THE USE OF PATENT INFORMATION IN EUROPE Keynote speech at : Ever since time began, men have been inventing things. And from time immemorial we find the same phenomenon repeating itself: inventors - most of whom certainly never described themselves in such ringing terms! - were having that same idea, simultaneously but in different parts of the globe, unaware the somewhere else, in other climes, other men were at that very moment creating the selfsame object. The situation had still not changed when the patent system came into being in the 18th century. In fact, it continued until very recently. Let's consider European inventors: For a long time any inventor who was a citizen of one of the great powers with empires extending to the outermost limits of the world had nothing to worry about. It was of little or no importance to him that someone was inventing the same thing elsewhere. He had immediate access to a vast market covering not only his own country but also every corner of the empire and its zones of influence. It was a form of protectionism. We have now entered a new era. Technology - in all its manifestations - has made our world completely interdependent and increasingly transparent, and continues inexorably to do so - which means that there are a thousand ways in which we can be robbed. In this constantly changing and - in some respects - alarming world, the inventor who needs to protect himself - his idea, his brainchild - has good reason to feel lost. What should he do?
Those of us attending this meeting, representing patent documentation centres all over Europe, think we can help the inventor by proposing that he explore the mountains of knowledge contained in the millions of pages of patent documents. But what does he do with them? Most of the time the
self-employed inventor - for he's the one I'm concerned with here - only has a one-way
relationship with the patent. As far as he is concerned, the patent is his, a document
protecting him, and that's that. He spares no thought for other inventors' patents
relating to the same field as his - or if he does, he doubts whether they would contain a
single idea of interest. Having gone through this process of "hide-and-seek", it's no wonder the inventor assumes that others do the same and doubts whether he'll be able to find a single disclosure or innovation in other patents dealing with the same field as his own. If he is of a certain disposition, this refusal to examine the brainchildren of other inventors or to consult their patents may also be explained by the fear of being discouraged, paralyzed and eventually saying "what 's the use? Others thought of it before me!". Or by the fear of having his ideas muddled by so much reading and research - in short, allowing these activities to interfere with an idea taking shape in his mind. Or, last but not least, by the waste of time and energy this work would entail. Invention is many -faceted: the same subject may be tackled ad infinitum in different ways. It has offshoots, like the many arms of Shiva, the Indian goddess. One idea leads to another, with endless spin-offs. That' what some inventors say, understandably. Are painters told not to paint still lifes because they've been the subject of paintings for centuries? Is a novelist asked not to write a love story on the pretext that thousands of love stories have already been written? And, before he sits down at his desk and picks up his pen, is he advised to read everything ever written on the subject of love?!
There are also inventors who are afraid of nothing! Who know they may actually benefit from consulting other people's patents. Inventors of this type are usually no neophytes; they frequently already have several inventions to their credit, they have experience and are familiar with the routine. Some of these old hands nevertheless find grounds to be despondent, and so - on the whole - inventors still tend to be ill-informed. The documentation centre is too far from home… At least, that's what they think, although these days patent documents are kept not only at the patent office library - normally in the capital city - but also elsewhere, in other institutions, in other parts of the country. Unfortunately, many inventors are still unaware of all this. Let's follow the inventor on his obstacle race in quest of some patent documents! First of all he has to find the building where the patent documents are kept. There it is. Found it at last! But now he has other problems: the legal jargon, the patent is in a foreign language, so much information and so little time! He runs off a sheaf of photocopies - haphazard, hastily produced and often useless - in the hope of not overlooking a single item of information: an extra expense for his meager budget! I know a lot has been done to remove the obstacles from the inventor's path. For example, the language problem has virtually been overcome, thanks to the international classification systems. Moreover, as I've already mentioned, patent documentation centres have sprung up all over the place outside the capitals. The diskette is increasingly taking the place of paper, and many other facilities are available. But it's not enough. I apologize for repeating myself, but most inventors remain unaware of all that is done for them. How can they be reached, reassured, encouraged, and - to get to the point - how can they be informed? As you will have gathered, this need for information is one of my main preoccupations. I may add that I should like our inventors' associations to meet this need as one of their objectives. That is why I am so grateful to the European Patent Office for having spared a thought for me, for us, for the IFIA which I am representing here, symbolizing with my presence thousands and thousands of inventors from 52 countries, including 23 European countries. These inventors without whom nothing would exist, whose creative minds are the wellspring of all these patent documents and who, ironically, are the last to use them! I should also like to take the opportunity of this meeting to make some concrete proposals. These ideas of mine could serve as a basis for future discussions and specific measures in which the IFIA is prepared to collaborate with all of you. As President of the IFIA, I should first of all like to carry out an in-depth survey of all the inventors' associations in Europe, asking them "How do inventors in Europe view their contacts (or lack of contact) with patent documentation centres?" The IFIA would oversee the entire operation and the results would subsequently be presented by the IFIA at a meeting held by our hosts today, the European Patent Office. I cannot stress enough how essential it is that information should reach the inventors! There are a thousand ways of drawing them out of their isolation, many of which will already be familiar to you. The one I'm thinking of personally is connected with my experience as President of the IFIA and the knowledge I've acquired of the psychology of avowed or potential inventors, who so often require models to help them persevere in their efforts. And in the case concerning us today, we need to show that self-employed inventors - and well-known ones, not just anyone - have been successful precisely because they used information gleaned from patent documents. We can equally make our point by focussing on the actual invention rather than the (self-employed) inventor. My idea is this: why not publish a book of famous inventors or describing the actual inventions? The book would be illustrated and written in everyday language. And it would be cheap - as even schoolboys and schoolgirls are potential inventors! Thank you for listening so patiently to my plea on behalf of my protégés. And congratulations to the EPO on opening up this possibility of dialogue, which is bound to be rewarding for us all, but particularly for an expanding Europe. As they say: Europe may lack oil, but it is not short of ideas: ideas that have wings because they are extremely fortunate in being able to thrive in liberty and democracy.
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