Celebrating 60 years of Derwent World Patent Index

For over 60 years, Derwent World Patent Index™ (DWPI™) has helped IP professionals and inventors capture better insights from the world’s patent data.

IP professionals use DWPI to make higher confidence patentability and freedom to operate decisions
R&D leaders use DWPI to determine where to focus investment and identify new development partners
Patent examiners at 40 national patent offices use DWPI to help examine patents more efficiently

DWPI: 6 decades of more informed decisions

1963: Derwent is created
Chemical Structures with detailed descriptions coded onto IBM punch cards.
1974: DWPI expands
World Patents Index added; coverage expanded to include mechanical, electrical engineering and electronic technologies.
1993: DWPI goes digital
Enhanced polymer indexing becomes available online.
2000: DWPI celebrates major achievements
Monty Hyams named first recipient of the International Patent Information (IPI) award at PIUG national meeting. DWPI coverage reaches 20 million patents.
2013: DWPI extends its global reach
DWPI expanded to 50 jurisdictions. Coverage surpasses 50 million patents.
2023: DWPI celebrates 60 years
Coverage surpasses 110 million patents.

“What is important for us is to find a comprehensive view of patent information that supports strategic decision-making and Derwent is helping us in this mission.”

Read the case study

Sakae Nakamura
IP Corporate Research & Development
Asahi Kasei Corporation

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National patent offices use DWPI in examination

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Patent editors analyze and summarize new patents into easy to read abstracts

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Patent publications covered by DWPI abstracts clearly summarizing novelty, use and advantage

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Global sources including 59 patent-issuing authorities and 2 literature sources

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Priority errors corrected every week on average by DWPI editors

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DWPI families group patents by distinct invention

Decades of insights, powered by human intelligence

“For 60 years, DWPI patent content has changed with the times, but the principles supporting DWPI have not changed”

Tim Fulcher, B.S. Chemistry
DWPI Sr. Analyst, Pharma and Chemistry content since 1987
36+ years of patent research experience

“We’re constantly enhancing our indexing to respond to the specific needs and feedback provided by our valued users of DWPI”

Elavarasi G, Master of Science, Bio Chemistry
DWPI Analyst, Biopharma, Chemistry and Polymer content since 2010
13+ years of patent research experience

“I’m proud to be part of the community of subject-matter experts who produce Derwent content that is trusted by R&D and IP professionals worldwide”

Ashok Kumar, Ph. D., Organic Chemistry
DWPI Analyst, Organic Chemistry content since 2022
12+ years of patent research experience

“Our team continues to enrich DWPI content driven by voice of the customer”

Snigdha Agarwal, Master of Science, Organic Chemistry
DWPI Analyst, Chemistry content since 2022
6+ years of patent research experience

Exploring the world’s patent data is now easier than ever.

Quickly find the right insights
DWPI abstracts are written in standardized language, allowing you to find more relevant patent publications using keyword searches.
Understand what an invention covers, in less time.
DWPI abstracts are written by technologists with deep domain knowledge. Abstracts clearly state the invention’s novelty, use and advantage, allowing you to quickly review patent publications and understand their claims.
Evaluate global invention activity for a specific technology
DWPI indexes the world’s inventions into 322 technology classes, making it easy to review inventions from all major jurisdictions related to a specific technology.
Innovate with confidence
DWPI uses a proprietary process of machine learning and manual review to cleanse, normalize and fill in missing data, such as inventors, assignees and class codes, so that you can make decisions with confidence.