For this special edition, the story

starts in 1978, in Vienna. Typically

for Vienna, the location is a
Heuriger, one of those famous
taverns in the city's suburbs where
all of society � locals, tourists and
businessmen alike � gather to chat
over a glass of chilled Gr�ner
Veltliner wine. One evening in 1978,
one of the Heuriger was the venue
for a dinner for participants attending the annual gathering of
INPADOC users.
40 years ago
1978: the birth of
INPADOC legal status
At the time of the meeting in the
Heuriger tavern, INPADOC (International Patent Documentation
Center) was six years old and was
already gaining a reputation as the
people who could get copies of
patent documents where others
failed. INPADOC's Patent Family
System (PFS) was revolutionary, a
unique service showing the territorial scope of protection of an invention
worldwide. But users wanted
more. They needed to know if a
particular patent was in force or
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