Patent information services as a method of technology monitoring for SME's in Germany

Patents are both legal documents and important sources of technical information. This paper concerns the information content of patents. Several Studies show that large enterprises systematically take advantage of patent information, whereas small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) use it only rarely. This prompted the Federal German Ministry for Economic Affairs to promote patent information for SME's. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (FhG-ISI) in Karlsruhe took charge of the project.