"I’m Mark Trademan, Trademark Information Network. We now return you to your regularly scheduled trademark application filing."

The USPTO is on a roll with new resources for independent businesses. You'll remember the new backlog reduction plan and small inventor newsletter.

Next up is the new Trademark Information Network, a series of videos designed to help the novice trademark filer successfully register a mark without wasting too much time or money.

The first in the series of videos, "Newsflash: Before You File" is a lighthearted overview of the very basics of trademark registrations. The video raises important issues -- how to identify the applicant on an application, how to determine goods and services, which filing basis to use, and how long registration might take -- that will be covered in subsequent videos.

Stay tuned in to Trademark News Network this summer for more of these videos.