Espacenet Assistant: a free resource to learn about patent information, search techniques, and more

The Espacenet Assistant is a new tool on the Espacenet site that aims to help users understand patent information, search basics, and new features within Espacenet itself. Available in English, German, and French, the tool is user friendly and easy to navigate. Especially helpful in that regard is the interface which includes a table of contents on the left side, back/forward advancement on the bottom, and web-like home/directory at the top of most pages.

From the start, the tool offers to let you take a guided tour through a large swath of information or cut to the chase with a listing of “crash courses” that get to the meat of a specific topic of information.

The “crash course” system allows users to learn at their own pace and review previous material.

Also helpful is the design of each course, especially the small quiz at the end that tests the user’s knowledge.

Users complete questions at the end of each “crash course” to test their knowledge.

Another neat feature is the ability to “pin” certain pages and access them later in your individual “My Training” section of the tool. I found this was helpful to set aside any tips and tricks for later. Did you know, where available, the “bilbliographic data” of a document in Espacenet contains a digital object identifier (DOI) link?

Even experienced patent searchers who know a lot about patent data and search techniques should check out the guided tour entitled “New in Espacenet.” There are several neat tidbits that might enhance your Espacenet experience!

Have you used the Espacenet Assistant? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!

This post was contributed by Intellogist Team member Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.