Baltimore, MD

We’ve had an uptick in members of the public coming to our library. Most are content with instruction on using the PTO website, but we have signed people onto PubWest as well. The most exciting event of the year for was that I was able to attend the Independent Inventors Conference at the PTO in November. It was fascinating to go beyond the world of patent searching and learn about other aspects of patenting an invention: marketing, evaluating the viability of a patent, claims drafting, working with your patent practitioner, and case studies of successful and unsuccessful inventors. Each day included a presentation by a successful independent inventor, which was fascinating and inspirational. My motivation for attending was to get ideas and make contacts in hopes of putting on a conference for independent inventors myself (albeit on a much smaller scale).