« Violating Someone Else’s Patent | Main | Clear Writing Is A Key To Good Patent Drafting »
August 30, 2005
Information on Invention Assistance Companies
Our US Patent Office may endure plenty of criticism, but it does provide many services that are underutilized.
Not the least of which is the very informative, well written, and well presented site www.stopfakes.gov, which contains a plethora of information about all forms of intellectual property, especially targeted at small businesses.
For the small business owner, and any business manager for that matter, knowing how to use intellectual property effectively can greatly increase the bottom line.
The second thing that is greatly underutilized by the general public is the direct customer service offered to the public at large. I have called the PTO on many occasions with questions about how to tackle a problem or to get the status of an application. I have almost without exception been greeted on the phone by someone who knows the subject and can help me. Sometimes there is a hold time, but often I am able to get right through to a live, knowledgeable, and helpful human being.
This is in sharp contrast with many companies, like my satellite TV provider or my cellular phone provider, each of which have kept me on hold for 30 minutes, only to pass me on to some other hold queue for another 30 minutes to speak with someone who can actually help.
When you take a step back and look at the big picture, the PTO has actively made progress in being an approachable and helpful resource to the community at large. The recent release of the website is one excellent step along that path.
Posted by krajec at August 30, 2005 06:39 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.krajec.com/mt/mt-tb.pl/182