Since 1999, the Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) have signed and supported a Collaborative Agreement for the cataloguing and study of patent, trademark, and industrial design historical files.
The outcomes of this Agreement are pivotal in diverse areas:
- Development, maintenance, and supply of large and carefully designed databases on patents, trademarks, and industrial design, not only useful for academic researchers but for the general public.
- Promotion of PhD's and research projects associated with Economic and Business History and History of Science and Technology, among many other disciplines which are benefiting from access to the catalogued information.
- Training of university students on the acquisition of industrial and intellectual property management skills, as well as on large database organisation, archive administration, documentation, digital resources administration, and, especially, historical and economic research.
- Stimulation of similar projects internationally, in which the research group is fully integrated, contributing their pioneering experience.
- Dissemination of knowledge to society through books, exhibits or by digital resources such as the Virtual Museum on Industrial Property.