(c) 1995 Copyright Nando.net
[1](c) 1995 Associated Press
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Nov 17, 1995 - 00:12 EST) -- Computer
users interested in gizmos and other inventions can locate their
patents on the World Wide Web thanks to a North Carolina technology
center.
The Research Triangle-based Microelectronics Center of North Carolina
has typed in 20 years of patent information at a web site.
The free service became available to the public on Monday and soon
will include every abstract approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office since 1976. MCNC plans to update the digital archive monthly.
The MCNC created the archive through a $250,000 government contract.
Up to now, getting patent information was time-consuming and expensive
from private providers or directly from the patent office.
"We'll have a lot of usage," Alan Blatecky, an MCNC vice president,
told The News & Observer of Raleigh. "You can imagine what it'll do to
the whole creative process."
Scientists, engineers and patent lawyers are expected to get the most
use out of the web site, MCNC officials said. Last fall, MCNC built a
database that lets web users prowl through patent documents related to
the treatment of HIV.