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The European patent information policy of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) derives from a 1988 decision of the Administrative Council of the EPO. The intent of the policy is to improve access to patent information for European users, to encourage innovation and to strengthen Europe's position on technical information exchange with Japan and the USA. The EPO markets a number of data products, such as CD‐ROM and online databases, including the services of INPADOC, which was integrated with the EPO in 1990. These data are available at cost to non‐commercial organisations and at market rates for commercial use. The information is also disseminated through European national patent offices, with whom the EPO maintains a close cooperation.

The article examines strategically directing the breadth of scope of a patent and hazards of litigation vis-à-vis the length of claims for innovating firms.

This paper enumerates latest literature on assessing patent scope and hence protection afforded to firm innovations. Based on prior research findings, this paper proposes to maintain a balanced and nuanced approach to claim drafting to assure grant of patent while minimizing litigation threats.

To strategically manage patent grant and minimize litigation threat, firms would better take a leaf out of academic discourse and streamline claim drafting – not too wide to earn an examiner’s ire and not too narrow to let an infringer bypass by. Unlike smaller firms or universities, big firms are less likely to renew a patent with less scope.

The study sample in contemporary literature is exclusive to patents from US Patent and Trademark Office. Whether the same result will be replicated for diverse countries is uncertain.

The understanding that patent scope not only influences grant chances but also is an indicator of future litigation threat can help patent practitioners and innovating firms in strategically directing the patent.

The paper draws from the findings of three well-articulated recent research papers. The paper’s originality and value is in providing practical insights on how to perfect patent scope in a real world based on academic discourse.

Discusses the basic concepts of intellectual property, particularly as applied to patents; explains the monopoly granted to inventors in return for disclosing details of their inventions in applications for patent specifications. Expands on the problems such a system presents to the inventor, with comments on decisions the inventor must take on whether to patent his invention, and if so, where, and how the procedures should be approached. Presents a brief history of patents, with an explanation of what can and what cannot be patented under the Patents Act 1977. Notes arrangements for protection outside the UK ‐ through the European Patent Office, and other countries of the world. Discusses the main factors which affect the information value of patents, and comments on the major patent information tools ‐ printed, CD‐ROM and databases. Concludes with a brief discussion on the growing impact of the Internet and the World Wide Web, suggesting that such developments might increase the use of the valuable information contained in patent documentation.

Not a very exciting title, particularly that word patents, which conjures up documents often difficult to read and even more difficult to understand. There is really no need for a patent specification to be more obscure than any other well drafted technical description; unfortunately jargon has crept in mainly with the intention of being less restrictive and now much of it is due to what I regard as a rather lazy habit.

This paper aims to develop a systematic framework of strategy of designing around existing patents in enterprises' innovative activities. After reviewing the choice of strategy and principle of the design to evade the existing patents, this paper discusses how to select the target patent under enterprise's strategy, before finally taking the designing around existing patent based on patent standardisation as an successful implementation of innovative process.

This is an exploratory research with a case study of critical technology of OTFT to illustrate the application of the proposed strategy. The choice of strategy of designing around existing patents is analyzed on the basis of judgments of patent infringement, and a framework of selecting target patent is proposed for the development of strategy of designing around existing patents as an innovation process.

This research suggests that technology innovation based on designing around existing patent should focus on choosing technology from the target patent of critical technology, choosing a policy that can balance the risk of patent infringement and costs of technology innovation and combining the policy of designing around existing patent and the application of TRIZ theory.

The framework proposed in this paper provides an alternative strategy of technological innovation for technology follower firms.

Published patent documents continue to pour out unabated. This overview looks at recent developments, including the continuing progress of the EPO, JPO and USPTO in working towards automated search systems and document management, the efforts of WIPO in the area of standardisation within patent offices, the formation of OLPI, and the continuing growth of patent databases, e.g. ICI marques, Inpadoc, Japio and Patstat. The author also looks at the situation of information services in developing countries.

Are companies effectively protecting new product ideas by using the patent system? Company awareness of the need to use the system to protect new ideas/concepts is focused on, the practical benefits accruing to companies when patents are obtained are discussed, and the necessity for companies to search patent information already in existence is referred to. Comments are made about the present system, with observations on how the recent White Paper, “Intellectual Property and Innovation” presages changes in the patent system law.

There is growing evidence that, with some notable exceptions, the use of patents to gain or protect market objectives is not successful in industry today.

Discusses the factors that have contributed to the increased awareness and use of patents as sources of scientific and technical information. Examines the problems the growth in the number of patents has caused for traditional paper storage, the use of microform and CD‐ROM as solutions, and other patent services offered by the British Library. Concludes that the volume of patent documents has been a factor in the neglect of a valuable information source in the past, new services are helping disseminate the information more widely.