15.13.
The BACON project also provides the basis for the production of electronic tools available to the public, such as the products of the EPO in the ESPACE line. These are collections of CDROM products, including ESPACE-EP (complete documentation of published European patent applications), ESPACE-WORLD, published with WIPO, (PCT international applications), ESPACE-FIRST (first pages of all published European patent and PCT International applications), ESPACE-ACCESS (bibliographic data for all European patent applications since 1978), ESPACE-UK (UK patent applications in fascimile form), ESPACE-BULLETIN (the European Patent Bulletin since 1978), ESPACE-LEGAL (decisions and other legal texts) and ESPACE-EP-B (for granted European patent publications).
15.14.
CDROM products such as ESPACE are sold with the software needed to search them. This software, although sufficient for searching, is not as sophisticated as the software used in on-line search facilities such as EPOQUE. Many businesses and offices subscribe to the CDROM services, and it is anticipated that as the range of products available on CDROM increases, more use will be made of CDROM technology to search technical information.
15.15.
The establishment and maintenance of a facility to store and search technical information using CDROM technology requires certain facilities. The minimum hardware requirements are a micro-computer, CDROM reader and a printer. The cost of such hardware is now well within US$10,000. A certain amount of space is required for the hardware, the storage of the discs, and for users. Although search using CDROM is not difficult, a certain amount of training is required before search can be performed efficiently. It is quite clear, however, that the use of CDROM technology has become cheaper and is more convenient than the use of paper media for the same purpose.
15.16.
A recent technological development may make search using Compact Discs even more efficient. As the name suggests, CDROM discs are "read only" discs; they cannot be re-written. A consideration of the CDROM products of the EPO indicate that the medium is appropriate for the storage of a large amount of data which never requires updating. For example, ESPACE-EP, which is released weekly provides the latest published complete European patent applications. About 800 to 1,000 applications are stored on each disc. However, we are not aware of any CDROM product containing all the applications made since a particular date in a particular class or classes. Such a disc would soon be out of date, and would be an incomplete searching tool. For example, a single application published after the release of the disc could provide technological solutions to problems addressed in various applications published in the disc. With CDROM technology, if a reliable search tool within confined technology was required, it would be necessary to make an entirely new disc to add just one application.
15.17.
In the last year or so developments in optical-magnetic re-writable discs provide a solution to this problem. This technology allows the disc to be updated. Such a disc can be used as a reliable searching tool within a confined area of technology, obviating the need to resort to bibliographic services such as ESPACE-ACCESS in tandem with complete services such as ESPACE-EP and ESPACE-WORLD.
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