CWS.ATR.PI.2009.RS

Annual Technical Report 2009 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Serbia (CWS/ATR/PI/2009/RS)

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 term "patent" covers utility models and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in their Annual Technical Reports on Industrial Design Information Activities.

I. Evolution of patent activities

Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants with respect to the previous year

Patent applications in 2009
Patent application filed by domestic applicants 299, -22.5% compared to 2008 (386)
Foreign applications filed directly in the IPO 21, +31.25% compared to 2008 (16)
PCT applications in national phase 40, -45.2 % compared to 2008 (73)
Extended EP applications (paid designation fee) 4258, -24,3% compared to 2008 (5625)
TOTAL 4618, -24.3% compared to 2008 (6100)
Petty patent applications in 2009
Domestic applicants 101, -25,7% compared to2008 (136)
Foreign applicants 4, +300% compared to 2008 (1)
TOTAL 105, -23.4 compared to 2008 (137)
Number of patent granted in 2009
Domestic patentee 103, +47.1% compared to 2008 (70)
Foreign patentee 300, +33.9% compared to 2008 (224)
TOTAL 403, +37.1 compared to 2008 (294)
Number of petty patent granted in 2009
Domestic patentee 86, +6.2% compared to 2008 (81)
Foreign patentee 0, -100%% compared to 2008 (3)
TOTAL 86, +2.4% compared to 2008 (84)

Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year

In the course of 2009, 403 patents were registered which represents the increase of 109 granted patents or 37% in comparison to previous year. In the course of 2009, 218 requests were filed in the Office for the entry of extended European patent in the Register of patents, which is the increase of around 47% in comparison to previous year.
46 extended European patents were entered into Register of patents, which are included in the number of registered patents.

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to patents

http://www.zis.gov.rs/sr/pdf_o_nama/godisnji_izvestaj_2009.pdf in Serbian
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/pdf_o_nama/annual_report_2009.pdf in English

II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, distribution and use of primary and secondary sources of patent information

Publishing, printing, copying (main types of publications of the Office in the field of patent information, etc.)

Intellectual Property Gazette is the basic official source of information on all intellectual property rights. 6 issues of IP Gazette were issued in 2009 – one issue in two months. It is available in paper and CD/DVD carrier.
Publishing department of IPO prints in-house full-text patent specifications after grant of patent/petty patent, patent certificates, application forms, IPC as well as guide for drafting patent application. Also, in the course of 2009, IPO Office arranged and printed 12 brochures for information and advertisement purpose about administrative procedures of protection of certain IP rights, about services offered by the Office and possibilities of utilization of the data bases. These prospects were used primarily for the representation of the Office at the fairs, exhibitions and seminars all over the Serbia.

Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of patent information

Gazette contains bibliographic data with abstracts in Serbian and English on published patent applications, registered patents and registered petty patents indexed in accordance with: IPC symbol, publishing number and applicant. In each issue of Gazette, bibliographic data on provisional protection of European patent applications are published on the basis of the list of paid designation fees received from the EPO.
The Annual Report 2009 of IPO with statistics is bilingual and available on the Office’s web site .
Full text of all published patent documents in Gazette are available on Publication server of the Office on the following URL address in PDF form.
http://89.216.38.53/rs-pubserver/search.jsp?lg=sr

Mass storage media used (paper, microforms, optical storage, etc.)

All national published patent documents are available in paper form in separate room in the Office. They are also stored after reverting on Eposcan into PDF on Pub Server.

Word processing and office automation

For the purpose of Gazette preparation Word processor is used the most as well as for preparing documents for publishing where the other advanced techniques are not applicable.

(New) techniques used for the generation of patent information (printing, recording, photocomposing, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), etc.)

For generation of primary patent documentation published patent applications are scanned on Eposcan and PDF form is available through PubServer and MIMOSA. For preparation and printing registered patents and petty patents different OCR programs are used. Earlier Adobe Fine Reader and now all multifunctional scan/copying machines in the Office have built-in text converters for different types of format (PDF, TIF, GIF etc)

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online publication of patent documents and gazettes, and to other primary and secondary sources of patent information, including patent publication servers and download of bulk patent data

At the following URL which is a link with Publication Server of the Office website, all the national published patent documents (patents, petty patents and published patent applications) are suitable for searching according to IPC symbol, application/publication number and publication date from 1976. Whole documents are in PDF and suitable for download.
http://89.216.38.53/rs-pubserver/resultlist.jsp
On-line version of Advanced level of IPC8 translated in Serbian is available at the following URL :
https://89.216.38.52/SerbIPC/index.php?lang=sr

III. Matters concerning abstracting, classifying, reclassifying and indexing of technical information contained in patent documents

Abstracting, reviewing, translating

All granted patent and petty patent are published with abstracts on the first page. The abstracts and titles are translated into English and entered into MIMOSA RS database. Available in Serbian and English.

Classification¹, preclassification² (if applicable), and reclassification³ activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC), other classification (please indicate whether or not patent documents are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)

In 2009 the current version of advanced level of IPC8 was used for classifying the new applications and symbols assigned are indexed. Earlier published patent applications classified according with the earlier IPC editions are reclassified after grant.

Bibliographic data and full-text processing

All bibliographic data are indexed for the purpose of searching through MIMOSA software: applicant, patentee, IPC symbol, application number, inventor, application/publication date, publication number etc. Title and abstract are also indexed and searchable through MIMOSA.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

The Patent Library has continued to maintain and update the specialized files on paper and CD or DVD with patent documents from 8 countries including EPO and PCT documents.

Updating

Continually - for international library fond and bi-monthly completion of national library fond. There are some gaps in accessibility of published granted patent due to backlog in publishing departments and those patents are available in the form of published patent application.

Storage, including mass storage media

Data are stored electronically (official database, hard discs, external hard discs for backup) and in paper form.

Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file

The Office received foreign patent document on CD and DVD.
Official bulletins of foreign offices are available in electronic format and in paper form.

V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems

In-house systems (online/offline)

All the searches at the Office are computerized. Each working station has fast internet access and all external, mostly free, patent databases are accessible through it. Primarily it was internally and in 2009 became publicly on-line available , MIMOSA professional search software for advanced search through published national patent documents. Search allows use of all bibliographic search criteria and their combination including keywords in title and abstract in Serbian and English. Office also has complete collection of ESPACE EP and PCT patent documentation and it is accessible online/offline with MIMOSA too.
Published patent applications, granted patent and registered petty patent are searchable by: filling date, publication date, priority date, application number, patent number, petty patent number, inventor name, applicant name, patentee and IPC classification symbol on MIMOSA RS database.
Also in the course of 2009 600 patent documents were placed in the basis MIMOSA RS which is available for online searching through national patent documentation that consists of: 37974 published patent applications, 16498 granted patents and 1137 petty patents since 1976.
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/pdf/mimosa_instructions.pdf

Internally IPAS administration system is used for an administration of patent applications. Also the register of all patent applications since 1990 can be searched through IPAS with availability of criteria dependant on the phase of patent applications.

External databases

In the May of 2009, the EPO professional patent documentation database EPOQUEnet, used by EPO examiner also, was introduced in the Office. Patent examiners started to conduct patent searches using this database and it is also used for conducting searches within the commercial services offered by the Office.
For the purpose of examination, all available free-databases are used as the source of patent information

Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)

In Patent Sector IPAS (Intellectual Property Administration System) was used for patent application administration. All the data and changes from the receiving to registering were administered through IPAS, donated by WIPO. Since IPAS was introduced in Trademark Sector two years earlier, new server is acquired for new function of administering patent/petty patent applications. Also it is possible to perform simple search in IPAS and to get excerpts in determined beforehand templates. Patent search in IPAS is available in-house.
Very important job in this field started in 2008 and continued in 2009 and that is preparing patent data for Gazette through IPAS, preparing data from Gazette in XML and sending them to EPO in order to become accessible through esp@cenet.

Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used

Internet access is achieved through direct optical connection to the provider at 12Mbit/sec, 2xCisco ASA 5510 in active/standby firewall configuration.

IPAS server for patents - FujitsuSiemens Primergy TX200 server, 4GB RAM memory, 5x146GB hard disks in RAID 5 configuration, 2 NICs. MS Windows 2003 R2 Server Standard Edition, aplication software is IPAS (proprietary), database is Oracle.

Pub Server for patents:
Internet access - FujitsuSiemens Primergy TX300 server, 4 GB RAM, 5x146GB hard disks in RAID 5 configuration, 2 NICs. MS Windows 2003 R2 Server Standard Edition, web browser as a client, application server Apache/Tomcat, MySql database.
Intranet access - FujitsuSiemens Esprimo P workstation as a server (2 GB of RAM, 2x146GB hard disks).MS Windows XP, Active Directory database member, Mimosa software as a client, application server Apache/Tomcat, MySql database
System EPOQUEnet provided by EPO with communication server .

VI. Administration of the industrial property office library, and information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, for assisting clients on searching procedures, for obtaining official publications and registry extracts)

Planning, administration, automation, security, buildings

The Patent Library of the Department for Patent Documentation and Information Dissemination is part of the Information Services Sector.
There are no special requirements for the library use and there is free access to the library's reading room. In 2009 patent library was equipped in the framework of National IPA project funded by EC and EPO, implemented by EPO; with 5 workstation with internet access and with the access to national patent documentation databasis. Access to the paper patent documentation discontinued in the 2009 for the customers and their availability from the mid 2009 is solely through electronically databases.
Stuff in library often assists our clients in searching procedures especially to those who are not familiar in handling with electronically databases. Library is equipped with copy machine and printers where the clients can get the copies of relevant documents they are interested in.
Office also provides information services in the field of patents on written requests which are liable to payment of corresponding fees.
Different kinds of services are listed below:
- Informing economic agents and other users about the existence and use of patent information;
- Professional assistance of experts from the Office in determining the type of patent information;
- Professional assistance for users of patent information in understanding the bibliographic data and interpretation of patent information of a legal nature contained in patent documents;
- Professional assistance in drafting requests for a search of the patent documentation;
- Patent documentation search based on written requests with enclosures of the copies of relevant patent documents specified in the search report; (commercial service)
- Systematic searches into a particular field of technology in a particular interval of time according to the defined needs; (commercial service)
- The possibility of autonomous patent documentation search;
- Provision of information to the public regarding the legal status of patents and petty patents, as well as of patent applications; (commercial service)
- Delivery of copies of patent specifications upon request; (commercial service)
- Publication of the Intellectual Property Gazette (Glasnik intelektualne svojine - GIS), the official newsletter of the Intellectual Property Office, with information on the published industrial property rights;
- Organization of seminars and courses with relevant programs for the users of patent information.

Collecting, acquisitions, preparation

The Patent Library holds and maintains collections of domestic and foreign patent documents and other relevant material in the field of intellectual property on different media. In 2009, 1.194.530 CD/DVD were added to the collections as well as 62 Official bulletins of foreign patent offices.

Collection management, preservation

The paper collections are stored according to the IPC classes and number for the purpose of archives. The electronically stored collections are numerical and electronically searchable. All the electronically stored documents can be retrieved and reviewed on request in the library's reading room.

Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and patent information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)

The patent collections and the Internet access are available in the public reading room. The Office`s employees carries out personal assistance and consultations. The Office also provides searches on commercial basis upon written request.

The national patent collection is also available to the public on-line.

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide information on business procedures such as: filing, publication, examination and grant procedures related to patents; opposition and appeal procedures related to patents; etc.

Under the ”Patents” drop-down menu on both languages there are the links for all proceedings before the Office as well as FAQ, Legislative texts, statistics, international patent protection, relevant agreements etc. There is no opposition and appeal procedures which are conduted in the Office, but the interested party start the actions against IPO decisions before the relevant court which then forward the request to the Office.
http://www.zis.gov.rs/sr/home/# in Serbian
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/ in English

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., patent search service(s) and patent databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them

http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/informacione_usluge.html
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/naknade.html
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/pdf/mimosa_instructions.pdf

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)

Training courses for national and foreign participants, use of audiovisual means

In 2009 started IPA national project funded by EC and EPO aimed to strengthen position of IPO of Serbia with the support to foundation of Education and Information Center at the Office. In the framework of the project beside reconstruction of public library, reconstruction and technical equipment of the premises for seminars and educational purpose. 6 employees of IPO, future member of EIC, started to participate in extensive training in order to obtain the same knowledge on all IPRs for each of them.. Also, in the framework of this project establishing the first TTO at Belgrade University is foreseen.
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/ipa.html

Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)

TESLA FEST in Novi Sad –the biggest inventor’s exhibition in Serbia,October 2009
INOCOOP Fair of entrepreneurship in Zrenjanin – August 2009
Fair of business databases in Belgrade – November 2009
Belgrade’s inventor exhibition – May 2009

Participation of IPO staff at previous events with promotional activities and lectures.

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 patents

http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/zakoni_i_propisi.html in English, national IP Laws
http://www.zis.gov.rs/sr/home/zakoni_i_propisi.html in Serbian, national IP Laws and International Agreements

contain the Annual Report of the Office

http://www.zis.gov.rs/sr/home/godisnji_izvestaj.html in Serbian
http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/godisnji_izvestaj.html in English

contain patent-related news regarding the Office

http://www.zis.gov.rs/en/home/vesti.html

X. Other relevant matters