The patent information currently available for the former USSR, EAPO, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Baltic countries and Uzbekistan is described. It is a complicated scene, in terms of the extent and depth of coverage, the media employed (paper, CD, on-line), and the use of open access, charged Internet access and commercial databases.