Pre-announcement - Intellectual Property Rights Helpdesk

The Community's specific programme for the dissemination and optimization of RTD results (INNOVATION) will be publishing, on 16 January 1998, an open invitation to tender for the implementation of an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Helpdesk, as suggested in the Innovation A...

The Community's specific programme for the dissemination and optimization of RTD results (INNOVATION) will be publishing, on 16 January 1998, an open invitation to tender for the implementation of an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Helpdesk, as suggested in the Innovation Action Plan.

The IPR Helpdesk will provide useful, Web-based information on patents and other intellectual property rights. It will also include a personalized telephone helpline addressing the specific needs of Community RTD contractors.

The call is expected to result in the creation of a team of multilingual patent experts and informatics specialists which will operate the Helpdesk under the guidance of DG XIII/D-1 of the European Commission. The Internet component of this service will participate in the creation of a new network of European patent information servers recently announced by the European Patent Organization (EPO). Interfaces will allow access to over 25 million patent documents.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
DG XIII - Telecommunications, information market and exploitation of research
Mr. M. Schmiemann
DG XIII/D-1
EUFO 2165
L-2920 Luxembourg
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]