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East Asian patent information
Patent information from East Asia
In today's global economy no patent searcher can afford to ignore patent literature from East Asia. More than half the patent applications filed worldwide every year are written in Japanese, Chinese or Korean. And it is not only the language barrier that makes patent information from East Asia difficult to access and interpret.
As a special service to European industry, the EPO has set up an East Asia Helpdesk, staffed by experts in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean patent systems, who perform searches in original language patent databases for customers or offer advice on the efficient use of free internet sources.
Translation services
The ever-growing range of automatic translation tools is opening up the world of Japanese, Chinese and Korean patents. But these systems are not infallible and can leave you feeling "lost in translation".
If you need to understand the details of a patent document or if the exact wording of a claim is crucial, our professional translation service can help.
NEW: K2E-PAT (Korean to English Automatic Machine Translation) Service
Virtual helpdesk
Our virtual helpdesk gives answers to the most frequently asked questions on industrial property in Japan, China and Korea and provides background information on filing trends, the granting procedures, the numbering systems and terminology of patents in East Asia.
Search services
No matter how advanced some of the English-based search services might be, some cases can require a search in the original language data. The EPO provides original language search services for East Asia.
East meets West in Vienna
The EPO's "East meets West" forum on patent information from East Asia offers you the opportunity to meet experts from Japan, China and Korea, update yourself on the latest developments in Asia and exchange experiences with other users of patent information.
Alert service
Sign up to receive e-mail alerts when the East Asian patent information pages are updated.