EPO Launches New Platform to Help Researchers in the Fight Against Coronavirus

The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a new, expanding “Fighting coronavirus” platform designed to help researchers and decision-makers benefit from patent information in their fight against the new coronavirus. The first data sets released on this platform concerns antiviral vaccines and pharmaceutical therapeutics, with more resources to be released in the coming weeks covering, for example, diagnostics and medical technologies and devices.

EPO patent examiners and analysts who are experts in these technologies have created a variety of search statements to help scientists and decision-makers identify the most relevant documents and innovations in these technical fields. These search strategies are especially suited to run on the EPO’s free to use online patent search interface: Espacenet. This public database contains more than 120 million documents from more than 100 intellectual property authorities around the world.

For applicants who require a fast track patent procedure, regardless of the technology they are developing, the EPO offers accelerated prosecution of European patent applications.