The Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) at Texas A&M University is located in the R.C. Barclay Reference and Retailing Resources Center on the first floor of the Business Library & Collaboration Commons. The PTRC provides access to:
While PTRC staff do not conduct patent searches, we can provide instruction on the search process to individuals, groups, and classes. Appointments are recommended. To make an appointment or to learn more, please call 979-845-2111.
Alternatively, you may contact either of the following directly for assistance:
p-melgoza@tamu.edu or 979-458-2197
wharris@tamu.edu or 979-862-2156
The Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program was established in 1871 to make printed patents available to the American public. Today, the overwhelming majority of patent and trademark information is available electronically and the mission of making it easier to find is carried on by a network of approximately 85 academic, public, state, and special libraries across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. There are six PTRCs in Texas. The Texas A&M University Libraries has participated in the PTRC Program since December 22, 1983.
Texas A&M University Libraries reference staff assistance with patent and trademark searches will extend no further than providing instruction in the use of various patent and trademark search tools available in the division. Please note that the library staff is strictly prohibited from interpreting intellectual property law, offering legal advice or opinions, performing patentability and trademark searches for users, or providing advice on how to file a patent or trademark application. Users shall not infer from any assistance provided by the reference staff any conclusion concerning the patentability of any invention or design or the validity of any trademark. Furthermore, the reference staff is not permitted to provide opinions on the effectiveness of a searcher's efforts to identify a field of search, nor may they give advice or opinion pertaining to the specifics of the technology the searcher is examining.
All patent and trademark searches done in Texas A&M University Libraries are preliminary, not exhaustive. Many other steps are required to perform an exhaustive search, such as the examination of foreign and international patent documents and the review of scientific literature. In the case of trademark searches, exhaustive literature searches need to be done on both compact disc and online databases. Again, as with patent searches, the types of searches done at Texas A&M University Libraries are preliminary, not exhaustive. Users who wish further assistance will be directed to listings for registered patent attorneys and agents who have specialized knowledge and experience in predicting patentability and/or the ability of term and/or slogan to be trademarked.
Approved by the Texas A&M University System Legal Counsel for use by the College Station Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC), September 8, 1995, Updated November 27, 2002.
