1. WIPO 7th Annual Forum on IP and SMEs for IP Offices and Others in OECD Countries Geneva, September 14-15, THEME 2: Marketing Activities and Services of IP Offices and Innovation-Related Institutions on Effective IP Asset Management for the Improved Competitiveness of Business and Industry: New and Improved Programs and Services of IP Offices and Innovation Institutions for Supporting the Business Use of IP Assets
Susan Anthony, Attorney-Advisor
Office of Intellectual Property Policy
and Enforcement
United States Patent and Trademark Office

2. STOP: Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (and Counterfeiting, Too!)
Just what is STOP? Simply stated, the STOP Initiative protects U.S. businesses and consumers from fake goods.
STOP is the most comprehensive initiative ever advanced to fight global piracy where it starts, block bogus goods at America’s borders, and help American businesses secure and enforce their rights around the world.
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3. So…the Problem IS Serious!
The Five-Point Plan under STOP –
Empower U.S. innovators to better protect their rights at home and abroad.
Increase efforts to seize counterfeit and pirated goods at our borders.
Pursue criminal enterprises involved in counterfeiting and piracy.
Aggressively engage our trading partners to join our efforts.
Work closely and creatively with U.S. industry.
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4. Inventors’ Assistance Program
The USPTO Inventor’s Assistance Program reaches out to inventors and entrepreneurs to educate the public about the importance of intellectual property by hosting educational conferences, creating and posting computer based training modules, and posting podcasts on the I-tunes system.
The USPTO also conducts periodic live on-line chats, has a mailbox for inventor questions, and a toll-free number to answer questions. There also is an Inventors Resource page within the USPTO web site with "plain language" content for the public. Computer-based training has been added; see, e.g.,
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5. Inventors Assistance Center
The USPTO Inventors Assistance Center (IAC) provides patent information and services to the public. The IAC is staffed by former Supervisory Patent Examiners and experienced Primary Examiners who answer general questions concerning patent examining policy and procedure. The IAC answers general questions about filing a patent application and can assist with filling out forms. The Center also provides general information concerning rules, procedures, and fees and send patenting information via mail or facsimile or snail mail.
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6. The USPTO China Road Shows
The USPTO offers China intellectual property-focused programs in various cities throughout the U.S. and, in 2009, the program was expanded to include intellectual property issues relating to India. These programs are directed to small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that either are in these countries or are thinking about going to these countries or, for that matter, any SME – because many are not aware of the threat of IP theft from other countries and how surreptitiously it can occur.
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7. IPAC or IP Basics Program
The USPTO has offered programs focusing on intellectual property “basics” including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, domain names, and copyright protection and enforcement, within the U.S. and abroad, in various cities throughout the U.S. These programs are directed to small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), which often lack the resources that are available to larger companies. The USPTO conducted a survey in 2005 showing that only 15 per cent of the SMEs surveyed understood that a U.S. patent or trademark is good only in the U.S.
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8. IPAC or IP Basics Program (continued)
The USPTO also offers these programs, on request, in a web-based seminar format that can be tailored to the intellectual property issues most critical to the requesting organization and also can include training by hypothetical business case studies.
The USPTO offers educational training to minority-owned businesses
through its Memorandum of Understanding with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and
to Native American artists and craftspeople through its work with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), Department of Interior.
Additionally, the USPTO provides speakers on the full range of intellectual property issues, domestic and international, upon request.
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9. The USPTO-NIST Training Project
The USPTO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provide Intellectual Property (IP) training events for the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network of MEP Centers in the U.S.
Training has include “basics” as well as more advanced topics in areas such as supply chain management, intellectual property (IP) licensing, and IP portfolio management. MEP Center staff also participated in a 5-part web-based seminar series on IP basics.
The knowledge provided by these workshops is being used by MEP Center staff who work directly with SME clients.  MEP provides hands-on assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in all fifty states and Puerto Rico, and the MEP Centers interact with over 30,000 SMEs each year.
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10. Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs)
The Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) are a nationwide network of public, state and academic libraries that are designated to disseminate patent and trademark information and to support the diverse intellectual property needs of the public.
Using the collections of a PTDL with the help of a trained librarian, an SME may be able to determine if someone else has already patented the invention or obtained a federal registration (or has a pending application) for a trademark on goods or services similar to that which the business is seeking to use.
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11. STOPFakes.gov HOTLINE
The USPTO manages a hotline ( HALT) that helps small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) leverage U.S. government resources to protect their intellectual property rights in the United States and abroad. Members of the general public also use the hotline for assistance in notifying right holders about counterfeit or pirated goods. In FY 2008, the Hotline received 1,289 calls, including calls regarding counterfeiting and piracy concerns with respect to China and other countries.
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12. STOPFakes.gov Website
The Commerce Department also maintains the website, which provides in-depth information about the STOP initiative and contains a downloadable copy of the government brochure, “Protect Your Intellectual Property: Stop Trade in Fakes!”.
A key feature of the website is the country-specific “toolkits” – 16 to date - that have been created by our overseas embassies to assist SMEs to understand the business environment and how to protect and enforce their rights in a particular country.
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13. STOPFakes.gov Website
The USPTO maintains a site specifically for small business at
Another key feature on the site is the 1.5 hour web-based “SME IP Training Tutorial”, developed by Commerce, the USPTO, and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
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14. STOPFakes.gov Website
The STOPFakes.gov site also contains the following useful information:
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs Recordation Tool (for recording US registered trademarks and copyright)
Information about the “International IPR Advisory Program” with the American Bar Association (ABA) (1-hour FREE consultation with expert attorney) for certain countries
GAO Report, “Experts’ Advice for Small Businesses Seeking Foreign Patents”, which also can be located at
Commerce China IPR Web-based Seminars– a series of 1 ½ - 2 hour web-based seminars, archived and available 24/7, on a wide range of intellectual property issues related to China as well as to general intellectual property topics such as conducting IP valuation and audits, best practices for managing trademark portfolios, and domain name squatting.
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15. USPTO Roster of Patent Attorneys/Agents
The USPTO maintains a roster of both patent attorneys and patent agents who are registered to practice before the USPTO. Only attorneys or agents who are registered to practice before the USPTO are permitted to file and prosecute patent applications on behalf of others. This roster includes listings that can be searched by geographical area.
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16. Trademark Assistance Center
The USPTO site contains considerable information on the trademark searching, prosecution and maintenance process.
The USPTO Trademark Assistance Center maintains a toll-free telephone number.
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17. The One-Stop-Shop Initiative
The Obama Administration recently announced a “one-stop shop” initiative to streamline government bureaucracy and bring services directly to the businesses and entrepreneurs. The new initative, announced by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in June, will integrate department programs that can assist businesses at nearly every point of their life cycle. Commerce is in the process of assembling an interdisciplinary team from across Commerce’s varied agencies – including, e.g., the USPTO - to support this initiative.
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18. THANK YOU! Any questions or comments – Susan Anthony, Attorney-Advisor
Office of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement (OIPPE)
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
(571) or (571)
11/23/2018