980050 TS Patent Searching (2012W)

This workshop is aimed at PhD students and other scientific researchers who wish to develop their skills in searching the patent literature. Conducting a meaningful search of the state of the art while designing a research project can help define an appropriate direction for the research, improve the chances of success, and avoid repeating what others have already tried.
Patents deliver a wealth of scientific knowledge that complements the information available from journal publications. Searching of patent prior art is also an important element of an analysis of the patentability of an invention, helping to determine whether it may be possible and worthwhile to obtain patent protection for the invention.
The European Patent Office (EPO) is not only one of the major patent examining and granting authorities, but is also a world leader in developing patent databases. Espacenet is a database of more than 90 million worldwide data sets (inventions) that has been made available free-of-charge to the public by the EPO. The EPO trainers will guide participants through the information available in the Espacenet database, and show them how to develop suitable search strategies to find the most relevant patent documents.