How to Look Up a Patent Issued in Europe

The European Patent Office has a large searchable database.

The European Patent Office maintains a database with more than 70 million patent documents, all of which can be searched on line. Searching is straightforward and can be carried out in English or in many other European languages.

Instructions

1. Visit espacenet. This is the name of the database maintained by the European Patent Office. A direct link to the espacenet English-language interface is in the Resources section of this article.

2. Enter search text in the SmartSearch field. You can search on an inventor's name, a company name or on keywords describing the patented invention.

3. Use specialty searches to fine-tune search results. The espacenet site offers several variations of search, including an advanced search, searching by patent number and a browse function that lets you explore the patent classification system by keywords.

References

• European Patent Office: Facts and Figures 2010

Resources

• European Patent Office: espacenet