OPS Raw data Usage terms

This space is made available to users of Open Patent Services (OPS) web-service and now also to users of EPO’s bulk data subscription products such as 14. EPO worldwide bibliographic database (DOCDB), 14.11 EPO worldwide legal status database (INPADOC), 14.12 EP full text data, 14.1 EP bibliographic data (EBD)and more.

Users can ask each other questions, exchange experiences and solutions, post ideas. The moderator will use this space to announce changes or other relevant information.
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patentmaster
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:12 pm

OPS Raw data Usage terms

Post by patentmaster » Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:34 pm

Hi,

the USPTO has given the right to process the US XML patent data and make them publicly available to anyone by e.g. creating a web platform accessible by the public. Is this possible with the data obtained from EPO's ops services as a whole or for e.g. only EP patents?

I've seen from here: https://developers.epo.org/sites/defaul ... 022014.pdf

that there is a clause 3.2 that states: "Users are not permitted to make the data as such available to the public or to copy and/or distribute the data as such."

Please also clarify the term as such.

Thanks.


EPO / OPS Support
Posts: 1298
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:32 pm

Re: OPS Raw data Usage terms

Post by EPO / OPS Support » Mon Jul 04, 2016 8:04 am

Hi,

I am not familiar with USPTO's rules but I don't have a feeling that they are much different as what the EPO offers. You said yourself that they allow you to "process the US XML patent data and make them publicly available to anyone" which is not much different from what we do. To process data usually means, that you add value to the raw data and offer it in a product or service that will later be available to the public.
What the article 3.2 stipulates is that you are not suppose to distribute our raw data in their raw form (as such). You have to process it first and then offer it to the public in a form of patent information product or service.

In case of the EPO, you can choose between ordering a bulk product or taking smaller chunks of data from our web-services (please see Fair use charter on the website).
So, due to limitations that we have in place you can not download entire databases but you can link data "on-the-fly" from our web-services (which is how most of our databases works) or order the raw data product back files and only load front file data or even subscribe to a front file raw data deliveries : https://www.epo.org/searching-for-paten ... -data.html

Regards,

OPS support
OPS support


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