The European Commission launched its Info2000 plan in Cannes last week. The programme seeks to 鈥渆xploit Europe鈥檚 public sector information鈥�, but this promise had a hollow ring. Officials from DG XIII, the Commission鈥檚 telecommunications and information directorate, admitted that there are still no plans to put European patents online. The US Patent Office has already put its patents on the Internet but the European Patent Office in Munich only supplies libraries with CD-ROMs.
DG XIII鈥檚 principal administrator, Bernard Smith, says the Commission wants to exploit the vast resources of information owned by the public sector, which 鈥渨ould be extremely valuable for both individuals and business users鈥�.
All the EPO鈥檚 indexes are already in electronic form, along with copies of all patent applications filed through the EPO. But Smith was unable to say when this information would be available on the Internet. Did this mean there was no prospect of free access to the EPO鈥檚 patent information? 鈥淒on鈥檛 quote me,鈥� Smith told a packed roomful of journalists, 鈥渂ut you鈥檙e probably right鈥�.
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