All units of the NYPL will be closed July 4.
United States Patent and Trademark Office The USPTO's web page offers excellent information on all aspects of patents and trademarks, including patent and trademark searching, fee schedules, online versions of their most popular brochures, forms, and background information on patents and trademarks.
Patent and Trademark Resource Centers Libraries throughout the country - including NYPL (currently at SIBL) - which in partnership with the USPTO provide access to U.S. patent and trademark resources, training and assistance, to the public. Formerly known as the Patent and Tradermark Library system, NYPL has participated in this Congress-created program since 1870.
United States Patent Information: A Guide to NYPL's Collections
International Patent Information: A Guide to NYPL's Collections
Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) - The free online search tool available from the USPTO website. Search words, phrases and designs.
Design Search Code Manual - This online manual allows users to translate a logo, drawing, or graphic into design codes that can then be used to search for other trademarks with similar or identical designs in them.
Trademark Official Gazette (TMOG) - This weekly online publication presents all trademarks as they are "Published for Opposition" including all bibliographic information about each trademark -- serial number, mark, owner name(s), international class of goods and services -- as well as a black and white image of the trademark. The Official Gazette also lists those trademarks that have been registered that week and gives notices concerning regulations and expirations. Received by the library in paper through February 22, 2005 (call numbers: *VAB (United States. Patent Office. Official gazette) [1872-1975], *VAB (United States. Patent Office. Official gazette) [1976-1995] and *R-SIBL T223.A [1996-February 22, 2005])
Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) - Find additional information about live and dead registrations. Note: the US Serial or Registration number for a mark is required to search this database.
Not all trademarks are registered with the USPTO. Some trademarks are registered with the state where the trademark is being used. Others are not registered at all.
State Trademark Registrations
State Trademark Registration Links (from USPTO)
For New York, contact the Miscellaneous Records Unit of the Department of State’s Division of Corporations which can do a search for you; the telephone number is 518-474-4770.
Resources for Searching Unregistered Marks
Brands and Their Companies
Companies and Their Brands
These titles link brand names with their companies and company addresses. They can be accessed through NYPL's databases Gale Directory Library and Business Insights: Essentials. Both resources are available outside the library with a library card.Advertising Red Books This set of books lists advertisers (i.e. companies who advertise) and their advertising agencies. The index volume includes a Tradename Index and is an excellent source of trademarks that lists both the owner of the trademark and the advertising agency that handles the account. This sources is good for both US and foreign trademarks. Also available as:
Advertising Red Books Online (EIC) This electronic version of the Standard Directory of Advertisers allows you to search by product name. It retrieves both the owner of the trademark and the advertising agency that handles the account. It is good for both US and foreign trademarks.
ThomasNet.com
Food and Beverage Marketplace (formerly Thomas Food Industry Register)
These sources list products and their manufacturers and allow you to search by product name.
Other resources for searching for trademarks: Use your favorite search engine (e.g., Google). Use catalogs and directories specific to the industry or product line you are interested in. These types of sources may include products whose trademarks are not registered with the USPTO, but with a state trademark office or a foreign government.
Books you can borrow:
Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business and Product Name, by Stephen Elias (see our blog post discussing this book)
Patent, Copyright & Trademark, by Richard Stim (see our blog post discussing this book)
A Trademark Guide for Entrepreneurs, by Robert E. Lee : 346.7304 L
Reference books (Request from the B. Altman Delivery Desk):
Defending Your Brand Against Imitation: Consumer Behavior, Marketing Strategies, and Legal Issues, by Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky : JBD 95-421
A Practical Guide to Copyrights and Trademarks, by Frank H. Andorka : JBD 99-1145
How to Get Your Own Trademark, by Ted Nicholas : JBF 99-1388
Trademark: How to Name a Business & Product, by Kate McGrath : JBF 98-458
Historical Trademark Indexes (in paper format):
The Directory of U.S. Trademarks : JBM 02-437 -- This multi-volume set indexes registered US trademarks alphabetically by each word in the mark, and by the international class of goods and services. No images are included. The 1999 edition is the last one available, and indexes trademarks through 1998.
The Trademark Index of US Patents & Trademark Office Federal Records : JBM 97-59 -- This publication lists all the registered trademarks that include particular words. It does not included trademarks that consist of a design only. The 1998 edition is the last one available.
Index of US Trademarks:
Index of Trademarks Issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office -- 1974-1998 : JSM 97-150 (Also available in GPO Microfiche)
Index of Trademarks Issued from the United States Patent Office -- 1927-1973 : *VCC (U.S. Patent Office. Index of trade-marks issued from the United States Patent Office) and JSM 97-134
This annual publication of the US Patent and Trademark Office lists all of the registered trademarks current for the year of publication.
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) : This official manual is produced by the US Patent and Trademark Office and details all of the procedures used by trademark examiners when dealing with trademark applications. It is a good source for precise requirements of the trademark application process. Past editions (from the 4th) are available on the USPTO website. Paper versions of earlier editions may be available at NYPL.
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP) : This manual provides applicants with basic information useful for litigating cases before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual) : The ID Manual lists identifications of goods and services and their respective classifications that the USPTO examining attorneys will accept without further inquiry if the specimens of record support the identification and classification.
Trademark Practice Throughout the World, by Mary M. Squyres : *R-SIBL K1555.4 .S69 (Open Shelf at SIBL)
Trademark Law: A Practitioner's Guide, by Siegrun D. Kane : *R-SIBL KF3180.K362a (Open Shelf at SIBL)
Guide to Registering Trademarks, by Steven H. Bazerman : *R-SIBL KF3181 .B39 (Open Shelf at SIBL)
Likelihood Of Confusion In Trademark Law, by Richard L. Kirkpatrick : JBF 02-61 (Request from B. Altman Delivery Desk)
SIBL has a large collection of historical foreign and international trademarks and trademark gazettes. Those in gazette, i.e., abstract of the trademark registration, are primarily available on paper. Due to the fragile condition of some of the older paper copies, an archival photocopy may need to be made of these sources before photocopying is permitted by the public.
Revised and Updated, 2-2013 KJ
July. NYPL Art and Architecture Collection.
One of 700,000 pictures in the NYPL Digital Gallery
