CD-ROM patent archives: will the Internet consign them to history?

The World Wide Web has provided millions of people with rapid access to a huge number of patent specifications. They are generally either free of charge or require only relatively small fees. After the launch of big projects like ESP@CENET^® by the EPO and the initiatives of other patent offices, many people are convinced that this is the end of the established CD-ROM archives. This article looks at how CD-ROM archives were developed to fulfil the demands of a large company, reviews the latest developments and poses the question where do we go from here?