Forest Products Utilization and Marketing

Innovation

If you're an inventor, an entrepreneur, or in the forest product industry, you may be interested in creating new ways to use wood products or processes. Your ideas can be explored with links below. These links will help you get started with research, business plans, and patenting an invention.

Connecting with other businesses

If you're looking to connect with other businesses, please see the the Wisconsin Primary Wood Using Industry directory  [exit DNR] and the Secondary Wood Using Industry directory [exit DNR].

Invention Analysis Resource

• The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center [exit DNR] provides an analysis for new product and invention assessments and market expansion. Technical experts and researchers analyze information on technical feasibility, existing patents, market size, competitive intensity, demand trends, and other areas. WISC's research products cover product feasibility, competitive intelligence, distributor assessment, customer satisfaction, and licensing partnerships.    

Business Planning

• DNR Small Business Assistance Permit Primer provides interactive pages to simplify and clarify your environmental responsibilities.
• The USDA provides A Planning Guide for Small and Medium Size Wood Products Companies [exit DNR]
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Business have resources for small businesses [exit DNR].
• The Small Business Notes website offers useful links to Wisconsin business incubator [exit DNR] connections.

Patents

• The Patent and Trademark Services Wendt Library [exit DNR] at UW-Madison maintains all U.S. utility, design, and plant patents in various formats, and provides reference tools and searching assistance for both the general public and the UW-Madison community.
• US Forest Service Products Patent & Licensing Program [exit DNR] offers information about pre-invention activities, patent process, and licensing and marketing activities.
• The US Patent and Trademark Office [exit DNR] offers information about issued patents and published applications.

Partnerships, Research and Development

• The Wisconsin TechSearch [exit DNR] provides research assistance with online literature, patent, and trademark searches.
  
• The USDA Agricultural Research Service [exit DNR] provides information about partnering opportunities.
  
• The US Forest Service is the largest forestry research organization [exit DNR] in the world. Scientists carry out basic and applied research to study biological, physical, and social sciences related to diverse forests and rangelands. Find information about Forest Inventory and Analysis and a Search for all Research Publications.
  
• Find partnership opportunities information [exit DNR] on the US Forest Products Laboratory website.
  
• The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) [exit DNR] is the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace.
  
• Find connections with the US Environmental Protection Agency Innovative Technology Partnerships [exit DNR].