Via its technological information service OBI can provide unique information about patents at international level on a specific issue or problem, in all branches of science and technology. The following type of information can be retrieved from patents:

• Technical – scientific information, because the invention is described clearly and in detail
• Bibliographical information, such as data on the proprietor and inventor, countries where the invention is protected, etc
• Legal information such as the patent’s duration or the current legal status
• Information of an economic – commercial nature such as new products of a specific company for the purposes of importing and exploiting them

The technological information service is provided by the OBI’s central offices in Athens and its regional electronic libraries.

A pre-search fee must be paid to use the technological information service (pre-search) and a third party search application has to be filled in and filed at OBI.
(Only for clarification – the form in Greek should be used for filing a request).

Moreover, OBI is the provider of technological information free of charge in the Greek language via the espacenet network at the Greek or European site.

Information derived from patents is valuable because it:

• Avoids wasted time and money on research into fields which have already been searched and granted
• Allows for the competition’s movements in industry to be explored
• Assists in bringing inventors and financiers into contact
• Provides information to every professional and innovator about the level of technical knowledge in his/her field of interest

OBI obtains its technological information from:

• The OBI printed archive with collections of Greek patents from 1920 onwards and European patents from 1986 onwards
• The Central Information System
• Special patent databases via access to the EPO system EPOQUE
• Special scientific databases based on subscription