Annual Technical Report 2009 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Lithuania (CWS/ATR/TM/2009/LT)
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.
I. Evolution of registration activities
Application filings and registrations in 2009:
2068 applications filed directly with the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania (SPB), from which 86.9 % applications are originating in Lithuania (including 60 international applications);
2777 trademarks registered;
3933 positive decisions to grant international trademark protection in Lithuania made.
Filings directly with the SPB decreased by 26 %.
Filings originating in Lithuania decreased by 24 %.
Lithuanian trademarks registrations incresed by 12,4 %.
Positive decisions to grant international trademark protection in Lithuania incresed by 0,7%.
Lithuania, United States of America, Switzerland, Latvia, Germany and South Korea were the leading countries of filing as reflected in 2009.
Statistics of the year 2009 (national trademark applications and national trademark registrations, national trademarks in force) has been provided on SPB website (http://www.vpb.lt/statistika/2009/Statistika_2009.pdf).
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
The Official Bulletin Inventions Designs Trademarks contained announcements published in 2009:
FG9Y Registrations published in accordance with Article 16 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
MF9Y Registrations invalidated in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
PD9Y, TC9Y, TH9Y Changes in the Register on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with Article 23 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
PA9T Replacement of national registration by international registration in accordance with Article 33 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
ND9Y Renewal of registration of the mark in accordance with Article 36 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
MM9Y Registrations lapsed in accordance with Article 24 and Article 36 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
PC9Y Transfer of registration of the mark in accordance with Article 43 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
QB9Y Licensing (sublicensing) in accordance with Article 44 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
QC9Y Licensing (sublicensing) contracts removed from the Register in accordance with Article 44 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
MG9Y Registrations invalidated in accordance with Article 46 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
MA9Y Registrations removed from the Register in accordance with Article 24 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
RC9Y Pledging of the mark in accordance with Article 45 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
RD9Y Attachment of the Registrations in accordance with Article 45 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
TK9Y Rectifications;
MF9T Invalidation of international registration extension to the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with Article 34 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
QB9T Licensing (sublicensing) by holder of international registration of the mark in accordance with Article 34 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
MG9T Invalidation of international registration extension to the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with Article 46 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania;
CZ9Y Decisions adopted by the Division of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania.
Sections of the Official Bulletin have been coded in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.17.
The SPB Official Bulletin paper publications have been prepared using DTP tools and have been provided by LTL. SPB Official Bulletin publications in Adobe PDF format have been accessible on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/index.php?c=gazette.php).
Database of the Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania has been accessible on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/db/index.php?l=en).
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information
Ninth edition of the International Classification of goods ans services (Nice Classification);
Sixth edition of the International Classification of the figurative elements of the marks (Vienna Classification).
Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of Data (INID Codes) relating to trademarks have been used in the Register of Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania and in SPB Official Bulletin Inventions Designs Trade Marks.
The database of International Classification of Goods and Services has been accessible on the SPB website: (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/db_tppk/index1.php?l=en&t=prekiu_klasifikacija).
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
The State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania (SPB) published on its website (http://www.vpb.lt/index.php?l=en&n=245) the Official Bulletin Inventions Designs Trade Marks and database of Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania in 2009.
The SPB website Trademark Database has been an exact copy of the data stored in the Register of Trademark of the Republic of Lithuania and contained data on trademarks registered and applications filed directly with the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania.
Industrial Property search and other services have been also provided by Patent Information Center of Lithuanian Technical Library (http://www.tb.lt/PIC/PIC.htm).
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of Data (INID Codes) relating to trademarks have been used in the Register of Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania and in SPB Official Bulletin Inventions Designs Trade Marks.
VI. Administration of trademark information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering trademarks, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
Public users had a possibility to use the following CD/DVD-ROMs received in 2009:
Promyšlennaja sobstvennost. Oficialnyj biuleten (AM);
Schweizerisches Patent-, Muster- und Markenblatt (CH);
Buletin Oficial de Proprietate Industriala (MD);
Glasnik intelektualne svojine (RS);
IPPO Glasnik (MK);
Industrial Property Bulletin (GR);
Boletin Oficial de la Propiedad Industrial. (ES);
Published registered trademark and reclassification on registered trademark (JP);
Published unexamined/international trademark applications (JP);
Buletin Oficial de Proprietate Industriala (RO);
Tovarnyje znaki, znaki obslužyvanija i naymenovanija mest proischoždenija tovarov (RU);
Resmi Marka Gazetesi (Tescil Edilmis Markalar) (TR);
Promislova vlastnist (UA);
Trademarks BIB (US);
Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN (US);
Trademarks ASSIST (US);
Rasmij achborotnoma (UZ);
Benelux Merkenblad. Recueil des Marques Benelux (BX);
Community Trade Marks Bulletin (EM);
WIPO Gazette of International Marks (WO);
ROMARIN (WO);
Article 6ter (WO).
LTL also offered for visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with a wide range of Lithuanian publications (SPB Official Gazette, etc.), Official Bulletins of foreign states and intergovernmental organisations on CD/DVD-ROMs, sets of communications and regulations in 2009.
The visitors of LTL had been consulted on the spot as well as by phone or e-mail and had an opportunity to order trademark search in 2009.
SPB published on its website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en) the Official Gazette Inventions Designs Trade Marks and database of Trademarks of the Republic of Lithuania in 2009.
Search for the international and Community trademarks and other services also have been provided by Patent Information Center of LTL (http://www.tb.lt/PIC/PIC.htm)
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
The SPB Official Bulletins electronic version are published from the 1 of July, 2009 (http://www.vpb.lt/index.php?l=en&n=245).
The bibliographic and legal status data on trademarks has been supplied to THOMSON/COMPU-MARK to be included in COMPU-MARK databases.
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)
Lithuanian specialists took part in the following events in 2009:
On 27th January 2009 on initiative of State Patent Bureau together with business incubator “Vilnija” the Vilnius technical creativity day was commemorated with the opening of the exhibition of creations of Lithuanian designers in Lithuanian Technical Library, for which the exhibits were provided by Lithuanian Institute, also the day of “Open doors” took place in the State Patent Bureau and a seminar-discussion in the business incubator “Vilnija”.
Implementing the program provision of the fifteenth Government “Strengthen national legalization of industrial property objects, inventions, design, trade and service marks and topographies of semiconductor products” State Patent Bureau together with Lithuanian Technical Library, Institute of Lithuania and business incubator “Vilnija” organized this exhibition namely on the 27th of January, when the first Lithuanian Law to Protect Trademarks was enacted in 1925.
On 20th-21st April 2009 practical meeting of specialists from the national patent offices of Nordic and Baltic states on the relevant trademark and design protection topics took place in Lithuanian Technical Library, in 6 Šv. Ignoto street, Vilnius, organized by the State Patent Bureau. The meeting was attended by specialists from Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian national patent offices.
Every year on 26th April governments and organizations of the entire world together with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) celebrate the World Intellectual Property Day. The importance of development of intellectual property products is vital to underline, promote innovations, creativity, and positive attitude of the general society to importance of protection of intellectual property rights on economic, social and cultural development of the state on this day.
In 2009 State Patent Bureau organized several events to commemorate this day in Lithuania: SPB together with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University organizes a seminar “Industrial property in Lithuania: plan against the crisis”, attended by specialists, working in state and academic institutions, business representatives who held interest in the protection of intellectual property. The “Open-doors” day was organized in the premises of SPB, attended by students from Vilnius University, scientists, inventors, other persons having interest in the possibilities of protecting the industrial property or in the activities of the State Patent Bureau.
On 24th April 2009 an opening of exhibition “The history of the development of industrial property protection, commemorating 1000 year anniversary of the name of Lithuania” took place in Lithuanian Technical Library. The exhibition was aimed at commemorating the World Intellectual Property Day and was organized by State Patent Bureau and Lithuanian Technical Library. During the opening of exhibition the historic development of the industrial property protection system was introduced, as well as the descriptions of Lithuanian inventions before world wars, laws, contemporary patent documents, publications, articles, patents of inventions that changed and formed the world of innovation. The organization, best at commercializing industrial property, received an award of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the seventh consecutive year in Lithuania. The WIPO award, which is an international recognition of intellectual potential, was received by the company “Vilniaus duona” in 2009.
On 19th-22nd May 2009 State Patent Bureau participated in the 17th international exhibition on technique and technologies, environmental protection, energy and electro technique, electronics, appliances, engineer cooperation “Balttechnika 2009”, that took place in the Lithuanian exhibition centre “Litexpo”. The stand of State Patent Bureau was exposed in the exhibition, the representatives of SPB informed the visitors on the protection of industrial property objects (inventions, designs, trademarks), on the history of its development, the today and the future in Lithuania and abroad.
SPB in cooperation with WIPO organized a seminar for judges and public prosecutors in Molėtai town in 2009. The topic of the seminar was “The enforcement of intellectual property rights – measures of administrative, civil and criminal law”.
Lithuanian Technical Library published 4 information publications “Protection of Industrial Property” in year 2009.
IX. Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/) provided information on legislation related to trademarks in 2009.
The Annual Review of the Office has been included on the SPB website (http://www.vpb.lt/index.php?l=EN)
The database of International Classification of Goods and Services has been also included on the SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/db_tppk/index1.php?l=en&t=prekiu_klasifikacija).
The SPB website (http://www.vpb.lt/index.php?l=EN) contained trademark related news in 2009.
X. Other relevant matters
In 2009, Lithuanian industrial property statistical data had been submitted to WIPO to be published in its publication Industrial Property Statistics.