CWS.ATR.PI.2012.RS

Annual Technical Report 2012 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Serbia (CWS/ATR/PI/2012/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

National patent applications in 2012

Patent applications filed by domestic applicants:
191, +6.11 % compared to 2011 (180)
Foreign applications filed directly in the IPO:
20, -28.57 % compared to 2011 (28)
PCT applications entered national phase:
13, - 38.07 % compared to 2011 (21)

TOTAL National patent applications:
224, -2.62% compared to 2011 (229)

Requests for validation of EP patents in Republic of Serbia:
363, +0.55% compared to 2011 (361)

Extended EP applications (paid designation fee):
1511, -56.38 % compared to 2011 (3464)

Patent applications filed in 2012 by the field of technology:

17% Engines and pumps
15.2% Health; Leisure
12% Electro technique
10.3% Agriculture, food products
9% Transport
8.5% Instruments
6.3% Organic chemistry
5.4% Civil engineering
16.3% Other

PCT applications filed at Serbian IPO as a RO
17 in 2012, same as in 2011


Petty patent applications in 2012

Domestic applicants: 75, +12.00% compared to 2011 (67)
Foreign applicants: 3, -33.33% compared to 2011 (4)
TOTAL: 78, +9.86 % compared to 2011 (71)


Number of patents granted in 2012

Resident patentee: 79, +31.7 % compared to 2011 (60)
Foreign patentee: 88, -26.05 % compared to 2011 (119)
Validation of European patents with RS office: 369, +17.90% compared to 2011 (313)
TOTAL: 536, +8.94% compared to 2011 (492)


Number of petty patents granted in 2012

Domestic patentee: 61, +27.0814% compared to 2011 (48)
Foreign patentee: 6, compared to 2011 (2)

TOTAL: 67, +34% compared to 2011 (50)


Number of nationally granted valid patents: 1245, -6.95% compared to 2011 (1338)
Number of valid European patents: 1058, +31.92.compared to 2011 (802)

TOTAL: 2303 in 2012, +7.62% compared to 2011 (2140)

Number of valid petty patents: 200, -2.91% compared to 2011 (206)

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

The trend in the last few years is that foreign applicants use EP route after PCT route to enter the national phase what is shown by the increase of number of requests filled in the Office for validation of European patent. 363 requests are received in 2012, compared to 361 in 2011, 250 in 2010, 218 in 2009 and 148 in 2008.

Under the new patent law from January 2012, a new procedure for issuing search report before publication of application was introduced, search report is issued 8 monyhs after application date, and it accelerated the process of resolving application which is now under 3.5 years.

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

At the following link to the IPO website, all Annual reports of the IPO activities from 2006 onward are available in PDF. Statistical data are available for each IP rights in relevant part of the document. It is bilingual in Serbian and English.

http://www.zis.gov.rs/about-us/annual-report.106.html

Also, the statistics parts are available as the tables for each IP rights at separate web page of IPO website at following link is Patent statistics in English

http://www.zis.gov.rs/intellectual-property-rights/patents/statistics.65.html

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 about all intellectual property rights. 6 issues of IP Gazette were issued in 2012 – one issue in two months. Since the beginning of 2012 the Intellectual Property Gazette publishes only in electronic form in PDF format on the website of the IPO and to the following link

http://www.zis.gov.rs/information-services/intellectual-property-gazette.462.html

Publishing department of IPO prints in-house whole patent documents after the grant of patent/petty patent as well as patent certificates, application forms as well as guide for drafting the patent application. Also, in the course of 2012, as the addition to the previously printed EPO and WIPO editions, as well as Education and Information Centre leaflets, the new EPO brochures are translated and printed: Espacenet – introduction to the database of ideas, Clean energy patents, Nanotechnology patents, How to get European patent. These leaflets and brochures were used primarily for the representation of the Office at the fairs, exhibitions and seminars all over the Serbia. In 2011, the Education and Information Center at IPO Serbia is established formally with the function of education of all stakeholder group and consultancy service. The four EIC Newsletters are issued within 2012 and delivered to the customers in printed or electronic format.

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

Official IPO Gazette contains bibliographic data with the abstracts in Serbian and English on published patent applications, registered patents and registered petty patents. In each issue of Gazette bibliographic data on provisional protection of European patent applications are published on the basis of list of designations for extension of EP application (for applications filled with EPO 2004-2010, when the Extension agreement was in force) received from the EPO.

Full text of all published patent documents in Gazette published since 1976, are available on Publication server and they can be searched by the application/publication number, IPC symbol, document kind and publication date after its issuing on the following URL address in PDF format.

http://www.zis.gov.rs/databases/patent-databases.419.html

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

Patent documentation in paper is still available but not for public use in separate room at the Office. Since 2008- 2009 all national patent documents from 1976 are stored after reverting on Eposcan into PDF on Publication Server and in national MIMOSA RS database which can be searched by all bibliographic criteria.

Word processing and office automation

For the preparation of the Gazette all bibliographic data are pulled from the program for the administration of patent applications IPAS. Word processor is used the most as well as for preparing documents for publishing where the other advanced techniques are not applicable. For preparing EIC Newsletter, InDesign program is used

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

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

The IPO web site www.zis.gov.rs provides variety of information, i.e. a specific patent document could be search at Publication server, the Official Gazette could be downloaded, the search of the national patent's database could be conducted online using MIMOSA. Also, for the purpose of data exchange with the EPO database Espacenet, the separate server is installed at the office and in Espacenet complete patent documents with RS country code since 2006 can be found in it, while previous period from 1973 – 2005 have not completely covered yet..
In the mid of 2012 Serbia Espacenet country search version was launched.
On-line version of Advanced level of IPC8 translated in Serbian is available at the following URL :

http://www.zis.gov.rs/databases/patent-databases.419.html

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 the abstract on the first page. The abstracts and titles are translated in English and are entered into MIMOSA RS database in Serbian and English languages.

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 2012 the version 2011.01 and later 2012.01 of IPC were used to classify the new applications and symbols assigned are indexed. The application is classified upon receiving when the first search report is done, than reclasiffied for the purpose of publication if there were some changes and befor grant. Earlier published patent applications classified according with the earlier IPC editions are reclassified after grant.

There is a link to the IPC translated in Serbian at IPO web site, with previous versions. http://www.zis.gov.rs/databases/patent-databases.419.html

The last version of IPC 2012.01, is completely done within the office by examiners and installed by IT department with the translation kit that IPO got from WIPO.

Bibliographic data and full-text processing

Published patent applications, granted patent and registered petty patent are searchable by: filing date, publication date, priority date, application number, patent/petty patent number, inventor name, applicant name, name of patentee, keyword in abstract/title in Serbian and English and by IPC classification in MIMOSA RS database. Published patent applications as well as granted patent and petty patent can be searched by following criteria: number of application, number of publication and IPC classification in Publication server. Full text of all published patent documents is available on Publication server and MIMOSA RS.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

The Patent Library has continued to maintain and update the specialized files in paper and CD or DVD with primary and secondary patent documentation. With publishing in Official Gazette, published patent document, previously scanned are published also at Publication server and data are updated in MIMOSA database.
Also in the course of 2012, 839 new patent documents were placed in the database MIMOSA RS which are available for online searching through national patent documentation which consists of: 40 551 published patent applications (A, A1, A2, A3), 19 891 granted patents and 1 322 petty patents since 1976.
(http://www.zis.gov.rs/left/databases.421.html )

Updating

National patent library is updating on bi-monthly basis for national patent library fond.

Storage, including mass storage media

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

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

The Office is still receiving some foreign patent documents on CD and DVD, but number of countries is decreasing due to the switch to the free database through internet. IPO Serbia still receives them from NIPO of AT, RU and SI.
Official bulletins and Annual reports of foreign offices are received from time to time in paper or on electronically carriers.

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 RS professional search software for advanced search through published national patent documents.

Internally IPAS administration system is used for administration of patent applications.

External databases

IPO's examiners are provided with the access to the professional patent documentation database EPOQUEnet. Patent examiners started to conduct patent searches using this database in 2009, 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 and non-patent information and the office has the access upon the agreement with National Library to the database COBSON of scientific non-patent literature.

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

In Patent Sector IPAS (Intellectual Property Administration System, developed by WIPO) was used for patent application administration. All the data and changes from the receiving applications to the grant were administered through IPAS. Since IPAS was introduced in Trademark Sector two years earlier, new server in 2011 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, pulling bibliographic data contained in the Gazette in XML St36 format and using it for MIMOSA RS database and also providing the EPO with RS data in order to become accessible through Espacenet.

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 20Mbit/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.
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
Server for Espacenet software (local database):
2xIMB System x3650 M3, 18GB RAM, Dual XEON prosessor Quad core, 6 SAS 300GB disks, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP 1 (64bit) OS, Apache, MySql
IT equipment for EpoqueNet (connection to databases at EPO):
CISCO 2851 VPN router, CISCO Switch Catalyst 2950 12 ports, IBM Xserver 2 GB RAM, 2X 73,4 SAS disks, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP 1

HP P2000 G3 iSCSI MSA Dual Controller LFF storage discs.

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

National patent documentation is updated each two months, when the Official Gazette of IPO is issued. All published document are sarchable in public libraray as well as from the workstations of each employee.

There are security measures for IT equipemen that obtain secure workflow as well as security measures at the ground level for visitors which are allowed to visit alone only Public library.

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.

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 Public library or public reading room of the Department for Patent Documentation is part of the Information Services Sector.

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.

There are no special requirements for the library use and there is free access to the library's reading room. Patent library is equipped with 5 workstations with internet access and with the access to national patent documentation database. 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 and from the other departments often assists to 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;
- Patent documentation search based on written requests; (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)
- Organization of seminars and courses with relevant programs for the users of patent information.

The national patent collection is also available to the public on-line in reading room (Library) as well as on the Internet through Publication Server, MIMOSA RS (from 1975) and Espacenet (from 1973 but complete patent documentation from 2006)

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 "Intellectual property rights" the information on patent procedures are available in both (Serbian and English) languages and there are the links for all proceedings before the Office as well as FAQ, Legislative texts, statistics, international patent protection, examples of representative patent applications by technology field, guides, relevant agreements etc. There is no opposition and appeal procedures which are conducted in the Office, but the interested party can start the actions against IPO decisions before the relevant court.

http://www.zis.gov.rs/intellectual-property-rights/patents/most-frequently-asked.60.html

http://www.zis.gov.rs/права-ис/патенти/најчешћа-питања.2.html

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/information-services/scope.107.html

http://www.zis.gov.rs/databases/patent-databases.419.html

http://www.zis.gov.rs/intellectual-property-rights/patents/forms-and-instructions.62.html

http://www.zis.gov.rs/intellectual-property-rights/patents/fees.63.html

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

Serbian patent documents are available in MIMOSA RS database, while the exchange of data in electronic format is conducted primarily with the EPO for the data since 2006 and continued with the patent documentation data for missing years in Espacenet, from 1973 onwards.

http://www.zis.gov.rs/information-services/intellectual-property-gazette.462.html

Medium allowed for filing applications

Office receives application in paper form but developing the platform for e-filing in 2013.

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

IPO of Serbia had established the Education and Information Center (EIC) in 2009. EIC has developed in previous three years a range of different type of seminars for different stakeholder groups. Lectures can be tailor made. Also, the IPO is equipped with the modern public library, and the premises for seminars and educational purpose. The largest conference room is equiped fith all nececary technical facilities that enable holding international seminars up to 60 people with all audiovisual means. One smaller room is equipped with 13 PCs suitable for smaller seminars for on-line searches and others.

http://www.zis.gov.rs/home.334.html

Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)

In 2012 delegation from 2 countries visited IPO of Serbia in order to receive training mostly IT sector related to IPAS - Belarus and surveillance over collective organization in the field of copyright - Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also the patent examiners from IPO Serbia visited Bosnian IPO and delivered in Chemistry patent examiner’s department training in order to improve examination skills in specific fields of their examiners.

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

Two WIPO seminars were organized at IPO Serbia:
- Successful Technology Licensing, October 2012
- Management of IP rights in the Advertising industry, November 2012

In course of 2012 Education and Information Center held 83 seminars with different level of expertise for: SMEs, SMEs support institutions, institutes, universities, enforcement institutions and general public with 2533 participants. Also, Office introduced the service of Intellectual Property Pre-diagnosis in 2010 (7), in 2011 this service was delivered to 21 SMEs and in 2012 to 40 SMEs., a. Beside the regular consultancy on daily basis, EIC had 12 Open door events, once a month for consultancy in groups.
Office participated in 3 Round tables and had a booth at the 8 following fairs:

- Science is not a bogeyman, Nis March 2013
- Trade fair in Nova Pazova, April 2013
- International Technical fair in Belgrade, May 2012
- International Agricultural fair in Novi Sad, May 2012
- Trade fair in Paracin, October 2012
- TESLA FEST in Novi Sad -the biggest inventor's exhibition in Serbia, October 2012
- INOCOOP Fair of entrepreneurship in Zrenjanin - August 2012
- Business database fair in Belgrade, December 2012

At five regional or trade fairs IPO participated with the lectures upon invitations from organizers.

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/intellectual-property-rights/patents/legislative-texts.61.html in English,

http://www.zis.gov.rs/prava-is/patenti/прописи.3.html in Serbian

contain the Annual Report of the Office

http://www.zis.gov.rs/about-us/annual-report.106.html in English

http://www.zis.gov.rs/o-zavodu/godisnji-izvestaji.50.html in Serbian

if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR

The new web pages were developed for in order to make easier management of IPRs in the fielr of IPR enforcement

http://www.zis.gov.rs/about-us/ipr-enforcement.436.html

contain patent-related news regarding the Office

http://www.zis.gov.rs/news/news.104.html
http://www.zis.gov.rs/вести/вести.46.html

X. Other relevant matters