World Intellectual Property Organization Secretariat, Dissemination of Patent Information, report to the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (Geneva, March 23-27, 2009). From the executive summary:
... The document describes the features and characteristics of patent information and potential utility of such information by different types of users for different purposes. It then goes on to address the legal framework and contents of patent information, gives some examples of the relevant technical infrastructure and tools, such as databases, and touches upon aspects that relate to the public domain. ...
More and more patent offices have started to publish patent information in electronic form. The electronic publication increases accessibility to the information, facilitates retrieval and analysis of information and solves problems associated with the handling and storage of paper. On the other hand, the electronic publication raises new questions, such as copyright protection of those publications. ...
Although all information that is needed to analyze the technical contents of patents as well as the status of such patents (and patent applications) are held by patent offices, in practical terms, it can be difficult to access such information, particularly from abroad. Digitization of national collections facilitates the access to patent information as well as the statistical/analytical use of such information. Patent information is increasingly accessible via easily-accessible services that are delivered over the Internet. WIPO’s PATENTSCOPE® Search Service provides free access to PCT international applications and is an entry point for all of WIPO’s patent information services. In the context of the WIPO Development Agenda, a study regarding specialized databases is being prepared. Non-patent databases are not always available free of charge and are often only available via subscription. WIPO is currently working on the establishment of a web-based service which will allow search and access to scientific and technical journals, which will correspond to similar services offered by certain UN agencies in their areas of competence. ...
Patent information is a public good available for everybody’s use. It is considered one of the richest technological information sources worldwide. In addition, patent information is an outstanding tool to establish whether specific subject matter is in the public domain. The patent system has a number of “gates” through which an invention eventually falls outside of the scope of patent protection. Third parties can monitor those gates using patent information. Therefore, accessibility to patent information is an important element for a rich and accessible public domain.
... Based on the figures provided in the study, in practical terms, accessibility of patent information is quite poor. Full text patent documents in electronic form is only available in a minority of countries. ...
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 3/26/2009 01:51:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
