Cleveland Public Library’s PTRC is located in the Science & Technology Dept. We have 5 staff that can assist with IP: Don Boozer, Rose Mary Hoge, Elvira Baron, Peter London, and Jim Bettinger, PTRC Representative. There are 3 capable staff in Government Documents Dept. that assist with IP as well: Sarah Dobransky, Alea Lytle, and Erick Walker. The Science & Technology Dept. has 4 machines with 24” monitors that access PubWEST and PubEAST, and Government Documents Dept. has one. Our institutional archivist Annmarie Wieland found evidence of the library receiving patent documents in the 1880s. Official designation as a Patent Depository Library came in 1890.
The PTRC in Cleveland had a momentous year. Jim Bettinger completed his Fellowship at PTRC Office in July. Special thanks and appreciation to Chris Kitchens!! He was the 28th Fellow. During his year there, Jim visited PTRCs in Atlanta, San Antonio, New York, and Smithtown. He presented twice at Seminar 39. Walt Johnson, representative from Minneapolis, was prescient when he advised Jim that “everyone at the library will refer to you as the ‘patent guy’ from now on.” Jim enjoyed the training programs available at USPTO, especially Patent Examining For the Non-Examiner (PEFNE), and the trademark and trade dress topics and discussions with Rob Berry, Neil Massong, Daphne Joseph, Tiffany Mair, and Spruce Fraser in the PTRC Office. It was an honor to witness Tom Turner’s daily humble professionalism, and wish him well in retirement. Jim wants to thank LaTonya Suggs for her unique contributions to the PTRC program. Anthony Wilkinson is a valued member of the PTRC staff.
Jim had a presentation request for the library’s leadership, but passing the tax levy bumped the presentation. (Levy passed, with 69% of the vote!)
Jim had requests to present from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s Lerner Research Institute and, with Sarah Dobransky, at the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries meeting at Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) School of Law. We have also had an increase in walk-in customers.
By far the biggest time commitment has been for the CWRU’s IP Venture Clinic (IPVC) and think[box]. The IPVC will house the Patent Pro Bono program. The library is working on the possibility of allowing Jim time to teach a patent search class, either at the Law School for the IPVC law students or remotely. Think[box] is the largest open-access innovation center at any university in the world – a 7-story building that has a full woodshop, metal shop, 3d printers, and more.
Jim offers Trademark Searching and Advanced Patent Searching as classes for the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association twice annually. The Trademark Searching class is held once a week, for 4 weeks, one hour per week. The class starts with the basic search of TESS and the continuum of distinctiveness in week one, proceeds to the structured search of TESS and coordinated class in week 2, free form search of TESS and the Design Search Code in week 3, and culminates with WIPO’s Global Brand Database in week 4.
The Advanced Patent Searching class meets once a week for 3 weeks, one hour per week. Week one is a demonstration of PubWEST with Boolean and proximity operators, PubEAST intro in week 2 using the same Boolean and proximity operators, and further explanations of PubEAST in week 3 with emphasis on creating a list with forward and backward citations.