Title: USPTO Toolbar
Author: David J. Stein, Esq.
Version: 1.1
Written: Fall, 2004


Abstract: This plug-in for Microsoft Internet Explorer is designed to provide rapid access to documents from the database of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). The application comprises a simple toolbar add-in for the browser; the user may type the serial number of a patent or patent application into the toolbar to view a particular document. The toolbar also accepts standard query strings used to search the database (e.g., "in/stein and abst/software").

Installation Instructions: First, verify that your machine is running the Microsoft .NET Framework v1.1 or later. This package is installed by default on Windows XP and Windows 2003 machines, but users with older versions of Windows may need to patch their operating system first. Fortunately, the .NET Framework v1.1 is bundled with this package - simply run the enclosed "dotnetfx.exe" package. (If you run this package but already have a compatible framework installed, the installer will simply notify you that you don't need to run it.)

After verifying compatibility with the .NET Framework v1.1, run the Setup.exe utility, and step through the installation process.

One additional step is required after completing installation. First, close all Internet Explorer windows (including this one), then open a new Internet Explorer window. if you don't see the USPTO Toolbar embedded in your browser, click View and select Toolbars, and then ensure that the "USPTO Toolbar" option is checked. This should display the toolbar.

Finally, note that the toolbar can be repositioned and resized within your browser by manipulating it around as a standard toolbar.

Operation Instructions: You may enter a few kinds of data into the USPTO Toolbar:

Comments: The only drawback to this application package is that the source code is not included. For some reason, the application base is slightly broken at the moment, and refuses to build. Some effort could be expended to fix this problem, and in fact it is likely to be resolved in the coming months, perhaps leading to a new release of USPTO Toolbar with some advanced features.

This application was built on the excellent BandObjectLib component written by Mr. Pavel Zolnikov and made available via the Code Project website. This package is a bit of a hack, due in large measure to the considerable difficulty of writing Internet Explorer plug-in applications with Microsoft's utilities! It's difficult to understand why this routine task isn't better supported by the software giant, so let's hope that support is expanded in a future release of the .NET Framework.

Application History: This application was written in Fall, 2004 to support the author's practice of patent law, and has been of considerable use in this role. It is provided to the patent law community as a token of professional comraderie.

Questions/Comments: Please contact David J. Stein, Esq. via email at djs10@po.cwru.edu.

Terms and Conditions of Use: Please see the enclosed "License.html" file for terms and conditions of use of this software package.