Quality assurance in the EPO Patent Information Resource

In increasingly competitive global markets, access to consistent and dependable information on innovation is becoming more and more indispensable. This article describes the efforts performed at the EPO to create and maintain reliable master databases of prior-art information. Data standardisation and patent family rules applied at the EPO are described in detail and how master databases support the workflow of examiners. The authors discuss the benefits that the EPO, its partners and the community at large obtain from these activities. Finally, a look at what lies ahead reveals exciting potential developments for the near and mid-term future.