OBI is expanding the field of research by using international databases mainly via the European Patent Office’s EPOQUE system.

The word EPOQUE derives from the abbreviated forms of the words European Patent Office QUEry. It is a software package which has been developed by the EPO, whose main objective is the search and retrieval of all the information relating to a specific field of existing technology.

Using EPOQUE OBI examiners can perform the following tasks in a uniform environment:

• Search for information from numerous databases, installed on the EPO central computer in The Hague, using a common search language
• Carry out cross file searching on two or more databases.

OBI has secured connection to the subscriptional scientific databases of the commercial provider STN.