EPO launches ‘Fighting coronavirus’ data platform

The  European Patent Office (EPO) has unveiled data sets relating to antiviral vaccines and pharmaceutical therapeutics as part of its new “Fighting coronavirus” platform.

The new platform comprises a database of information gathered from patent applications, and is intended to help researchers and policy-makers in their efforts against COVID-19.

According to the EPO, patents “not only create incentives for companies and universities to invest in research, but also provide inventors with a rich source of technical information, often published nowhere else”.

The EPO has said it will publish more resources in the coming weeks, covering diagnostics, medical technologies and devices.

“Businesses which make intensive use of IP rights (IPR) helped pull us through the 2008 crisis and we strongly believe innovation will help drive Europe’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19,” said EPO President António Campinos.

He added: “IPR intensive industries generate 45% of the EU's GDP and account for one in three jobs. So it’s crucial we give IPR-intensive industries all the support they need right now.”

EPO examiners have also created ‘search strategies’ for the office’s databases in order to “help scientists and decision-makers identify the most relevant documents and innovations in these technical fields”.

The EPO is the latest IP office to try and harness data from patent databases in the fight against COVID-19.

In March, the  Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced its own “patent information navigation” service, which provides accurate information on the latest inventions and treatments aimed at tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as assisting manufacturers in developing products to help fight the virus, KIPO said the system was also aimed at tackling ‘fake news’.

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