50 MILLION IDEAS
The world's technical developments since 1836 free
of charge on the internet
In recognition of World Intellectual Property Day 2005,
we at the European Patent Office are proud to present to
you our free
patent databases on the internet. They carry information
on technological developments that have taken place over
the past 170 years. You can use them to find out what problems
inventors have tackled by during this time, and see the solutions
they found.
What's in a patent database?
Patents are always published, so that everyone can benefit from the information
they contain.
To put it another way, patents are a deal: they give inventors
protection for their inventions, but in return inventors
have to disclose what their invention is. Today, most patent
offices offer this information free of charge on the internet.
As a result, many millions of inventions are available in
databases for you to search.
What value does a patent database have for you?
Every patent describes somebody's solution to a technical problem. With 50
million patent documents in our databases, you can find inventive solutions
for just about every problem you can think of. So, if you are faced with
a technical problem, there is no better way of finding out what solutions
already exist than by looking at patents.
Patent information where you are
Patents are limited in time and in territory. So if you find a useful idea
in a patent document, check if it's in force in your country - if not, you
can use the technology freely.
Where to find us
Our free internet service is called esp@cenet. It is an excellent
starting point for getting acquainted with patent information. All you need
is a computer connected to the internet. Simply go to www.espacenet.com and
see what useful inventions you can find.
If you need any help, contact our free helpdesk service
at our office in Vienna - the e-mail address is espacenet@epo.org.
Important links:
|