Advances in the delivery of patent information

This paper is based on a literature review and small-scale study investigating the advances in the dissemination of patent information and how this has impacted on the users and suppliers of patent information. The study took the form of a survey using postal questionnaires and both telephone and face-to-face interviews. The volume of patent information is increasing each year. New technologies in the electronic storage and retrieval of patent data have revolutionized the accessibility of this type of scientific and technical information. The proliferation of patent databases indicates their technological and legal importance in the global market place. This paper reports the findings of the survey and concludes that paper-based patent information is still a popular means of patent information dissemination due to continued user insistence. However, more and more patent information providers are supplying patent data in electronic form; such as on magnetic tapes, online, CD-ROMs, diskettes, etc. The emergence of the Internet and satellite systems as a means of transporting large numbers of documents in electronic form, at high speeds around the world, is also seen as a major advance in the dissemination of patent information.