1. Outline What is Espacenet? Search functions Classifications
Working with results
Patent families
Tips & Tricks
Limitations
Other EPO patent information products & services
Support

2. Espacenet limitations
• Maximum of 10 search terms per field
• Maximum of 21 search terms and 20 operators per mask
• Search terms in the abstract must be in English
• When combining search fields the default operator is AND and cannot be changed
• Truncation limitations
• Apostrophes and hyphens cannot be used. Please use blanks instead. Slashes can only be used for date entries and ECLA/IPC symbol entries.
• Not all documents have English abstracts, titles, European classification or international classifications (check coverage)
Current Espacenet limitations.
keywords are linked to the help files, therefore no further information needed in these notes.
3rd bullet: search terms in the title and abstract must be entered in English if you are using the Worldwide database, if you are using the EP DB, you can enter terms in French and German as well.

3. 100 documents 250 pages (500 for EP, WO)
Pointing to the "Download" button, you can say that it is possible to download in one go EP and WO documents having up to 500 pages. For other documents, the limitation is set to 250 pages.
To maximise the page for viewing the facsimile document, click on Maximise in the horizontal toolbar above the title.
Pointing to the "My patents list" item, you can say that you may select up to 100 documents and store them in your own personal list by ticking the box(es) on the right hand side.
You should enable cookies on your PC.
The "My patents list" can be exported as a CSV file into another application (Excel only, at the moment). Simply click on Export in the tool bar.
250 pages
(500 for EP, WO)

4. My patents list 100 documents
Pointing to the "My patents list" item, you can say that you may select up to 100 documents and store them in your own personal list by ticking the box(es) on the right hand side.
You should enable cookies on your PC.
The "My patents list" can be exported as a CSV file into another application. Simply click on Export in the tool bar.

5. Save full document limitations
250 pages
(500 for EP, WO)
Pointing to the "Download" button, you can say that it is possible to download in one go EP and WO documents having up to 500 pages. For other documents, the limitation is set to 250 pages.
To maximise the page for viewing the facsimile document, click on Maximise in the horizontal toolbar above the title.

6. Document too large?
If you see "Document too large" in the horizontal toolbar, the document size is beyond the limits (more than 500 pages - in the case of EP and WO documents; more than 250 pages in all other cases) and you will not be able to download the entire document in one go via Espacenet.
You could still save this type of document one page at a time but this might not be the most efficient way. Therefore it is better to watch out for other ways to perform the download.

7. European publication server
When an EP document is too large for Espacenet, you can get it from the European publication server. Simply enter the number in the respective field.
The European publication server is the official and free-of-charge publication platform of the EPO and the place for obtaining copies of European patent applications, granted European patent specifications and corrected documents.
New publications are loaded once a week on publication day (usually Wednesday) at hrs CET.

8. European publication server
***Roland, the hyperlink on this slide activates the search page of the European publication server and not the results one.
As you can see the list of results is not limited (to 500 like in Espacenet for ex.)
You can find all kinds of European patent documents :
European patent applications: A1, A2 Search reports: A3 Corrections of patent applications: A8, A9 (according to WIPO standard ST 50)
Patent specifications: B1 Amended patent specifications: B2 Patent specifications after limitation procedure: B3
Corrections of patent specifications: B8, B9 (according to WIPO standard ST 50)

9. Outline What is Espacenet? Search functions Classifications
Working with results
Patent families
Tips & Tricks
Limitations
Other EPO patent information products & services
Support

10. European Patent Register
Free Online Access to:
Legal Status Information
Procedural Status Information
Patent applications at the EPO EP
PCT
European Patent Register - another EPO free online service
Link to brochure: To be added

11. European Patent Register
Information available only after publication of the patent application
During the European phase
You can search using either the Quick search mask (three bibliographic data fields), the Advanced search mask (12 bibliographic data fields) or the Smart search (all possible bibliographic search terms in one filed) for published information (status of the application, filing and procedural language, who is the representative, have fees been paid, etc.) during the procedure in front of the EPO - meaning from the reception of the application until the end of the procedure e.g. the end of the opposition period or any opposition/appeal procedure.
It is important to stress that although Espacenet shows patent applications from around the world, the European Patent Register service relates only to European patent applications (including PCT applications which entered the European phase).

12. European Patent Register
Additional features:
Legal status information in the post-grant/national phase
Links to Board of Appeal decisions
Links to document sources
Espacenet
Publication server
INPADOC
In European Patent Register, you have access not only to data published during the European patent grant procedure, but also to post-grant information in the national phase. It allows you also to read the correspondence between the EPO and the patent applicant/attorney .
Under the section INPADOC data on the "Legal status" screen, you will find the legal status that has already been published via the national gazette, bulletin, etc.
We recommend you contact the national office concerned for accurate legal status information.
You can also view the decision of the Boards of Appeal (if it was published).
The current legal position is that the Boards of Appeal, together with their associated administrative services, are integrated into the European Patent Office as Directorate-General 3 (DG 3). They are independent from the Office in their decisions and are bound only by the European Patent Convention. More information can be found on the website:
You will be able to view the document in Espacenet or in the publication server as well as all national legal status information under the part INPADOC data.

13. The advantages of European Patent Register
All documents - online file inspection
Possible filters:
Procedures: Search / examination, Opposition, Appeal, PCT Chapter 2, Limitation
Documents Sent/Received by EPO
Biological material
Internal
You can view either all the file inspection documents,
only those documents relating to the search/examination,
only those documents relating to PCT Chapter II procedure,
only those documents relating to the limitation,
only those documents received by the EPO,
only those documents sent by the EPO,
only those documents relating to the opposition or appeals procedure,
documents considered as "internal" or
documents relating to biological material.

14. European Patent Register
- Public access
- Free-of-charge
- Secure access (https)
- INPADOC Data disclaimer
Anyone can access European Patent Register
The secure access (https protocol) is established as soon as you enter your search query or when you logon with a user ID and password or with a Smart card which can be read by a Smart card reader.
The EPO does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of legal status data relating to the post-grant phase, including but not limited to their completeness and fitness for specific purposes, nor can it guarantee that such data are up to date. For authoritative information, please refer to the relevant national patent authority.

15. European Patent Register access from EPO homepage
Point to the Online services section

16. Click on the Open the European patent register icon.

17. https://register.epo.org or www.epo.org/register
As soon as you get to this mask, you are in a secure environment, the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) icon appears on the screen

18. Quick & Advanced Search masks
Quick search and Advanced search
In the Quick Search all you have to do is enter your search term(s) in the publication number, application number an/or the filing date field (maximum 10 per field).
In the Advanced Search you can enter a greater variety of search term(s) (maximum 10 per field, max 20 in total).
You may use AND, OR and NOT to qualify your search terms. The default operator depends on the search criterion you select.

19. Smart search Smart search
With the Smart search function you can enter your query with or without field identifiers. A maximum of 10 terms can be used per searchable bibliographic data and 20 terms in total. You can enter any operator manually.
The list of field identifiers can be found in the help files.
Here is an example of a search, the terms being highlighted in the results.

20. https://register.epo.org/espacenet/help?locale=en&topic=dateformats

21. Boolean operators Boolean operators
Boolean operators and truncation symbols are the same as in Espacenet.

22. https://register.epo.org/espacenet/help?locale=en&topic=truncation
Wildcards cannot be followed by an alphanumeric character. There must be at least two alphanumeric characters preceding a ? or # symbol (for example co? or pa#). A maximum of three truncation symbols is then allowed (for example, ca??? will retrieve call, cart, card, care, cable, etc.). If three or more alphanumeric characters precede a ? or # symbol, then a maximum of 7 truncation symbols is allowed. There must be at least three alphanumeric characters preceding a * symbol.
Please note:
In Smart search mode, if you enter wo2006, you will retrieve Publication number WO However, if you enter wo2006*, the system will not find any documents as wo2006* is recognised as a text and not as a number. In order to retrieve all results starting with wo2006, you should place the field identifier pn (Publication number) in front of the number, e.g. pn=wo2006* in the Smart search. The same is valid for Priority numbers, e.g. pr=wo2006*.

23. Result list Result list
The result list shows 20 results per page. A maximum of results will be shown and can be viewed per query. To view the information in a file, click on the name of the file.
To navigate through the results, click on the page number (1, 2, 3, etc.). If you click on the Print icon in the toolbar this will only print the page you are currently viewing.
You can sort the list but it should not exceed 200 results. Simply click on the up/down arrows to sort ascending/descendingly.
Search terms are highlighted in the result list as well as in the section "About this file".

24. About this file Example: EP1629844 "About this file" section
List of the legal events which can be found below the title of the document you are viewing:
• International application published • Application published • Examination requested • Grant of patent intended • Application refused • Application deemed to be withdrawn • Patent granted (this does not exclude the possibility of ongoing opposition proceedings) • Opposition procedure running • No opposition filed within time limit • Opposition procedure closed • Opposition rejected • Patent revoked/limited • Patent maintained in amended form
The HELP INDEX is always available - simply click on the Help icon.
The Quick help on each screen should enable you to understand/interpret the information displayed.

25. Pointing to the top of the page, you may change the language of the interface and view the contents of this file in the language selected (which is one of the EPO's official languages : German, English, French.

26. History EP1629844 Show/hide history
In "Show History" you will find all the changes to bibliographic data published in the EP Bulletin during the application's lifetime, from the date of first publication by the EPO onwards.
Former entries will be written in italics and in grey font.
You can bookmark this page.

27. Link to publication serverEP
Link to publication server - opens directly as PDF document (only 2004 and later)
You can find all kinds of European patent documents under this section:
European patent application with search report: A1,
European patent application without search report :A2 Search report: A3 Patent specification: B1 Amended patent specification: B2 Patent specification after limitation procedure: B3

28. Legal status
Legal status (incl. INPADOC legal status; point to disclaimer)
The legal status of a patent or patent application refers to the entries and procedural steps occurring during the patent grant procedure and the subsequent life of a patent. These are normally published in the patent gazette of the patent-granting country or organisation concerned.

29. Event history Event history
The different dates refer to various types of corrections or amendments which occurred during a particular phase. These legal events/entries could be e.g. the addition of a European representative, a title in another language or the date of receipt of the application at the EPO, or the payment of certain fees.
The date on the left refers to the publication of the relevant document in the European Patent Bulletin. The date in square brackets refers to the issue of the European Patent Bulletin in which the information was published.

30. Citations
Citations from different procedural steps incl. applicants' citations.
information relative to this screen is in the Quick help.
Click on the link to open the patent publication in Espacenet.
You can bookmark all these pages. Simply right-click the document title.

31. Patent family Patent family
you will find three types of document listed with a letter code: • D stands for divisional: the application has been divided out of the one that you are currently looking at. • E stands for equivalent: this document has exactly the same priorities as the one you are currently viewing. • P stands for patent family member: this document is related to the one you are currently viewing by way of at least one priority. P also stands for earlier application (this is the case when you are viewing the divisional application and can see the original application as a patent family member). In the case of non-unity, a divisional application may be filed on the basis of any pending earlier European patent application. For further information, see the Guide for applicants, Part 1, point 208 ff.
So in the European Patent Register a patent family is defined as comprising all the documents sharing - directly or indirectly (e.g. via a third document) - at least one priority. This includes all the patent documents resulting from a patent application submitted as a first filing with a patent office and from the same patent application filed within the priority year with a patent office in any other country.

32. All documents = online public file inspection
You can view either all the file inspection documents or only a sub-set. By selecting a filter criteria you can e.g. view only those documents relating to the search/examination, only those documents received by the EPO, only those documents sent by the EPO, only those documents relating to oppositions or appeals, documents considered as "internal", documents relating to Biological material.
Click on the document title to open it in PDF format. This will display the first page only. If you wish to view all the pages, click on 'Load all pages'. Simply click on each document you wish to view and they will be opened in a separate window. You can sort the list of documents by date and by procedure.
You can select one or more documents for download by ticking the checkbox(es) next to the title of the document(s). Then select "Selected Documents" in order to save the documents as a single PDF file to your preferred location.
This is a great way to monitor correspondence between the applicant or attorney and the examiner. It gives an early indication as to the likely form of the final granted claims during examination.

33. Link to Espacenet Link to Espacenet
You can open this specific application in Espacenet by clicking on the button in the horizontal toolbar.

34. Report errors EP1598069 Data error reporting functionality
You may send an if you have anything to report, by clicking on the "Report error" button. A reply will be given shortly afterwards.
All suggestions and comments are welcome, they help us improve our services.

35. Biological material Sequence listings - large documents
Click on the document title to open it in PDF format. This will display the first page only. If you wish to view all the pages, click on 'Load all pages'.

36. Biological material Sequence listings EP92104970
After clicking on "Load all pages", you will see 1 of 90 (pages) for example and you can use the arrows (left and right) to navigate through the pages.

37. Download documents 3 2 4 1 Printing or downloading documentsEP
As a first step, you should select the documents you wish to download by ticking the box to the left of the date. You can also tick the "select all" button if you wish to download all documents.
Then select "Download selected documents" from the horizontal toolbar. When the dialog box opens, choose Save and store the selected items onto your computer.
When you open the PDF, you will have the total amount of pages of all documents selected in one document. 4 1

38. Decisions of the Board of Appeals
Point to the link to the decision of the Board of Appeals.
You can view the decision if it was published and loaded into the database in a separate window by clicking on the link. The "Decision text" can also be downloaded as a PDF file.