Annual Technical Report 2009 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Estonia (CWS/ATR/ID/2009/EE)
Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which are likely to remain stable over time (three years or more) are provided, or home (main) page URLs are provided with a short explanation of how to access the corresponding information.
The expression "industrial designs" covers industrial designs and models. Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in this series of Annual Technical Reports.
I. Evolution of registration activities
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to the previous year
In 2009 industrial design registration applications filed with the Patent Office numbered 95, which is 1 application more than in 2008. 25 international industrial design registrations were received under the Hague Agreement, which is significantly (44%) less than last year (45 in 2008).
At the end of 2009 the number of pending national registration applications was 33 and pending international registrations was 10. The average duration of the processing of an industrial design is 1 to 2 months.
On 31 December 2009 the total number of industrial designs entered in the register of industrial designs in Estonia was 929. Legal protection in Estonia was granted to 693 international registrations of industrial designs. In addition to them there were 404,884 registered Community designs, including 143 from Estonia, and unregistered Community industrial designs.
International registrations of industrial designs entered into force in Estonia in 2009
TOP 5 countries
Germany 13
Switzerland 10
France 5
Italy 3
Belgium 2
Finland 2
Ukraine 2
TOP 5 countries
Registrations of industrial designs valid on 31 December 2009
Finland 393
Estonia 390
Germany 18
Sweden 17
Holland 15
Denmark 15
TOP 5 countries
International registrations of industrial designs valid in Estonia on 31 December 2009
Switzerland 622
Germany 20
Hungary 8
France 7
Spain 6
Turkey 6
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
In 2009 the most popular designed products at registration of industrial designs were furniture (16,7%), packages (8,3%) as well as clothes and haberdashery (8,3%), saving and information apparatus (5%).
The majority of the applications and international registrations were filed from Estonia (77,5%), followed by Switzerland (5%), France (5%) and Germany (4%).
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to industrial designs
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=565&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of industrial design documents and of secondary sources of industrial design information, i.e., official gazettes
Publishing, including printing, copying techniques and electronic printing
The official publication of the Estonian Patent Office is the Estonian Industrial Design Gazette.
The Estonian Industrial Design Gazette is published 4 times a year.
Since 1 January 2003 The Estonian Industrial Design Gazette of the Estonian Patent Office are available also electronically (in pdf-format, http://www.epa.ee/default.asp?id=515 ):
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information
The Estonian Patent Office homepage at www.epa.ee was currently updated. The homepage enables access industrial design registration information both in Estonian and English. It also contains all legal acts, regulations and international agreements by the Government of the Republic and Minister of Economic Affairs, and other legislation as well as material on legal protection of industrial designs, relevant links, current news and the public databases.
Although the number of applications decreased in 2009, interest in industrial designs has remained the same. 45 people had consultations in the Estonian Patent Office (52 in 2008). Besides, many more received assistance by phone or e-mail. Presentations on industrial designs were made at the intellectual property seminars in Haapsalu and the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Databases and office automation
Database of Industrial Designs at http://www2.epa.ee/Patent/design.nsf/SearchEngl?OpenForm contains data on registered industrial designs and industrial design registration applications filed in the Republic of Estonia and international registrations of industrial designs filed for registration according to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs since 11 January 1998 to the extent specified in the Industrial Design Protection Act.
The data on industrial design registration applications filed in the Republic of Estonia for registration according to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs is available in the database as on the date the International Bureau sent the copy of the publication of the international registration to the Estonian Patent Office. The database does not include changes made later in the international registration. Information on the international registrations of industrial designs is available in a bulletin accessible at the web page of WIPO.
Information on industrial design registration applications is presented as filed by the applicants.
The numbers of applications contain 10 digits (e.g. D200300045) and the numbers of registrations contain 5 digits (e.g. 00581).
Search in the database is free. The user needs a browser supporting JavaScript (Netscape 4.08, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or more recent versions).
The database is informative and does not have legal effect. Search results do not ensure the protectability of industrial designs and are not binding on the Estonian Patent Office in processing the industrial designs. For specifying the data and for the release of information or the issue of official extracts from the files of registration applications and of their processing or from the Register of Industrial Designs, please contact the Receiving Department of the Estonian Patent Office.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online industrial design gazettes and to other sources of industrial design information, including download of bulk industrial design data
http://www.epa.ee/default.asp?wa_id=651
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied
Classification and reclassification activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification (please indicate whether industrial designs are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)
The Estonian Patent Office uses the International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Agreement). The Republic of Estonia became party to the said Agreement on Oct. 31, 1996.
WIPO Standard St. 80 is used for bibliographic data coding.
Bibliographic data and processing
WIPO Standard St. 60 is used for bibliographic data coding.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
The Estonian Patent Office does not use the manual search files.
V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs
The Estonian Patent Office maintains a computerised in-house database (applications, registered designs, international registrations).
The Common Software (CS) is used in the Patent Office for administering the procedures of the examination. It has already been used for more than 10 years and it is regularly updated. Now Version 3.3.1 is in use.
Electronic filing of the industrial design registration applications at the Estonian Patent Office via a portal of electronic filing of applications for legal protection of industrial property at the address https://online.epa.ee/ started on 4 December 2008.
The Estonian ID card and its reader are required for the entry into the portal. An industrial design utility model registration application can be compiled by anyone, who has entered the portal with the Estonian ID card. But an application can be officially filed with the Estonian Patent Office only when it is digitally signed by the applicant or the patent attorney. Upon request it is possible to receive a notification of the acceptance of the industrial design registration application, which can be saved or printed out from the Estonian Patent Office.
VI. Administration of industrial design information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering designs, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and industrial design information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
The computerised Estonian industrial designs database can be exploited at the reading room of the Estonian Patent Library. The searches are carried out at the request of the users and the customers pay a moderate price for the computerised services.
URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of industrial design applications
https://online.epa.ee/
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide information on business procedures such as: filing, publication, examination and registration procedures related to industrial designs; opposition and appeal procedures related to industrial designs; etc.
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=395&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
(only in Estonian)
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., industrial design search service(s) and industrial design databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=917&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of industrial design documentation and information
International or regional cooperation in the exchange of industrial design information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes
The Estonian Patent Library exchanges gazettes containing the information on industrial design from 27 IP offices, by international exchange of publications.
Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape
At present information concerning the Estonian industrial design on machine-readable carriers is not being forwarded to our exchange partners.
VIII. Matters concerning education and training, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)
Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)
As in October Entrepreneurship Weeks and Days were arranged also in other towns besides Tallinn the Patent Office was invited to make presentations on the Entrepreneurship Day in Narva, where our examiners disseminated their knowledge on protection of inventions and trademark registration. Interest was extremely big and Russian-speaking population also attended the event (the presentations were translated into Russian).
Traditionally two larger seminars – one in East-Virumaa and the other in Tallinn – were arranged for the small-sized entrepreneurs in Tallinn.
In April an entrepreneurship day “A Wise Deed Brings Benefit” dedicated to the World Intellectual Property Day was arranged in Ida-Virumaa. The Patent Office did cooperation with several partners (e.g. team of Innovation Year 2009, East-Viru Entrepreneurship Centre,
Training courses for national and foreign participants
45 people had consultations in the Estonian Patent Office (52 in 2008). Besides, many more received assistance by phone or e-mail. Presentations on industrial designs were made at the intellectual property seminars in Haapsalu and the Estonian Academy of Arts.
IX.Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
provide information on legislation related to industrial designs
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=456&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key= (mainly in Estonian)
contain the Annual Report of the Office
http://www.epa.ee/ul/doc/valjaanded/aasta2009.pdf
contain industrial design-related news regarding the Office
http://www.epa.ee/rss.asp?wa_site_id=2