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USPTO and NIST Unveil New IP Awareness Assessment Tool

01-Apr-2012 | Source : | Visits : 8833

WASHINGTON - The US Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) unveiled a new web-based IP Awareness Assessment Tool designed to help manufacturers, small businesses, entrepreneurs and independent inventors easily assess their knowledge of intellectual property (IP). According to the USPTO, the tool is available on USPTO’s website at http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/assessment/.

“This Administration is committed to supporting innovative business tools, which help drive US technological leadership worldwide and support a 21st century economy that is built to last,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, David Kappos. “The IP Awareness Assessment Tool will help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality and bring them to market faster, thereby creating jobs more quickly, too.”

“Understanding and protecting IP is an important part of the process of bringing innovations to the market place,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher. “We hope this new tool will be useful for companies and individuals helping them to create value and be more globally competitive.”

Intellectual property is a key concern of small businesses owners, who can secure significant competitive advantages by exercising the rights they hold to their innovations. However, many individuals are often unaware of their rights and miss the opportunities they can provide. USPTO and NIST MEP developed the IP Awareness Assessment Tool as a way to help educate innovators about these rights.

The tool enables users to measure and increase their awareness of IP issues, relevant to their creative projects and business goals. Users answer a comprehensive set of questions regarding IP, after which the tool provides a set of training resources tailored to specifically identified needs.

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