CWS.ATR.PI.2011.IE

Annual Technical Report 2011 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Ireland (CWS/ATR/PI/2011/IE)

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

Applications for national patents continued to decline sharply. National long term Patent filings received during 2011 were down 34% on 2010 (from 350 to 230) while the number of short term patent applications filed was down 25% on 2010 (from 442 to 331).
The Office acts as a receiving office for European (EP) applications and also for applications filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT). The number of EP applications filed in 2011 was 27, the same as 2010 figure. The number of PCT applications filed went down from 79 in 2010 to 67 in 2011.

The number of European patent applications filed with the EPO in 2011 and designating Ireland was 141,373 a decrease of 3.65% on the 2010 figure of 146,726.

The Office granted 250 national patents, an increase of 2.88% over the 2010 figure of 243.

In 2011 the number of granted European patents designating Ireland was 45,505, an increase of 15.08% over the 2010 figure of 39,538.

A total of 41 requests for Supplementary Protection Certificates were received during the year under the European Communities (Supplementary Protection Certificates) Regulations, 1992 (medicinal) and 1996 (plant protection products). During the year, 16 certificates were granted (medicinal and plant protection), 3 requests were rejected and 1 request was withdrawn. At the end of the year there were 101 requests pending.

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

In 2011 there has been a marked reduction in the number of applications for national patents. This would seem to indicate that the economic recession is continuing to impact on the filing of applications for the registration of IP rights in Ireland. It is also indicative of a continuing decline in business confidence, allied to difficulties in accessing finance, which impacts on investment in innovation.

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

Statistics can be found in the 2011 Annual Report at: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/publications_report.aspx

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.)

The fortnightly Official Journal is published in both HTML and pdf versions on the Office's website. A pdf version can be downloaded and a search/browse facility is also available. Each Journal contains bibliographic information (applicant name, title of invention, date of filing, priority date where applicable and the application number) on new applications, published patent applications (i.e. 18 months after the priority date) and granted patents. The list of granted patents includes those granted both by our Office and by the EPO having Ireland as a designated state.

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

The Patents Office Journal published every fortnight contains bibliographic information (applicant name, title of invention, date of filing, priority date where applicable and the application number) on both new applications and published applications (i.e. 18 months after the priority or filing date) and granted patents. The list of granted patents includes those granted both by our Office and by the EPO having Ireland as a designated state. The Journal also contains information on changes to the status of applications and grants related to both patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates e.g. withdrawals, refusals, lapses etc, official notices and details of methods of payment of statutory fees.

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

The Office publishes its patent applications and granted patents in co-operation with the EPO and using FTP system. The information uploaded contains searchable bibliographic data and abstracts with the complete document available in pdf format. At present the collection covers the years 1995 to 2011 inclusive. The Office also sends bibliographic data and abstracts of all published applications in electronic form on a fortnightly basis to the EPO for inclusion in its internal databases and incorporation onto the esp@cenet search facility.

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

Download a pdf version of the Journal: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/publications_download.aspx
A search/browse facility is also available: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/webjournal/default.aspx

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

Abstracting, reviewing, translating

All abstracts are submitted in English by applicants and are checked and modified if necessary by the patent examiners.

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)

All patent applications are classified according to the latest edition of the IPC (9th Edition) core level. The Office applies the latest edition of the IPC to all its published documents. No indexing schemes are used in the Office.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

Because of the small number of patent examiners, the Office does not carry out its own searches and does not maintain a search file. The searching of Irish national applications is carried out by the UKIPO.

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

In-house systems (online/offline)

The Office maintains an internal Patents database that contains all bibliographic data and legal status for Irish patents. The database can be searched free of charge by the public at our Information Centre in Kilkenny. The Office's website now offers 3 facilities for accessing Irish patent information online: the Patent Register Search allows access to current register information using the application or grant number; the Patent Database Search provides access to the patent collection via the bibliographic data, title and abstract fields; the SPC Database Search provides information on all published SPC information via the bibliographic data, product type and product identity.

The Office uses the PTOLEMY administrative management system with the application server running under Microsoft Windows 2003 linked to a SQL database and client workstations running under Windows XP. The network uses Novell and TCP/IP.

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 Office has an Information Centre in Kilkenny. This provides general information concerning intellectual property rights to the public as well as dealing with specific queries such as the provision of certified copies of documents, etc. Workstations are available for the public giving access to the Register of Patents and the Patents Public Search facility. The Office website is linked into the EPO esp@cenet search facility offering the possibility of accessing over 30 million documents online including Irish patent information.

The Office's website also provides an online payment system which facilitates the payment of patent, trade mark and design renewal fees, patent grant fees and trade mark registration fees by credit and debit cards.

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.

The Office's website provides basic information on many aspects of the patent application process at the following address: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/patents.aspx

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

A description of the information products and services offered by the Office can be found at the following address: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/publications.aspx

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

International or regional cooperation in the exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., bibliographic data, abstract and/or full text information

The Office supplies national bibliographic data in electronic format to the EPO for loading onto their EPOQUE database and for esp@cenet.

The Office also provides and receives electronic renewal fee and legal status information for EP granted patents designating Ireland from the EPO.

Copies of all published Irish patent applications are sent to the United Kingdom Patents Office which maintains a comprehensive collection of Irish documents for search purposes.

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)

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

During 2011, the Office sought to increase cooperation with The Enterprise Europe Network, Enterprise Ireland and the County Enterprise Boards through delivering a further series of one-day regional seminars, aimed at the ‘small business’ community, entrepreneurs and inventors, on the theme of ‘Building a Business on Your Ideas’. The seminars focused on making business more aware of IP, of the possibilities to exploit the value of the IP inherent in most businesses and the support structures that are available for small businesses and start-ups from the State and Europe. Seven of these seminars took place in 2011 in Cork, Galway, Dundalk, Kilkenny, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo in conjunction with the Institutes of Technology. Over 600 people in total attended, with a number of seminars fully booked or at capacity.
In line with its strategic objective to increase awareness of IP among the public, the Office continued with its outreach efforts directed particularly at the small business start-up sector and students. Altogether, the Office participated in some 16 events speaking on IP at start your own business courses and at business advice and enterprise exhibitions and shows.
The Patents Office held 27 IP clinics in 2011. The clinics give an opportunity to members of the public, inventors, entrepreneurs and business people to discuss with Patents Office staff on a one to one basis, their ideas and matters concerning IP (patent, trade mark or design) applications they intend to make or have already made to the Office. This approach can be particularly helpful in providing basic guidance on procedures and forms required for the registration of IP rights, the process of obtaining IP protection in Ireland or abroad and the timeframes involved. Assistance in constructing a do-it-yourself search strategy for patents, trademarks or registered designs and accessing and using online patent, trade mark and design data-bases is also provided.
The Office also continued to promote awareness of IP amongst second level students, parents and members of the public attending the following:-

BT Young Scientist &Technology Exhibition - The annual BT Young Scientist &Technology Exhibition took place in the RDS, Dublin from 13 -15 January 2011. With over 500 exhibitors, this year proved to be one of the largest. The exhibition has long been the constant in encouraging interest in science in secondary and primary schools. The Irish Patents Office once again took a stand for the duration of the exhibition. The Office has found that our presence at the exhibition is a useful avenue for imparting knowledge on intellectual property to the younger generation and to offer advice to participants in the Young Scientists Exhibition on patenting. The Office continued with its sponsorship of a special award at this year’s event. The Irish Patents Office Award is made to the student or group of students whose project best demonstrates the use of technology in new or improved applications, enhanced efficiencies and novel innovations.
The winner of the 2011 Patents Office sponsored prize was Katie Pierce O'Shea from Coláiste na Scéilge with her project; "P-row-tect the only rowing gloves in the world".
http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/young-scientists-2011.aspx

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

All current legislation concerning patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates can be found on the Office's website at the following address: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/legislation.aspx

contain the Annual Report of the Office

The 2011 Annual Report is available in pdf format at the following address: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/publications_report.aspx

contain patent-related news regarding the Office

Patent-related news regarding the Office may be found in the "What's New" section of the homepage at the following address: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/homepage.aspx

X. Other relevant matters

The Office has successfully progressed one of its strategic objectives of using technology in order to facilitate e-business activities and the dissemination of intellectual property information via its website.
The website facilitates the perusal of Irish patent, trade mark and design registers on-line and free of charge. In addition, a computerised search facility facilitates the inspection of details of Irish published patent applications and granted patents and pending and registered trademarks. The Office's website also permits free access to the esp@cenet database and search engine which hosts the largest volume of patent documentation available on the Internet. On-line access to the Office's Official Journal is also provided free of charge, is searchable and allows for flexible viewing of trade marks in colour.
The Office's website also provides an online payment system which facilitates the payment of patent, trade mark and design renewal fees, patent grant fees and trade mark registration fees by credit and debit cards and continues to be used by more and more of our customers. 89% of the Office’s statutory fees are now paid electronically compared to 64% in 2010.
Since 2010, the Office has pursued an e-communications programme which has the aim of improving service delivery and more efficient processing. The project initially facilitated the issuing of thousands of renewal reminders and overdue reminders electronically by Email instead of by post and was further expanded to include other correspondence in 2010 and 2011. Some 12,000 items of correspondence are now issued by Email each month. The objective is to combine electronic filing, electronic file processing and electronic communications in a way that will facilitate the introduction of paperless processing in the Office in the next few years.
In 2011 the Office introduced an electronic drop box which facilitates the submission of encrypted patent, trade mark and design applications and associated documents electronically and securely via the Internet. The drop box facility is not for single or one off applications but rather is for use by persons or firms which make or intend to make a number of applications for intellectual property rights in the course of a year. At the end of 2011, 10 firms were availing of the electronic drop box facility.