaw Tech Deals Center  in Mountain View, California
Features more than 300 examples of technology licensing agreements from major companies.  The agreements are indexed and searchable to find an example of a specific type of technology licensing agreement that you are interested in. 
http://techdeals.findlaw.com 

 

Technology Exchange Databases
The following are various Websites that act as technology market places where inventors and other entities can buy and sell various intellectual property rights. 
www.yet2.com
www.techex.com
www.pl-x.com
www.corporateintelligence.com
www.ipresearch.com

 

Small Business Administration (SBA)
This website offers helpful information on all the aspects of starting a business such as getting loans, grants, licenses, tax issues, and writing a business plan, plus much more.
www.sba.gov

 

Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE)
This website partners with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and assists entrepreneurs in developing their businesses by using retired experienced business people who donate their time.  www.score.org

 

Consumer Product Safety Commission  in Washington D.C.
A Federal agency in charge of consumer product safety and publishes data on products concerning defects, safety, and injury. 
www.cpsc.gov

 

American National Standards Institute in Washington D.C.
Information on product warnings and the ability to search all codes and standards applicable to specific products. 
www.ansi.org

 

West Law Group – Legal Information Services
Books on products liability law, go to site and search under “products liability”
www.westgroup.com/documentation

 

Products Liability Insurance
This link goes to American Family Insurance, which can be a starting point for determining your product liability insurance needs. 
www.amfam.com

 

Innovative Consulting Group in Denver, Colorado
An organization dedicated to helping inventors and other entities establish a marketing plan to maximize opportunities for their particular product or service.  Business plan assistance is also is offered  to make professional presentations to potential investors, a separate website is available to exchange inventor-investor offerings, and monthly training seminars are held.
www.biz-consult.com

 

FEDWORLD
This website is sponsored by the Department of Commerce with the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and is a good starting point for finding grants and business related information, regulations, import/export, etc.
www.fedworld.gov

 

Rockies Venture Club is a Denver, Colorado 
This is a networking organization that puts together Investors, entrepreneurs, executives, financial experts, consultants, and attorneys.  Startup companies looking for capital and various service providers give presentations.
www.rockiesventureclub.org

 

GE Equity
A division of General Electric (GE) that invests in growing company’s as an equity partner and offers expertise that GE can give in various areas to businesses. 
www.geequity.com