Evolution of the Patent Information World – Challenges of yesterday, today and tomorrow

Over the last 18 years, the field of patent information searches has dramatically evolved. Centralized information centers have started to disappear while new internet applications targeted at end-users have emerged. At the same time, the quantity of information has increased exponentially. Patent information specialists must now master several high level techniques to run precise searches, but also to analyze the large amounts of information retrieved, using modern software packages. The goal of this paper is to review the major advances over the last 18 years, how we have arrived at the current situation and what will be the future challenges for the industry. •Patent information developments 1996–2014 reviewed.•Implications of extended and improved search capabilities explored.•Language issues, data volume and changing user needs are significant issues.•Parallel development of basic raw data searches and of power searches and analysis predicted.