EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC)

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Legal event data relates to information on the events during the lifetime of a patent application. INPADOC contains legal events from over 50 international patent authorities worldwide, available as backfile and frontfile data.

Download a sample file

INPADOC data is the backbone of many EPO legal event products and services. It includes legal events from the patent gazettes and registers of various national patent authorities, including the EPO and WIPO.

With INPADOC you can:

  • download weekly frontfiles and an annual backfile
  • retrieve data in XML
  • build your own database or search tool and link legal events to your existing bibliographic records
Getting started
  1. Check the information on the main features of our raw data products.
  2. Process the backfile first.
  3. Download the regular weekly exchange files (usually Tuesdays).
Conditions
CoverageSee weekly updated statistics
FormatXML ST36
VolumeFrontfile: approx. 200 MB weekly
Backfile: approx. 10 GB
DeliveryCurrent data (frontfile) is available as a weekly download.
Backfile data is available for download once a year.

The EPO's bulk data sets are also referred to as "raw data products" or "EPO databases".  

The terms and conditions for licensing of EPO databases apply.

Further information

INPADOC user manual

The manual contains information about the legal event exchange format and the layout of file records, data records and attribute lists. It includes explanations of legal events tags and a sample file.

Other useful resources

Useful tables and statistics

Currently used DTD/Schema

More information on legal event data and the INPADOC classification scheme

INPADOC classification scheme v. 1.0

Manuals

Related products

The following products and services are either similar to this one or include this product:

European Patent Register

EP bibliographic data (EBD)

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