Patent Office site keeps you up to speed with IP

The site is divided into sections on the four kinds of IP: copyright, designs, patents and trade marks. A 'newcomers' guide' section explains the differences between the four categories, and each section gives details of the protection offered by each form of IP, giving guidance on how to acquire, assert and renew them.

Other sections include contact details, news pages, publications and prices, with a small part devoted to IP rights on the internet itself. It also features an Excite search engine to locate subjects.

Periodically the site will be examining a particular technology in detail. The first, appropriately, is the 'widget', the compressed gas device that promotes frothing in beer cans, patented by Guinness.

The Patent Office says it is also planning to expand the site to other related sites and to develop interactive features.