Webinars, Nov. 17-19, Patent and Trademark Searching for Business Owners

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are offering a free three-day webinar series next week to help business owners, inventors, entrepreneurs, and start-ups understand the value of conducting proper prior patent and trademark searches. The webinars will cover:

• What are patents and trademarks?
• What are the benefits of patent and trademark searching?
• What are some of the strategies for conducting a search?
• What are some of the factors to consider when you conduct a search?

Webinar Topics, USPTO Speakers, and Access Information:

Day 1 – November 17, 1 p.m. ET – Patent Searching – Gwen Blackwell
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6dd5325b8a5b560aa7b83a331fa20865
Event number: 995 336 700 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 336 700
________________________________________
Day 2 - November 18, 1 p.m. ET – Trademark Searching – Catherine Cain
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e7792abfcd6fb30f104f369217e276d1a
Event number: 995 724 657 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 995 724 657
________________________________________ Day 3 – November 19, 1 p.m. ET – General Town Hall Q&A Session – Anthony Knight and Scott Baldwin
Join online at https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3bd93d06f680e2289b81446df670c4cf
Event number: 991 047 950 Event password: 12345
Join audio conference only: Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 Access code: 991 047 950

OpenBeta.USAspending.gov

According to a November 10, 2015 blog post, The United States Department of the Treasury in November 2015 launched OpenBeta.USAspending.gov to seek user input on the design changes to the USASpending.gov site to be completed in 2017. Although USASpending.gov, mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, is currently functioning and provides access to information on how tax dollars are spent, the beta site allows the American public a chance to review, test, and provide feedback about what changes should be made to the site.

Veterans History Sites

As we thank veterans for their service on Veteran's Day, sometimes it's hard to imagine what they went through. Several sites make that imagining easier. The most comprehensive site is the Veterans History Project from the Library of Congress. It makes available personal narratives, correspondence and visual materials of American war veterans from World War I beginning in 1914 through the Iraq War, 2003-2011. Sites concentrating on specific wars also exist. For World War II, the Atlantic Magazine has created a stunning photo gallery including military and civilian photos, while the University of Miami has made available WWII posters encouraging support of the war effort. Texas Tech University has created the Vietnam Center and Archive which includes photographs, slides, maps, periodicals, audio, moving images, and books related to the Vietnam War, Indochina, and the impact of the war on the United States and Southeast Asia.