Today the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that its Global Dossier service has been extended to include translated file wrappers for patent applications filed at the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). File wrappers will be available in their original language as well as in machine translated versions. The announcement came at the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle (FICPI) World Congress, which is taking place this week in Cape Town, South Africa.
A file wrapper refers to all documents that have been either filed by an applicant or issued by a patent office in respect of a particular patent application.
Previously, the Global Dossier service provided file wrappers only from the EPO and China's State Patent Office (SIPO). The EPO also announced today that the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) file wrappers will be available in the second half of 2015. USPTO file wrappers are already available via USPTO's PAIR.
The stated goal of the Global Dossier service is to "simplify access to important information [...] both for users and the public, and to enhance the transparency of the patent system."
The Global Dossier service is live and accessible via the EPO's Espacenet service and includes machine translated file wrappers for Japanese and Korean patent applications.
This ever expanding Global Dossier service will allows patent owners to easily and comprehensively track the progress of their own European, Chinese, Japanese and Korean patent applications as well as to strategically monitor patent applications of their competitors.
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