Centredoc specialist in technological watch

In 1964, the Centredoc cooperative was created to meet a need formulated by the watch industry concerning new patent filings. Some five decades later, this institution employs fifteen persons, including a team of pluri-disciplinary engineers. Its fields of activity have been diversified. Today, 50% of its work is dedicated to the watch industry with the other 50% focused on the medical, pharmaceutical, nutritional and materials fields. At the disposal of its members, the institution is also open to all enterprises which need to obtain strategic and technological information. More recently, it has been providing coaching services and also organising specific training courses geared to its clients’ needs.

INFOMAT
Launched in 1986, the INFOMAT monitoring facility provides extensive information about materials. A paper edition is currently being published ten times a year and provides a selection of publications and patents relating to materials, their production methods and formulation for watch and micro-technology applications. An electronic version of this information is also available to subscribers.

Watch Industry
Created in 1993, Watch Industry is the world’s first «Business Intelligence» service specially designed for watch industry managers. Supported by a powerful search engine, Watch Industry Int’l News Digest makes weekly strategic information available to interested readers about the market, brands and watch technologies. Who has moved to a different post within the key watch industry firms? Which brand has been bought up by which investor? How have the results of the big groups listed on the stock market trended? Those are just some of the countless questions which this service answers. Also available in a weekly paper edition, Watch Industry gives its readers a summary of strategic information in this specific field. An archive base bringing together the full history of monitoring since 2001 is also available.

RAPID
RAPID software is a vital tool for the watch industry on which Centredoc bases all its services. A reference in the technology monitoring field for more than fifteen years, this program provides a complete multisource solution enabling all the strategic information flows (patents, scientific publications, web and internal information) about a company to be managed on a single platform. Using professional data sources, cutting-edge processing tools and an intuitive interface, RAPID helps to give the user a global vision of his particular field of activity.

Based on a modular concept, RAPID enables the elements corresponding to users’ needs to be selected in a secure space. Research results, expert reports, rankings, full texts, articles ordered etc. are centralised in this virtual collaborative space. A new module called «Analysis» enables evaluation tasks to be entrusted to internal experts, so transforming the monitoring platform into an effective strategic management tool.

On a desktop computer, tablet or mobile, in Word, Excel, PDF, XML or other formats, the fourth release of RAPID is a multi-support version. To meet the needs of each individual, a personal configuration can also be programmed. Whether you are an individual who needs a simple high performance technology watch tool, a small team setting up a professional monitoring system or an enterprise wishing to centralise and circulate strategic information, RAPID software lives up to everyone’s expectations.

Watch design
Because design is tending to assume an increasingly important role as a differentiating factor, companies are deciding more and more often to register designs and models which are intellectual property rights in the same way as patents for inventions. In order to achieve the twofold aim of watching what competitors are protecting and making sure not to breach their rights, a company must set up a design monitoring strategy. Each month, Centredoc provides concentrated information in highly detailed bulletins describing newly protected designs and models in the watch industry. This monitoring system covers fourteen countries.

3Dpat
Since 3D printing technology revolutionised the world of creation, the number of patent filings has been growing constantly. That being so, Centredoc now offers a new monitoring service enabling readers to keep up to date with technological trends in this field and also with the main players and applications.

Watch Industry Inventions Review - RIH
The monthly Watch Industry Inventions Review (RIH) contains descriptive notes and full text articles about new patents in the fields of mechanical and electronic watchmaking and also in allied branches, such as exterior parts and electronic components. This technology watch enables competitors’ patents to be identified and new developments that are likely to influence the industry understood. This concentrated summary covering seven countries appears twelve times a year in paper and electronic versions.

Its Asian counterpart - RIH Asia - specifically covers patents filed for the Chinese, Korean and Japanese watch industry.

Accompanied research
Are you launching a new development but have little time to complete your background information file? Centredoc offers an accompanied research service enabling you to rapidly identify the documents which you need to bear in mind in the initial phase of your study. This service is an integral part of the institution’s in-house activity with the support of a person qualified in this particular area.

Eclips, an international network
Because Centredoc is constantly striving to develop and expand its services, it has established contacts with similar institutions to promote synergies between the different partners. The Swedish Uppdragshuset company is the first team member for this new networking activity. Providing similar services, but in different areas of influence, this institution is the first pillar of the developing activity called Eclips, which aims to supplement the historical offering of Centredoc by adding complementary new services.

Training
For the past two years, Centredoc has been offering training services organised in partnership with the European Enterprise and Intellectual Property Institute (EEIPI). These courses are led by highly qualified European trainers and can also be provided directly in-house if the client prefers.

Events
Events are another domain that is brilliantly covered by Centredoc. Organisation of seminars, lectures, information days, congresses etc. Well-known in the watchmaking world, Centredoc organises the annual INFOMAT seminar, the 43rd edition of which is due to be held next October and will deal with nano-composites. To be held in Montreux in early December, the second IP strategy and innovation days are another event organised by the Neuchâtel-based institution.

Eyes everywhere
Like an owl, the night bird with which Centredoc often compares itself, the institution has the ability to observe, detect and analyse thousands of items of information which it safeguards using its IT tools be-fore transcribing them in various forms. Better than the owl who is active mainly at night, Centredoc provides its services round the clock through its technology watch facilities.

September 22, 2016