Game-Changer: Key EPO Patent Datasets Are Now Free!

Wolfgang Braun

Feb 15, 2025 — 1 min read

Exciting news for patent data users! As of January 1, 2025, the European Patent Office (EPO) has introduced a new pricing policy, making several previously paid bulk data products completely free. These datasets will now be available in the Public Area of the Bulk Data Download Service (BDDS), eliminating the need for subscriptions or authentication.

Key Free Datasets and Availability Dates

EPO Bibliographic Data (EBD) – January 23, 2025
European Patent Register Data (Back File) – January 23, 2025
EPO Boards of Appeal Decisions – January 23, 2025
Sequence Listings (Front & Back Files) – January 23, 2025
EP Full-Text Data (Front & Back Files) – February 10, 2025
EPO Worldwide Bibliographic Data (DOCDB, Front & Back Files) – February 17, 2025
EPO Worldwide Legal Event Data (INPADOC, Front & Back Files) – February 17, 2025

This is a huge win for researchers, developers, and businesses working with patent data. With fewer barriers to access, retrieving structured, high-quality patent information is now easier than ever. Whether you're analyzing trends, building tools, or conducting IP research, these free datasets will make your work more efficient and cost-effective.

Interested in these changes? Check out the BDDS Public Area on the respective dates to start downloading!

Do you plan to use these newly available free datasets? Let me know your thoughts: info@patent.dev

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