Patents are one of the most important sources of information for research and development. Switzerland and other members of the European Patent Organisation have set up a database called Espacenet. The database gives access to the full text of many international patents from 63 countries.
Note
If you are planning to register your own patent, searching in Espacenet is not necessarily guaranteed to find all documents which may be prejudicial to its novelty. If necessary, you should supplement your search with professional research carried out by specialists at a patent office (ip-search). It is worth considering the Derwent Innovations Index when you are searching for patents (access only permitted within the ethz.ch domain).
Access
Access to this database is also possible outside of the ethz.ch domain.
Courses
Courses are held by appointment. They explain the various search strategies and features using specific examples.
Further freely accessible information on patents
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Other patent databases
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Important national patent information
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All national patent organisations
