Improving patent information products and services with our users

Yesterday, 28 specialists representing many key patent information stakeholders gathered to discuss a variety of EPO products and services at an online meeting hosted by the EPO. The participants welcomed numerous recent developments, for example improvements to linked open EP data and the inclusion of CPC information in the EPO's Publication Server, European Patent Bulletin and European Patent Register services. The participants also put forward ideas for future product releases, such as changes to user interfaces.

Patents are vital not just for the technical information they contain, which keeps researchers and inventors informed about the latest developments around the world. They also provide information about where rights are in force and who owns them. Every patent publication is classified according to the technology it discloses, and this meta-data can be used to depict complex "patent landscapes" which highlight emerging technologies and clusters of innovation.

As part of its efforts to make continual improvements to its patent information products and services, the EPO hosts regular meetings with the SACEPO Working Party on Patent Documentation and Information in order to get user representatives involved in the latest developments and achievements. These meetings draw on the skills and experience of members, among them representatives of the Confederacy of European Patent Information User Groups, the Patent Documentation Group, BusinessEurope, the epi and the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys. Through regular and frank exchanges, all parties can advance their common goal of improving patent information products and services such as Espacenet, the INPADOC classification scheme, the European Patent Bulletin, the European Patent Register and Global Dossier. Yesterday's meeting also included a status report on the imminent implementation of the unitary patent. Finally, participants were very interested in the presentation about the EPO's patent insight reports. These are patent landscaping studies with a particular focus on emerging technologies which are of interest to business and economists.

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