Abstract
This study presents a detailed description and analysis of an information-industry company: the online-host Questel-Orbit. It is a special provider of intellectual property information services and holds a leading position in the fields of patent as well as trademark information. We are going to outline the company's history originating from the two formerly separate systems Orbit and Télésystèmes Questel. We describe the company's present structure, its clients and content supply, with a special focus on the retrieval systems of patent information as well as trademark information. Furthermore, we are going to discuss the market situation of these information products particularly in regard to aspects such as competitive position, cooperating partners, pricing policy and critical success factors. Finally, we present a SWOT analysis, an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.