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Questel
logo de MQuentin/Brouillon
Création 1978
Forme juridique SAS
Siège social 1978
Drapeau de la France France
Président Charles BESSON
Effectif 1800
SIREN 329326896
Site web https://www.questel.com/
modifier - modifier le code - voir Wikidata 

Questel is a software company and a service provider for the intellectual property, trademark and innovation sectors, with offices in 28 countries and its headquarters in Paris, France. The company provides software and services in fields of search, analysis and management. It is involved throughout the innovation life cycle including idea management, invention management as well as writing assistance, translation, international filing and renewal of patents and trademarks. Currently, more than 400 employees are shareholders in the company. Questel aims to create sustainable value for all its stakeholders while being responsible towards the economy, society and the environment. For this, the company has defined a 5-year CSR plan and is currently working towards obtaining B-Corporation certification. In 2021, Questel SAS won the EcoVadisgold medal, proof of its involvement in CSR initiatives and actions. Thanks to a successful acquisition strategy and multiple LBOs, Questel is now "close to unicorn status"[1]

History[modifier | modifier le code]

Origin[modifier | modifier le code]

In the 1970s, while the United States was implementing a national policy for the circulation of Scientific and technical information, notably by launching MEDLINE, France wanted to develop its skills in the field of information in order to ensure national independence on these strategic issues[2]. To work on it, the National Office of Scientific and Technical Information (BNIST) was created in 1973, before becoming the Interministerial mission for scientific and technical information (MIDIST) in 1979. It was at this time that the structure oriented its policy towards the implementation of a "national server center »[3] " on the recommendations of the Aigrain-Dejou[4] report.

This operation was then entrusted to Télésystèmes, a subsidiary of the group that will became France Telecom. On June 22, 1979, the Questel server was launched[5]. At first interested parties, the structure received government subsidies of several million francs per year (132 million francs for the period 1978-1986)[6].

The structure which was until then a division of Télésystèmes until it became an independent structure in 1989 while remaining a subsidiary of the France Telecom group. The company expanded by acquiring its American competitor Orbit and took on the name Questel.Orbit.

At the end of the 1990s, its owner tried to sell the company but was unable to do so, and it was finally in 2000 that a newly created Intelligence Property Group bought 80% of the company's shares, with France Telecom retaining the remaining 20% for some time before selling them[7].

LBOs[modifier | modifier le code]

Since its creation, Questel has completed four LBOs. In 2008, Questel was supported by the European investor Syntegra Capital[8],[9]. In 2015, after a long process, a secondary LBO allows Raise and CAPZA[10] (formerly Capzanine), two French growth capital funds, to take over from Syntegra in this former France Télécom spin-off [11]. Three years later, a third LBO allowed IK Investment Partners to enter the capital of Questel[12],[13]. This operation was carried out in the context of strong internal growth and external growth operations with the acquisition of the American companies ITIP[14] and MultiLing[15]. In 2020, Eurazeo[16] invested in the company alongside Raise and IK Investment Partners in order to support Questel in its growth strategy, in new markets, new geographical areas and new businesses.[17]

Location[modifier | modifier le code]

In addition to its headquarters in Paris, Questel has regional offices in Alexandria (for the USA), Singapour(for Asia Pacific), Tokyo(for Japan) and Shanghai (for China). It also has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Colombia and Peru[18].

In France, Questel has four locations, in Paris (headquarters), Sophia-Antipolis (Research and development), Montpellier (Open innovation) and Grenoble (Consulting).

Acquisitions[modifier | modifier le code]

Since the mid-2000s, Questel has been actively acquiring companies of all sizes to strengthen its presence in specific markets such as patent and trademark portfolio search, analysis and management tools (Gem 360[19], Intellixir[20], ULT[21], NRI Cyber Patent[22], AboutInnovation.com[23]), IP consulting and services (Avenium[24], Concur IP[25]), fee management and international patent filing (ITIP ProFiciency[26],[27], Direct Validation[28]), translation services (Multiling[29]), trademark filing and renewal (Brandstock[30], RenewalsDesk[31]) and innovation management (Expernova[32], Yoomap[33]). In 2021, Questel maintained its policy by acquiring :

  • doeLegal[34], a provider of tools for the legal operations of companies ;
  • innosabi [35], a leading global provider of software solutions for idea management and collaborative innovation ;
  • NovumIP[36], an intellectual property technology group composed of Pavis and Novagraaf ;
  • Morningside [37], a company that equips organizations with end-to-end language and intellectual property solutions.

Products and Services[modifier | modifier le code]

Based on the Orbit.com database and a SaaS software suite, Questel's solutions are grouped into two main categories: business and technology intelligence for patents and trademarks, strategic intelligence for innovation and intellectual asset management.

Questel also offers a complete range of services to support its customers throughout the innovation cycle.

In 1996, the first online patent search service ever developed, named Qpat.com, is created by Questel. In 2010, Orbit.com is designed and replaces Qpat.com. Two years later, Questel begins eLearning courses on intellectual property. By 2014, the company has designed a multitude of services and software:

Origins[modifier | modifier le code]

Questel server (1979)[modifier | modifier le code]

Questel is a server that provides access to databases created by third-party producers in various fields. In the 1980s and 1990s, it helped transform the archiving and document management processes by providing access to digitized information[40],[41],[42],[43],[44],[45]. When it was launched in 1979, Questel made available to its users a dozen French bibliographic databases as well as Chemical Abstracts Service[46]. Access to the server, located in Valbonne-Sophia-Antipolis[47],is made through th transpac network[48] and the Mistral software.

Like most servers available at the time, access to Questel is not free and includes several elements: an entry fee (in the form of an annual subscription, 1,290 francs in 1992 for example); a cost proportional to the duration of the connection, which varies according to the database consulted[49]; a surcharge for consulting references; and special conditions for options (0.70 francs for saving a result, for example, again in 1992)[50].

QPat service (1996)[modifier | modifier le code]

In the early 1980s, as part of a trilateral agreement, the European Patent Office (EPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) agreed to make all their non-confidential patent databases available[51],[52].

For a marginal cost, this data became freely available to the public on the Internet. The information made available included the full text and images of patents from around the world. The availability of this information opened up new opportunities for commercial search services.

Questel then launched the first ever online patent search service in 1996. This service provided access to a database of over 1.8 million documents, called QPat, containing all patents issued between January 1974 and March 1996[53]. The service allowed for a search of patent titles and abstracts as well as access to the full text of the document, delivery and sending of digital copies, and the provision of an automatic watch service[54].

Orbit Intelligence and Orbit trademark[modifier | modifier le code]

Orbit Intelligence and Orbit trademark are applications dedicated to economic and technological watch for trademarks and patents. They provide access to publications from over 110 national patent authorities and 126 trademark authorities. The information is normalized and restructured to easily allow simple or complex search (Boolean or similarity), customized analysis (diagram, scatter plot, radar, networks, cartography, etc.), sharing and automatic monitoring.

Orbit Invention and Orbit Innovation[modifier | modifier le code]

Orbit Invention is a platform that promotes the development of an idea through challenges and peer reviews, combined with a step-by-step internal validation process. Orbit Innovation is a strategic foresight application that allows you to research and analyze the innovation of future partners, suppliers, customers or competitors.

Orbit Asset[modifier | modifier le code]

Orbit Asset is a portfolio management application for all types of intellectual assets. The software allows to structure content by products, entities or business areas, to automate renewals, to facilitate administrative tasks and to evaluate assets in real time to facilitate strategic decision making.

A one-stop shop for services[modifier | modifier le code]

Questel also offers a range of services throughout the innovation cycle to support its clients in the different stages of patent and trademark creation and management. These services accompany the entire life cycle of an asset: state of the art (prior art and freedom to operate), drafting and translation of claims, response to an examination report, international filing and renewals.

Notes and references[modifier | modifier le code]

  1. ↑ « Questel proche du statut de licorne », sur CFNEWS, 2021-01-08cet17:50:00 (consulté le )
  2. ↑ Jean-Michel Salaün, « Les politiques scientifiques en information scientifique et technique », dans Martine Poulain, Histoire des bibliothèques françaises, t. III, Paris, Cercle de la librairie, , 1187 p. (ISBN 978-2-7654-0973-1), p. 685-701
  3. ↑ (en) Souad Odeh, Le positionnement des intermédiaires en économie de l’information numérique, Lyon, Université Lumière-Lyon-II, , 257 p. (lire en ligne)
  4. ↑ Titré Les échanges scientifiques internationaux sur les problèmes de réseau et de système d'IST, ce rapport au président de la République de mars 1979 n'a pas été publié.
  5. ↑ Notre société et notre histoire - Questel
  6. ↑ Jiaji Ma, Pouvoirs publics et serveur Questel, ENSSIB, , 107 p. (lire en ligne)
  7. ↑ « Questel : premier serveur d'information brevets », sur www.bases-netsources.com (consulté le )
  8. ↑ (en) « Questel Acquires Specialized Patent Services and Reinforces its Prior-Art Search Services », sur wiki.piug.org, (consulté le )
  9. ↑ (en) « Syntegra Capital Acquires Questel SA », sur mergr.com, (consulté le )
  10. ↑ « Le fonds SYNTEGRA cède sa participation dans QUESTEL, FUSACQ Buzz », sur www.fusacq.com (consulté le )
  11. ↑ « Raise et Capzanine relaient Syntegra dans Questel », sur capitalfinance.lesechos.fr, (consulté le )
  12. ↑ « IK Investment Partners entame des négociations exclusives pour entrer au capital de Questel », sur capitalfinance.lesechos.fr, (consulté le )
  13. ↑ (en) « IK Investment Partners acquires Questel stake », sur privateequitywire.co.uk, (consulté le )
  14. ↑ (en) « ITIP ProFiciency acquired by Questel », sur Crunchbase, (consulté le )
  15. ↑ (en) « IP Service Provider Questel Acquires MultiLing in ‘Highly Competitive’ Process », sur slator.com, (consulté le )
  16. ↑ Eurazeo, « Eurazeo Capital investit dans Questel aux côtés d’IK Investment Partners, RAISE Investissement et l’équipe de management » [PDF], sur Eurazeo, (consulté le )
  17. ↑ (en) « Eurazeo Capital invests in Questel alongside IK Investment Partners, RAISE Investissement and management team », sur www.privateequitywire.co.uk, (consulté le )
  18. ↑ (en) « Questel Offices », sur Questel.com (consulté le )
  19. ↑ (en) « Gem360 acquired by Questel », sur crunchbase.com, (consulté le )
  20. ↑ (en) « Questel SA Acquires INTELLIXIR SAS », sur mergr.com, (consulté le )
  21. ↑ (en) « Questel acquires ULT Research which will reinforce its presence in Japan », sur Questel, (consulté le )
  22. ↑ (en-US) « Questel acquires NRI Cyber Patent », sur private-equitynews.com, (consulté le )
  23. ↑ (en-US) « AboutInnovation Press-Release - Questel », (consulté le )
  24. ↑ « Avenium devient Questel Consulting et s’internationalise », sur ledauphine.com, (consulté le )
  25. ↑ (en) « Questel acquires Concur IP », sur ippromagazine.com, (consulté le )
  26. ↑ (en) « ITIP ProFiciency acquired by Questel », sur crunchbase.com, (consulté le )
  27. ↑ « Capzanine et Raise soutiennent Questel dans sa stratégie de croissance avec l’acquisition de la société américaine Itip », sur raise.co, (consulté le )
  28. ↑ « Questel s’offre le suédois Direct Validation », sur capitalfinance.lesechos.fr, (consulté le )
  29. ↑ (en) « IP Service Provider Questel Acquires MultiLing in ‘Highly Competitive’ Process », sur slator.com, (consulté le )
  30. ↑ « Questel franchit le Rhin pour se brancher à Brandstock », sur capitalfinance.lesechos.fr, (consulté le )
  31. ↑ (en-GB) « Questel acquires RenewalsDesk », sur Patent Lawyer Magazine, (consulté le )
  32. ↑ « Questel confirme son projet de build-up mondial après l'acquisition d'Expernova », sur entreprendre-montpellier.com, (consulté le )
  33. ↑ (en) « Questel acquires majority stake in Yoomap », sur ikinvest.com, (consulté le )
  34. ↑ « doeLEGAL, Inc. acquired by Questel », sur PRWeb (consulté le )
  35. ↑ (en) Crunchbase, « innosabi GmbH acquired by Questel », sur Crunchbase, (consulté le )
  36. ↑ « Legaltech : Questel achète NovumIP », sur magazine-decideurs.com, (consulté le )
  37. ↑ (en-US) « Questel Buys Morningside to Become Key Player in IP & Patent Translation », sur Slator, (consulté le )
  38. ↑ (en-US) « Questel Orbit Intellectual Property-IP Business Intelligence », sur Patracode (consulté le )
  39. ↑ (en-US) « Orbit IAM », sur Patracode (consulté le )
  40. ↑ « Expériences, évolutions : Les documentalistes en mouvement », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  41. ↑ « Une araignée dans la pinède Les télécommunications sont devenues une industrie majeure. Et un atout », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  42. ↑ « L'information professionnelle électronique " En ligne ", en disques et surtout en forme », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  43. ↑ « Banque de données pour le sous-sol », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  44. ↑ « Oredic, trois ans après », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  45. ↑ « L'électronique dépoussière les archives », Le Monde,‎ (lire en ligne)
  46. ↑ Serge Cacaly et Yves-François le Coadic, « Fifty years of scientific and technical information policy in France (1955-2005) », Journal of Information Science,‎ (lire en ligne)
  47. ↑ François Russo, « Destin et maîtrise de l'information écrite », Études,‎ , p. 621-632 (lire en ligne)
  48. ↑ (en) Clarisse Marandin et Jean-Émile Tosello-Bancal, Des banques de données, Ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, , 50 p.
  49. ↑ Anny Maximin, « Bases et banques de données juridiques et économiques françaises », Bulletin des bibliothèques de France, vol. 26, no 7,‎ , p. 391-405 (lire en ligne)
  50. ↑ (en) Marie-France Blanquet, L'industrie de l'information, , 239 p.
  51. ↑ (en) « Patent Trilateral Activities », sur uspto.gov (consulté le )
  52. ↑ (en) « Orbit Reincarnated », sur questia.com, septembre - octobre 2013 (consulté le )
  53. ↑ (en) « QPAT-US now offering 20+ years of patents for testing », sur questel.com, (consulté le )
  54. ↑ (en) « Intellectual property information. A case study of Questel-Orbit », sur researchgate.net, (consulté le )

External links[modifier | modifier le code]

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