To companies wishing to apply for international patents the new “Inpafamdb” (International Patent Family Database) provided by the FIZ in Karlsruhe is a very useful tool making business easier. The database gives a quick and comprehensive overview of the state of the art and precious information on the activities of market participants on the global market.
The data sources for the database are the “EPO Patent Information Ressource” which comprises currently 81 patent offices worldwide and the “Inpadoc” file providing data from 51 patent offices. Special search engines give the opportunity to search by patent classification but also by free text such as titles and abstracts. The search results are displayed in neatly arranged formats. The FIZ in Karlsruhe also pools all patent applications relating to a certain invention into a patent family file.
Currently the database contains about 36 million patent families with 65 million publications some of them dating back to the early 19th century. “These preserved pieces of information are an excellent basis for strategic business decisions,” praises Dr. Claus-Dieter Siems, product manager with the FIZ, the new database. More detailed information can be gathered from the website of the FIZ. 