Non-Profit Associations

National Intellectual Property Researchers Association. 2000. NIPRA. 28 Aug. 2008 http://www.nipra.org/.

The National Intellectual Property Researchers Association is a site that really surprised me. I was amazed at the amount of work this site does, especially for a non-profit organization. Their site states that they work each day to "have rapid and unhindered access to patent and trademark information, and that the information the USPTO disseminates be of the highest possible accuracy, reliability and retrievability". They act as a watch dog of the government and their handling of the field of intellectual property law. They review patent, trademark and copyright filings each day. They are an interesting source because of the amount of research they do on the field. The NIPRA is a site to check out for sure.

World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO. 28 Aug. 2008 http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en.

Talk about a site with some variety! The World Intellectual Property Organization is a by-product of the United Nations and its goal is "developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest". This site includes a great deal of information about international treaties between countries as well as background information about intellectual property law. This site also offers a great deal of news and event information pertaining to the field, as well as training databases to teach people about the uses of intellectual property and how to protect your own work.