Patent Search: from at Home

The system has been in place for ten years already, however decisive improvements were achieved in 2008. The talk is about esp@cenet, a patent search system for the public. Last year, the network was placed on a modern platform. This way, it is now possible to publish additional information that is not available on the European counterpart, the esp@cenet server of the European Patent Office. Besides, the Austrian server was adapted to the new EPTOS structure.
In detail: the database comprises all AT A and B documents as well as the AT utility models (U) from 1995 until today. In addition to the facsimiles, the German summaries are also added successively in a searchable format. Thanks to EPTOS, the user interface provides more sophisticated search options than before: this includes the search using date fields, the search using a random number of search terms, or the full text search. Furthermore, the flexible EPTOS structure allows for the implementation of individual technical developments, in order to meet the specific usage profiles and demands of the users in Austria.

The search using esp@cenet is presented by the Austrian Patent Office within the scope of free basic seminars ("Gewerbliche Schutzrechte im Überblick" [Overview of industrial Property Rights]).

Within the scope of the workshops on patent searching, the participants are given the opportunity to search themselves using esp@cenet under the guidance of experienced patent examiners.