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Introduction
The intellectual property offices of countries that are not member states of the European Patent Organisation can benefit from the EPO's technical co-operation activities. The Australian and Canadian IP Offices, for example, have been given access to the EPO's search system, EPOQUE, via a communications network called Patnet. The service, known as EPOQUENet, enables these offices to improve the quality of their prior art searches and, consequently, of the patents they grant.
Australia
An agreement on test access to EPOQUENet services, providing access to the EPO's database search systems, was signed in early 2006 and the system is now up and running. The EPO also assists through monitoring and maintenance.
Canada
A full production agreement for EPOQUENet services is due to be signed in the near future. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has requested access to EPOQUE for all its examiners.