Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2025 submitted by European Patent Office (EPO)
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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Information on the following topics is desired:
- Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization
- New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
- Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
- Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
- Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
Information on the following topics is desired:
Policies and plans:
Observatory on Patents and Technology
New projects and initiatives:
Technology Intelligence Platform
Statistics:
Other useful links:
Reinforced partnership programme
During 2025, the EPO continued to develop its patent information services, data products, digital platforms and cooperation activities. Key developments included activities under Strategic Plan 2028, the work of the Observatory on Patents and technology, further expansion of patent analytics
and technology intelligence services, and the development of open – data and data – sharing initiatives. Additional information is available through the resources listed above.
II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Information on the following topics is desired:
- Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) – URLs
- Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
- Classification2, preclassification3 (if applicable), reclassification4 activities; classification system used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)), matters concerning indexing of patent information
- Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
- Other activities
Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing:
MyEPO services (Online Filing 2.0, MyEPO Portfolio, Mailbox, Central Fee payment, Legal Interactive Platform, electronic procedural services)
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form:
Classification, preclassification, reclassification activities; classification system used:
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
International Patent Classification (IPC)
Abstracting, reviewing and translation of the information contained in patent documents:
Other activities:
The EPO offers a broad range of patent information services supporting applicants, patent professionals, researchers, businesses and the public throughout the patent lifecycle. These services include digital filing tools, online access to patent information, patent classification systems, machine translation services and patent knowledge support activities.
III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE
Information on the following topics is desired:
- Main types of publications of the Office (patent applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, granted patents, etc.), medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URLs)
- Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URL), etc.
- Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases
- Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
- Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
- Other sources
Search services:
European Patent Register (including the Register for unitary patent protection)
Patent information products and databases:
PATSTAT (PATSTAT Global, PATSTAT EP Register, PATSTAT Online)
Open data and machine – readable data:
Patent analytics and technology intelligence tools:
Technology Intelligence Platform
IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Information on the following topics is desired:
- Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
- Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
- Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
- Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
- Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
- Other matters
Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements:
Technology Intelligence Platform
Digital tools support patent filing, processing, search, classification and patent information services.
Hardware used to support business processes of the Office:
Secure ICT infrastructure supports electronic filing, patent search, patent information services and access to patent information products.
Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources:
Bibliographic, legal status and search documentation databases, including DOCDB and INPADOC, are continuously updated with patent information received from patent offices worldwide.
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file:
The electronic search file contains patent documentation and related information from the EPO and patent offices worldwide.
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support):
Electronic systems support register services, legal status information, statistics and administrative procedures.
Other matters:
Open – data and machine – readable data services support wider dissemination and reuse of patent information.
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF PATENT INFORMATION
Information on the following topics is desired:
- Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries
- Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
- Office’s initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)
- Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
- Education and training: training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
- Other activities
Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries:
The PATLIB network facilitates access to patent information and patent knowledge services across the EPO member states.
Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users:
Patent knowledge publications and news services provide guidance on patent searching, patent information and patent knowledge tools.
Office’s initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s):
Patent Translate supports multilingual access to patent information through machine translation of patent documents
Cooperation with universities, research centres, technology and innovation support centres, etc.:
Observatory on Patents and Technology
Cooperation activities support the use of patent information by research, innovation and technology – transfer communities.
Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules, seminars, exhibitions, etc.:
Patent Knowledge Academy – European Patent Academy
The European patent Academy provides training courses, webinars, seminars and e – learning resources relating to patent information.
Other activities:
Technology Intelligence Platform
Additional tools support patent analytics, technology intelligence and innovation – related activities.
VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION
Information on the following topics is desired:
- International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information
- Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information
- Assistance to developing countries
- Other activities
International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information:
Patent data and documentation services
Patent information is exchanged and disseminated in machine – readable form through a range of data and documentation services.
Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information:
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
WIPO Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS)
The EPO actively participates in international and regional initiatives relating to patent information, patent classification, patent data standards and information exchange, including IP5 cooperation and WIPO CWS activities.
Assistance to developing countries:
International cooperation activities
Patent Knowledge Academy – European Patent Academy
Capacity – building, training and knowledge – sharing activities support access to patent information and the effective use of patent information resources worldwide.
Other activities:
Technology Intelligence Platform
Patent analytics and technology intelligence tools contribute to international cooperation and knowledge – sharing activities.
VII. ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WIPO STANDARDS CONCERNING PATENT INFORMATION
Note: For each Standard listed below, please enter one of the following values:
- "Fully implemented"
- “Partially implemented”
- "On implementation phase"
- "Planning to implement"
- “On assessment phase”
- "No plan to implement"
Implementation Status Definitions
"Fully implemented"
The WIPO Standard has been implemented in a manner compliant or compatible with the Standard.
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WIPO Standard ST.18: Recommendation concerning patent gazettes and other patent announcement journals
Implemented
WIPO Standard ST.25: Presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings in patent applications
Implemented
WIPO Standard ST.26: Recommended standard for the presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings using XML (extensible markup language)
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WIPO Standard ST.96: Recommendation for the processing of intellectual property information using XML (extensible markup language)
Implemented
VIII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS
Please include any other relevant information here.
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