THE SAWYER CENTER as seen on CBS 5 "Eye on the Bay"

The development and protection of intellectual property—patents, trademarks, and copyrights—is an increasingly important and complex aspect of the inventive process. In response to the need of California's inventive community and small firms seeking assistance regarding intellectual property, the Redwood Empire Small Business Development Center supports the Bruce Sawyer Center. The Sawyer Center provides no-cost counseling and information regarding intellectual property to inventors, artists, engineers, new product developers, and others who wish to safeguard creative products. In addition to Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the Sawyer Center serves SBDC’s throughout California.

Since 1999, the Sawyer Center has helped over 2,300 clients by providing in excess of 8,900 hours of individual, one-on-one, free counseling. In addition, over 2,570 business owners have attended 108 workshops for close to 13,100 hours of training. This counseling and training has resulted in:

• 114 patents received
• 151 trademarks filed
• 113 copyright applications

The Sawyer Center is an important asset for local enterprise as a resource to encourage and sustain both the inventive process and general business development. The Sawyer Center also offers guidance in new product development and marketing of specialized products. In cooperation with the Centers for International Trade Development, the Sawyer Center also provides information on international trade and the import and export of products.

Please Contact: Steve Schneider, Sawyer Center Coordinator, at (707) 524-1773 or e-mail at sschneider@santarosa.edu.