New multimedia tutorial for patents
A comprehensive guide to the European Patent Office's esp@cenet database system will be launched on 13 March 2000 by the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)Helpdesk. The tutorial is an interactive guide to the free esp@cenet service provided by the European Patent Office together with the National Patent Offices and the European Commission. It provides access to over 30 million patent documents. The esp@cenet service began on 19 October 1998 as a direct, free, easy-access service for the innovative community and non-patent professionals. 'Esp@cenet enables RTD contractors, SMEs and others to access this wealth of information on patents contained on their database,' says Alexander Weir of the IPR-Helpdesk in Luxembourg. 'This helps them ensure that they are not duplicating work that has already been done. It also helps the Commission, so they don't have to spend time assessing proposals that duplicate previous research efforts.' 'We developed the esp@cenet tutorial because the esp@cenet database contains so much information. Lay persons, for whom this tutorial is intended, need guidance on how to access the information, saving them time and effort. The quicker a researcher can find information, the more effective his work will be.' The tutorial begins with a multimedia introduction guiding the user through the background and main highlights of the system. The user is then taken to the main body of the tutorial, which is divided into six sections. The first section provides background information on patents, patent procedures and patent documents. The second takes the user through the essentials of esp@cenet, including the scope, limits and outlook for the future. The next section, Step by Step, provides a complete guided tour based on one example, helping users begin searching and optimise their research results. Technological, strategic and legal information to define a search strategy based on particular questions, are contained in the 'How to...' guide. The final two sections are a glossary of terms and conditions, and a links section to other sources of patent information. The IPR-Helpdesk is offered free by the European Commission to provide information and help with Intellectual Property Rights in Europe.
Countries
Luxembourg