INPADOC: 30 years of endeavours yet unmapped territories remain!

For over 30 years, INPADOC databases have been an indispensable resource for patent information professionals. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the coverage of both the bibliographic and the legal status files, including some insider intelligence about how the EPO obtains this data. A briefing on the sensitive issues of PCT applications entering the national phase, the validation of European patents in the EPC member states and the definition of the INPADOC family is also given. A searchlight is turned onto the most significant gaps in the country coverage, hence providing a survey of the regions and countries where improvements can be expected. Focussing on the EPO's co-operation activities assists in an understanding of the complexities behind delivering the improvements expected by users.