Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about the Service

How much does it cost to access the IPDL Databases?

Access to all databases included on the IPDL site is free-of-charge.

What other databases are available?

The IPDL site provides access to various intellectual property data collections hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization as well as links to a selection of data collections hosted by other service providers.

How often are the databases updated?

• PatentScope Search Service is updated weekly;
• The Trademarks Database is updated daily;
• The Industrial Designs database is updated monthly;
• The Article 6ter Database is updated as new data becomes available.

Questions about User Accounts

How do I set up a user account?

Please complete the 'Create a User Account' form

How do I obtain a userid and password combination?

You may set up a user account using a userid and password of your choice. Your username must be one word and less than 10 characters long. Please use letters and numbers only. If the username selected is already in use, the system will instruct you to enter a different one.

What are the advantages of establishing a user account?

For users who create an account a history of the last 20 searches performed is maintained across connections. Each history entry is assigned a number and a brief summary is included. Search history is particularly useful if you have complicated multi-term searches that require significant time to process; if you use the history entry of the original search instead of re-entering the same terms, you can get results much more quickly.

I have forgotten my password. How can I reset this?

Please contact us using the IPDL Feedback form. You must indicate your userid and, if you require a specific password advise us accordingly.

Is it possible to clear the search history?

Yes, four buttons below your list of history entries will allow you to update and maintain your historical list:

• Pressing the Delete Entries button will permanently remove any entries you've checked off on your list. If an entry is marked Save it will not be removed.
• Pressing the Mark Entries: Save button will set the Save mark on any entries you've checked off on your list. An entry marked Save will not be automatically deleted when you run out of room in your history list. Note: If all of your entries have been marked as saved, and you attempt to add another entry, it will be lost.
• Pressing the Mark Entries: Update button will set the Update mark on any entries you've checked off on your list. An entry marked Update will be updated to reflect any changes that have been made to the database since the original search was performed whenever you push the Update Entries button.
• Pressing the Update Entries button will update any entries marked Update to reflect any changes that have been made to the database since the original search was performed.

What is your policy regarding the security of account holders' search terms and requests for downloads?

A users search terms are only tracked in so far as they are saved as part of the users search history. Documents requested for download are not logged and no information is made available to anyone else at any time. The only information we log about IPDL usage is basic web statistics, i.e., we log the overall number of searches and requests, but not what was searched for or requested.