https://www.epo.org/en/node/sometimes-when-using
Sometimes, when using a reference in EPODOC format, I can find a publication in Espacenet, but not in OPS. Why is that?
The difference in behaviour is due to the way the two systems handle the number formats. Espacenet is much more flexible in handling numbers in different formats, while OPS requires you to (a) specify the format you are using (DOCDB or EPODOC) and (b) use the format as specified. Typically, issues will appear when working with publications where the EPODOC format requires that kind codes (or parts thereof) be attached to the publication number.
For some publication authorities, the EPODOC format requires that (part of) the kind code be attached to the number as follows:
- for Japanese publications (JP) an entire kind code (a letter and possibly a digit) must be attached to the number, except when the kind code is A;
- for publications with a country code on the following list: AT, AU, BA, BG, CN, DK, FI, IS, KR, NL, NO, PL, SK, UY, TW, YU, a kind code letter must be attached to the number, except when the kind code is A;
- for publications from all other authorities, a kind code letter must be attached to the number, except when the kind code is either A, B or C.
The following example shows the difference between EPODOC and DOCDB number formats for a Japanese publication reference with B1 kind code:
In Epodoc:
In DOCDB:
Category