1) We have released v2.5 of the DTD. This release includes the following changes (see the XML DTD and Schemas for more details):
classification-cpc classification-cpc unbounded (*) as child of classifications-cpc 2) The EPO has announced that CPC-International will be rolled out starting with the next DocDB data delivery. From week 2019/36 onward all CPC classifications will have classification-scheme=“CPCI”. Classification-schemes “CPC” and “CPCNO” will be discontinued from that week onward. More information about this change can be found in Content Notifications.
3) We are releasing a new bulk attachments web service on September 1. This service is an interface to download attachments in bulk format. It is modeled on the existing XML update service which is used by on-site customers to manage updates to their CLAIMS Direct instance. Please see Bulk Attachments for full details.
In July we processed full text data from the former Soviet Union. IFI's collection now includes Author Certificates and Patents from 1924 to 1993.
Over the past few weeks we have added full text and PDF files for ARIPO, Bulgaria, Eurasia, OAPI and Romania to our Premium+ collection. Subscribers to either Premium or Premium+ also now have access to full text for Slovakia. Details can be seen in our data coverage table.
Full text and PDF files for Czech Republic (CZ) and the former Czechoslovakia (CS) are now available for Premium and Premium+ subscribers, respectively.
Following EPO recommendations, we have changed the kind codes of some NL and NO records as follows:
| Country Code | Old Kind Code | New Kind Code |
|---|---|---|
| NL | C | C1 or C2 |
| NO | A | L |
As announced in April, CS and CZ records changed the format of their patent numbers following DocDB recommendations. Some of the changes included moving the year to the end for CZ publication numbers dating prior to 2000 and suppressing embedded zeroes for CZ publication numbers, applications, and priority numbers dating from 2000 onward. The following table illustrates the changes.
| Country Code | Kind/Year | Old Format | New Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS | A1, A2, A3 | YYnnnnn | (nnnnn)nYY |
| CZ | publications before 2000 | YYnnnnn | (nnnn)nYY |
| CZ | publications from 2000 onward | CCYYnnnn | CCYY(nnn)n |
| CZ | applications and priorities from 2000 onward | CCYYnnnn | CCYY(nnn)n |
The rekey, as initially described by the EPO, would have resulted in collisions. For example:
To avoid these collisions, the rekeyed ucids of 104 CS records delivered by the EPO match the application number and don't follow the rules above.
Beginning in January 2019, image files in our attachment server will include referenced images in TIFF format for ES patents and utility models.
Over the past week we have added full text and PDF files for Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia to our Premium+ collection. Details can be seen in our data coverage table.
We have added description, claims and full document PDFs of DD granted patents published by the former East German patent office between 1980 and 2003. This content is available to Premium and Premium+ subscription levels.
Over the past few weeks we have expanded our collection of Canadian PDFs. Although there are still a few gaps, the addition extends our Canadian PDF coverage back to publication year 2000.
Release notes prior to 2019 can be seen in the Archived Release Notes section.