Europe in the pole position of global patent information

Abstract

Patent databases can be a paramount resource of technical information for researchers and engineers alike. But Europe’s innovating enterprises do not seem to be sufficiently aware of this resource. The European Commission is legally obliged to remove obstacles for the free access to information in the public domain. While both the United States and the Japanese governments have made available patent information on the Internet free of charge, Europe is as of yet lacking such access options (see Editor's note). A new initiative by the European Patent Organisation, accompanied by the European Commission’s “IPR Helpdesk” project, is starting to remedy this situation. The dimension of the planned measure will put Europe in the pole position of global patent information, while leaving sufficient room for added value offers by commercial providers.