(L to R) Karen Kitchens, WSL State Publications Librarian; Molly Kocialski, USPTO Rocky Mountain Region Office Director; and Rebecca Fritchman, USPTO Outreach Adviser.
The Wyoming State Library welcomed visitors Friday from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Denver.
Molly Kocialski, Director of the USPTO Rocky Mountain Region Office in Denver, and Rebecca Fritchman, Outreach Adviser, stopped by to see the WSL’s Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) as well as the rest of the library. Both were on their way up to Torrington for Sen. Mike Enzi’s Inventors Conference, held October 21.
State Publications Librarian Karen Kitchens, who manages the PTRC, gave them a tour. Both Molly and Rebecca said that Wyoming’s collection was one of the best they had ever seen. The PTRC is a valuable resource for businesses, researchers, students, teachers, historians, and inventors. The WSL’s collection includes:
- Patents issued from 1790 to present;
- Patent applications published since March 15, 2001;
- Pending and registered trademarks from 1871;
- PubWEST (Web-based Examiner’s Search Tool), a USPTO database for use by patent examiners;
- USPTO documents; and
- Commercial publications to assist with the patent and trademarking process.
In addition, the State Library maintains the Wyoming Inventors Database, part of its Digital Collection Suite. This resource catalogs U.S. patents from Wyoming inventors. Each record is linked to the USPTO website.
The WSL has reference librarians available to assist patrons with patent and trademark questions. Our librarians can help with using the resources, but they can’t offer legal opinions or interpretations of law, nor can they conduct patent searches.
Questions about patents and trademarks or about using the PTRC? Contact Karen at karen.kitchens@wyo.gov or (307) 777-7281.