The EPO's patent information
products and services:
Overview and developments
Christine Kämmer
Patent Information Annual Conference of China (PIAC)
Beijing, 9 September 2010
European Patent Office
Content
• Patent information at the EPO
• Overview and developments
 Free sources
 Subscription databases
• How to stay up-to-date?
The EPO's mission
As the patent office for Europe,
we support innovation,
competitiveness and economic
growth across Europe through
a commitment to high quality
and efficient services delivered
under the European Patent
Convention.
EPO's patent information policy (1988)
June 1988:
Decision of the Administrative Council of the
European Patent Organisation on a 'European
patent information policy'
• goal: improvement of access to patent information
in Europe for the general public and industry in order
to stimulate innovative activity
• main target group: small and medium-sized
companies
• pricing policy: marginal costs
EPO's patent information policy (2007)
revised and adapted in 2007
Guiding principles:
• barrier-free access to patent information (e.g. userfriendliness, languages, technical possibilities, tools,
pricing policy, international access, data covered)
• mandate to support users by guidance and training
• policy introduced to allow private sector to add value
• support general idea of the patent system (enhance
innovation by distributing technical knowledge of patents
for free and to the best extent possible)
• contribute to the strategic goal of the largest patent
offices (increase quality of patents by filtering low quality
applications)
EPO Vienna sub-office
• Patent information
• Administration
• European affairs
EPO's Principal Directorate 5.1
Patent Information and European
co-operation
• publishes all European applications and granted patents
• ensures public access to European patent data
• ensures public access to worldwide patent data the EPO
uses for its own work (esp@cenet)
• promotes the idea of patent information
• maintains helpdesks
• provides patent information products and services to the
public (marginal cost)
• provides Asian patent information services
• in charge of member state co-operation
Asian Patent Information Services 5.1.3.2
offers support services to European industry in order to
facilitate access to and promote the use of patent
information from Asia
Asian Patent Information Services 5.1.3.2
• legal status reports
• patent monitoring
• manual translation services
• K2E-PAT machine translation deliveries
• customer enquiries on Asian patent information
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advice on searches in free original language sources
internal and external training activities
"Virtual helpdesk" on Asian patents
annual "East meets West" forum in Vienna
• for further questions: asiainfo@epo.org
Free sources:
Overview and developments
Patent information on the EPO website
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information.html
European publication server
https://data.epo.org/publication-server/?lg=en
European publication server
• official place for copies of
– European patent applications
– granted European patent specifications
– corrected documents
• new publications loaded every week on publication
day (usually Wednesday) at 14 hrs CET
• retrieval using publication number, application
number, publication date, kind code or IPC
• links to Register Plus, esp@cenet and PatentScope
• documents can be viewed/downloaded in PDF and
XML format
European patent bulletin
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/european-patent-documents/european-patent-bulletin.html
European patent bulletin
• bibliographic data
• data concerning the legal situation of European
patent applications and patents
• based on Rule 143 of the EPC ("Entries in the
European Register")
esp@cenet
free access to worldwide patent information
via the internet
• free starting point for searching patent information
• no guarantee for completeness of data
• not a professional search tool
http://www.espacenet.com/index.en.htm
esp@cenet
• almost 70 million patent documents
• from more than 80 patent authorities worldwide
• dating from the early 19th century to today
• access to:
– bibliographic data
– full document download (PDF)
– legal status information
– post-grant information
– patent family information
– all citations
– online machine translation
esp@cenet
Quick search
• look for inventors or applicants
• find technical words in the abstract/title
Advanced search
• combine various search terms and fields
Number search
• retrieve a document when you know the
publication, application, priority or non-patent
literature number
Classification search
• find all patent publications in a particular technical
area
http://ep.espacenet.com/quickSearch?locale=en_EP
esp@cenet
Smart search
• single line search field, enter any search term
http://ep.espacenet.com/?locale=en_EP
esp@cenet
Smart search
• search using command-line expressions based on
"Contextual Query Language (CQL)"
esp@cenet: new features
• enhanced citation information (backward, forward,
opposition, appeal, ...), including NPL
• "claims tree" function, showing independent and
dependent claims (EP and WO)
• full text search for EP and WO documents
• highlighting of search terms in the text
esp@cenet: new features
• new ECLA class Y02 (sustainable energy technology)
visible in esp@cenet
• user-friendly navigation system
• sorting of results list (< 500 hits; according to upload
date, priority date, applicant, inventor, ECLA)
• RSS feed for updates
• export function (to Excel)
• for further questions: espacenet@epo.org
Open patent services (OPS)
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/free/open-patent-services/input.html
Open patent services (OPS)
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free source
can be used for bulk download
bibliographic data, family and legal information
documents in image format
same data as esp@cenet but alternative way of searching
standardised XML interface for access to raw data
customised and flexible
industry standard Web Services architecture
SOAP-based (Simple Object Access Protocol)
Open patent services (OPS)
can be used to:
• create customised patent databases
• track patent status changes
• integrate information into other software packages
• download large amounts of data.
• set up your own interface (basic programming skills
required)
Register Plus
https://register.epoline.org/espacenet/regviewer
Register Plus
• procedural information on all European patent
applications from publication onwards
• legal status data
• all public documents in the EPO's file ("file wrapper")
• linked to esp@cenet
• linked to European Publication Server
• various data views (main data, legal status, event
history, citations, patent family, all documents and
document filters)
Register Plus
can be used to:
• follow the procedure for a particular application
• see if a European patent application has been
granted/refused/withdrawn
• check whether any oppositions have been filed
• read correspondence between EPO and patent
applicant/attorney
• batch process and store documents offline for future
reference
Register Plus: new features
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error report facility
quick help files on all screens
help glossary
refinement of document filter
enhanced functions for printing, opening documents,
sorting results lists...
• improved number formats (same as in esp@cenet)
• new category of cited documents: Supplementary
International Search Reports
Register Plus: new features
• NPL citations
• additional category for files with samples of deposited
BIOM (BIOlogical Material)
• secure access function via https://epo.org/register
• harmonisation of the interfaces of Register Plus and
esp@cenet (dynamic front page, news, ...)
• for further questions: opus@epo.org
Web Register Monitoring Tool
(WebRegMT)
http://www.epoline.org/portal/public
Web Register Monitoring Tool
(WebRegMT)
can be used to:
• track specific European patent applications
• receive automatic e-mail alerts every time something
happens to any of these applications during grant
procedure
Web Register Monitoring Tool
(WebRegMT)
• free registration
• monitor up to 1 000 individual cases of own and
third-party applications
• on-screen display of changes since last log-in
• e-mail alerts to up to five e-mail addresses
• choice of which events will trigger a notification
• import and export lists of documents
• secure environment to ensure confidentiality
• access via password or smart card
WebRegMT: new features
• default option changed to "yes, I want to receive
electronic notices"
• to come: full integration of WebRegMT inside
Register Plus
• for further questions, contact: opus@epo.org
Patent portfolio management (IPscore)
EPO's IPscore software tool
• ascertain the economic value of patents
• identify potential risks and opportunities
• quantitative and qualitative valuation
can be important for:
• licensing - knowing the value of one's patents to be
in a better position for negotiating licensing
agreements
• investment decisions - analysis of a company's may
be a critical factor for investors
• obtaining public funding
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/business/valuation.html
Patent portfolio management (IPscore)
IPscore can be used to:
• examine your company’s patent portfolio
• analyse the value of individual patents
• align your company’s patent strategy with your
overall business strategy
• make the best use of patents
as a business tool
• identify opportunities and risks,
strengths and weaknesses
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/business/valuation.html
IPscore: new features
• customise assessment factors to specific needs (e.g.
exclude factors according to user needs)
• import/export customisations; share and discuss
customisations (without sharing data)
• share data, manage different portfolios, export data
to different customisations and future versions of
IPscore
• enhanced visualisations (e.g. legal status)
• run-time version of IPscore available, allowing to use
IPscore without having MS Access installed
• for further questions, contact: patentdata@epo.org
Subscription databases and
raw data resources:
Overview and developments
Subscription databases
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/subscription.html
new: Global Patent Index
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/subscription/gpi.html
Global Patent Index
GPI - two components:
Database (input data = DOCDB XML):
• coverage: data from over 80 patent offices
• content: 70 million biblio. records, weekly updated
Retrieval software (MIMOSA):
• detailed searches (100 search criteria)
• worldwide state-of-the-art searches, patent
watches
• easy access to detailed coverage information on
individual fields
Global Patent Index
Searchable bibliographic data, including:
• classifications (IPC, ECLA, ICO, nationals)
• citations (patent literature, NPL, citation
categories)
• abstracts (proximity search)
• EPO simple patent family
Data fetched from Open Patent Services (OPS):
• representative images
• INPADOC patent family
• INPADOC legal status
• for further questions, contact: epal@epo.org
Raw data resources (INPADOC)
http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/raw-data.html
Raw data resources (INPADOC)
• a range of products, e.g. EP documents, legal
status, ECLA, NPL, PATSTAT database (for
statistical research)
• can be processed and customised according to
individual requirements
• license agreement necessary for commercial use
• data in a standard XML format (WIPO ST. 36)
• available in the form of weekly updates and
cumulated backfiles
How to stay up-to-date...
Regular updates: training, e-learning
• Classroom training
• Virtual classroom, "Newsflash"
http://www.epo.org/patents/learning.html
http://www.epo.org/patents/learning/pi-training.html
http://www.epo.org/topics/ip-events/patent-eventsearch.html
• e-learning: PI & esp@cenet assistant
http://www.epo.org/wbt/espacenet
http://www.epo.org/wbt/pi-tour
• Recordings
http://www.epo.org/patents/learning/e-learning.html
http://www.epo.org/patents/learning/pi-training.html
Regular updates: events
• Patent Information Conference
http://www.epo.org/about-us/events/piconference.html
• "East meets West" forum
http://www.epo.org/aboutus/events/archive/2009/emw2009.html
• PATLIB
http://www.epo.org/about-us/events/patlib2010.html
• PATSTAT
http://www.epo.org/about-us/events/patstat.html
Regular updates: publications
• brochures
http://www.epo.org/about-us/publications/patentinformation/patent-information-brochure.html
• "Patent Information News"
http://www.epo.org/about-us/publications/patentinformation/news.html
• newsletters
http://www.epo.org/about-us/publications/patentinformation/newsletter.html
http://www.epo.org/contact/newsletter.html?banner=
homepage2
Regular updates: user forums
• user forums on different
patent information products
http://forums.epo.org/
Need further information?
for question on this presentation, contact:
ckaemmer@epo.org
feedback, suggestions, comments on the EPO's patent
information products:
lmcdonald@epo.org
general enquiries:
info@epo.org; infowien@epo.org