More than 165 delegates from both disciplines had the unique opportunity to exchange their experiences and needs, such contributing to the development of more efficient solutions for patent retrieval.

The IRFS 2007 had identified specific problems, such as how to search non-text information in patents, and launched initiatives to develop solutions. Presenting the latest results of these search projects, the IRFS 2008 proved that progress had been made in integrating the needs of IP professionals into the IR research. The further deepening of the cooperation between the two communities, initiated by the IRF, will be crucial to bringing the latest search technology to the IP industry.