Epo Patent Search

Required Setup

BigQuery (Primary)

Prerequisites:

1. Google Cloud Project (free to create)
2. BigQuery API enabled
3. Application Default Credentials configured

Setup:

gcloud auth application-default login
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id

EPO OPS API (Optional, for full-text/legal status)

Prerequisites:

1. Register at https://developers.epo.org/
2. Create an application to get Consumer Key and Secret
3. Set environment variables

Setup:

export EPO_OPS_CONSUMER_KEY=your-key
export EPO_OPS_CONSUMER_SECRET=your-secret

How to Use

When this skill is invoked:

1. Determine search type:

   • Keyword search: use BigQuery with country="EP" for speed
   • Full-text retrieval: use EPO OPS for complete claims/description
   • Legal status: use EPO OPS for procedural data
   • Family search: use EPO OPS INPADOC family service
   • CPC search: use BigQuery for broad classification browsing

2. Execute search:

   BigQuery keyword search (EP patents):

   results = search_patents_bigquery(
       query="blockchain authentication",
       country="EP",
       limit=20,
       start_year=2020
   )
   

   BigQuery CPC search (EP patents):

   results = search_patents_by_cpc_bigquery(
       cpc_code="H04L9/32",
       country="EP",
       limit=30
   )
   

   EPO OPS full-text retrieval:

   results = search_epo_patents(
       query="EP3456789",
       search_type="full_text"
   )
   

   EPO OPS family search:

   results = search_epo_patents(
       query="EP3456789",
       search_type="family"
   )
   

3. Present results:

   • Rank by relevance
   • Show key metadata (title, applicant, dates, IPC/CPC)
   • Highlight legal status (in force, expired, opposed)
   • Provide links to Espacenet for full documents
   • Note patent family members in other jurisdictions

Search Result Format

{
    "publication_number": "EP3456789A1",
    "title": "Authentication system using distributed ledger",
    "abstract": "A system for authenticating...",
    "applicant": "Example GmbH",
    "inventors": ["Hans Mueller", "Maria Schmidt"],
    "filing_date": "2019-03-15",
    "publication_date": "2020-01-22",
    "grant_date": null,
    "ipc_codes": ["H04L9/32", "G06F21/31"],
    "cpc_codes": ["H04L9/32", "G06F21/31"],
    "designated_states": ["DE", "FR", "GB", "NL", "IT"],
    "priority_claims": ["US16/234567 (2018-12-28)"],
    "family_id": "67890123",
    "legal_status": "Examination in progress",
    "publication_type": "A1"
}

EP Publication Types

Cross-Jurisdiction Linking

Use family_id to find related patents across jurisdictions:

EP3456789A1 (European application)
├── US10123456B2 (US counterpart)
├── CN112345678A (Chinese counterpart)
├── JP2020-123456A (Japanese counterpart)
└── WO2019/123456A1 (PCT application)

This is essential for:

• Prior art analysis (one patent may be available in multiple languages)
• Freedom-to-operate (check where patent is in force)
• Competitive intelligence (track filing strategy)

Presentation Format

Present search results as:

EP PATENT SEARCH RESULTS
=========================

Query: "blockchain authentication"
Source: BigQuery (EP filter) + EPO OPS
Found: 89 EP patents
Date Range: 2020-2025

[1] EP3456789B1 - Authentication system using distributed ledger
    Applicant: Example GmbH (DE)
    Filed: 2019-03-15 | Granted: 2022-08-10
    IPC: H04L9/32, G06F21/31
    Status: Patent in force (validated in DE, FR, GB)
    Family: US10123456B2, CN112345678B, WO2019/123456A1
    Espacenet: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?q=EP3456789

[2] EP3567890A1 - Blockchain-based identity verification method
    Applicant: Tech Corp (US)
    Filed: 2020-01-10 | Published: 2021-06-16
    IPC: H04L9/00, G06Q20/38
    Status: Examination in progress
    Family: US20210203456A1, WO2020/234567A1

---

Top CPC Codes in Results:
- H04L9/32 (15 patents): Authentication/verification
- G06F21/31 (12 patents): User authentication
- H04L9/00 (8 patents): Cryptographic mechanisms

Common Use Cases

EP Prior Art Search

1. BigQuery keyword search (country="EP")
2. Identify relevant CPC codes
3. BigQuery CPC search (country="EP")
4. EPO OPS full-text for top results
5. Document findings with citations

Patent Family Analysis

1. Find EP patent via BigQuery or EPO OPS
2. Get family_id
3. Search for family members worldwide
4. Map filing strategy across jurisdictions
5. Check legal status in each country

EP Freedom-to-Operate

1. Search EP patents in relevant technology
2. Filter for granted patents (B1/B2)
3. Check legal status (in force vs expired)
4. Identify validated countries
5. Assess infringement risk

EP Opposition Research

1. Find granted EP patents (B1)
2. Check if within 9-month opposition window
3. Search for prior art predating priority date
4. Analyze claims scope
5. Assess opposition grounds (Art. 100 EPC)

Performance & Coverage

*BigQuery free tier: 1TB queries/month (~20,000 searches) **EPO OPS: Fair use (2.5GB data traffic per week)

Tools Available

• Bash: To run search scripts
• Read: To load saved search results
• Write: To save patent search results