Annual Technical Report 2007 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by China (SCIT/ATR/ID/2007/CN)
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 2007, SIPO received 267,432 design applications, a 32.8% increase compared to 2006, while designs granted were 133,798, with a 30.5% increase.
• Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
No statistics.
• URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to industrial designs
Chinese ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/tjxx/；
English ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/statistics/.
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
Nowadays, SIPO not only promotes the electronic publication of designs information on the Internet, but also keeps the traditional medium of paper. In these two ways, we provide designs information to government agencies, research institutions, industry and the general public.
• Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information
Patent gazettes for designs
Patent gazettes for designs are published in paper and PDF formats once a week with the bibliographic data, images, legal status, indexes, etc.
Design patent offprint
Design patent offprint is printed by color digital printing technology, and published together with the gazettes once a week.
Certificates of design patents
Certificates for design patents and their duplicate copies are issued periodically.
• Mass storage media and microforms used
The above-mentioned documents are stored in the medium of DVD.
• Databases and office automation
The Design Image Database is set up to provide search service for examiners for the purpose of searching, which can also be accessible on the official website.
• 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 bulk of industrial design data
Patent gazette: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zwgs/zlgb/
Search system: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zljs/ and
http://pub.cnipr.com/pubpisfts/common/page.do?method=cnSearch.
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 system is used)
Design Patents are classified according to the International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification) without using any other classification systems.
Reclassification activities are not developed.
• Bibliographic data and processing
The bibliographic data of design patents granted since 1985 and design applications since 1998 are provided.
Furthermore, the images of designs mentioned above are scanned and stored in the divided image form, the image characteristic values of which are extracted and stored in the design image database for the content based image retrieval search.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
• File building
The processed data of designs (see part III “Bibliographic data and processing”) are added to the search file, which can be retrievable by examiners of SIPO from the design search database.
• Updating
The search file is updated weekly.
• Storage, including mass storage media
The above-mentioned file is stored in magnetic disk arrays and backuped with magnetic tapes.
• Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
No activities.
V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs
• In-house systems (online/offline)
Design Image Database (online)
The bibliographic data, images stored in the divided image form of designs granted since 1985 and design applications since 1998, as well as the image characteristic values of said images are included in this database. It provides search entries of bibliographic data and also the content based image retrieval search function. Examiners can access the system by B/S to retrieve the desired information.
• External databases
No activities.
• Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
Electronic Filing System (EFS)
SIPO launched the EFS in 2004 in order to provide online filing for applicants.
China Patent Management SystemⅢ (CPMSⅢ)
CPMSⅢ is the core supporting system for the electronic flow management. It is provided with the functions of monitoring time limits, status and fees of applications, information inquiry and statistics. It also helps formality examiners to complete all kinds of notifications, offers all necessary sheet templates, and standardizes the workflow.
Computer Aided Examination System
The system includes patent examination subsystem for designs, which offers step by step examination procedures and assists the examiners to complete the examination, so as to provide the intelligent examination tool for the examiners.
• Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), data carriers used
The infrastructure facilities of SIPO include 2 IBM mainframes (used for EPOQUE system), more than 350 NT and UNIX servers, 4300 PCs, 3500 notebooks, 50 central printers and 1000 decentralized printers. The storage volume is up to 350TB.
Examiners can access the Intranet with 10Gbps core switch and 100Mbps link to desktop for the network resources.
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)
• Planning, administration, automation, security
The public services that provided by SIPO includes:
Call center
The center offers information consultation to the public for free by face-to-face, telephone, online and mail.
Official website
The official website of SIPO offers search and inquiry services. The patent search and experimental platform of patent information services on the website collect China designs since 1985.
Local Patent Information Center (LPIC)
SIPO has set up local patent information centers across the country and provided them with design data. These centers provide search and inquiry services for the public.
Patent Documentation Library
The library offers documents reading, inquiry, search, documents replication and training services to the public.
Local Patent Receiving Offices
SIPO has set up Local Patent Receiving Offices in 24 cities all over the country in order to accept design applications and provide inquiry service for the public.
Security
At present, SIPO uses domain-control management to control the terminal access, and uses the virus defense mechanism to avoid the virus attack. Besides, the reasonable configuration of the DMZ switch, IPS, firewall and other devices in the whole system also improves the security capability of the network information system.
• Collection management, preservation
SIPO has collected 40 kinds of design information products from 25 patent organizations including gazettes, gazette indexes and image specifications in the mediums of paper and DVD, as well as domestic and foreign books and periodicals.
• 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)
Information Products
“China Patent Specification” CD, which collects images of designs since 1985.
“China Patent Databases Abstract” CD, which collects nearly 20 million pieces of patents information (including inventions, utility models and designs) since 1985. The information of each piece includes the bibliographic data, such as the inventor, publication date, abstract, priority, legal status, etc.
“China Patent gazette” CD, which provides the information of gazettes for each week.
“Design” CD, which covers the images of designs since 1985, using electronic scanning technology to present the images in line, gray-scale and color. http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/xxcp/zlwxgp/200804/t20080407_370310.html
SIPO also offers electronic patent gazettes on the official website: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zwgs/zlgb/
Search services
SIPO offers the following search systems on the official website for the public to retrieve designs:
Patent search http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zljs/
Experimental Platform of Patent Information Services: http://pub.cnipr.com/pubpisfts/common/page.do?method=cnSearch.
In addition, the patent document library provides 60 computer terminals to the public, enables readers to access to the databases on Intranet and Internet for free to search designs. Librarians can guide readers how to search on web via various ways.
• URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of industrial design applications
SIPO provides the following website for the online filing：http://www.cponline.gov.cn/；
English website to provide illustration for the online filing：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/application/.
• 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.
Chinese：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zlsqzn/sqq/；
English ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/about/examinationAffairs/200707/t20070719_178234.htm；
http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/about/examinationAffairs/200707/t20070719_178239.htm。
• 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
See “Information service available to the public”.
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
By 2007, SIPO has collected 40 kinds of industrial design information products from 25 patent organizations, including gazettes and specifications in the forms of paper and CD.
Besides, in the medium of DVD, SIPO has mutually sent official specifications including images of designs to 23 authorities, official gazettes including electronic images of designs to 19 authorities.
• Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape
SIPO always develops the data exchange with other offices actively, and offers design data in various forms including CD/DVD.
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.)
The following activities are not only for designs, but aslo for inventions and ultity models.
Publicities
SIPO strives in every possible way and gives full exertion to news media and modern network for a better public awareness of the necessity and importance of the respect and protection for IPR. It also strengthened its guidance to local publicity. Major actions taken in recent years include:
SIPO has cooperated with the China Central TV (CCTV) to run the CCTV Innovation grand ceremony and its prize awarding ceremony in three consecutive years;
Since 2002, SIPO has joined the Chinese Inventions Association and the ALL-China Women’s Federation in holding the selection of Female Inventor in the New Century for three times;
In April 2007, through cooperation between SIPO and the CCTV Law Channel, April was defined as the month for IPR publicity to disseminate IPR in all aspects. A series of IPR public advertisements were made and broadcasted in all main TV stations throughout China.
On April 26, 2007, SIPO launched its Open Day Campaign with “Walking Close to IPR” as the theme. Around 200 representatives from all fields and around 30 representatives from various embassies and consulates in China visited SIPO.
Seminars
SIPO has held many national and international seminars, of which the CIPTC has completed the following work:
In 2007, the center held 86 training seminars, an increase of 72% over last year. The number of trainees including patent examinations, people from courts, colleges, enterprises and IP agencies is over 20, 000. Curriculums cover following eight fields: Training Program for the Personnel dealing with Patent Examinations, Training Program for IP Agencies, Training Program for IP Administrative Departments, IP Training Program for Enterprises, Training Program for Government Officials, Training Program for IP teachers, LLM Program and IP Training Program in Western Regions.
In 2007, the center organized IP lectures in 12 colleges for promoting IP knowledge, and 4500 people joined.
In 2007, the center was recognized as a partner of the intellectual property international training institute of WIPO and obtained WIPO Certificate for Excellence in Intellectual Property Training. The center held 9 international training seminars for 630 trainees and received 52 foreign guests from international organizations and other national IP offices.
The center developed cooperation with John Marshall Law School and Bengamnin N.Cardozo School of Law in US.
The center also developed cooperative relationship with International Intellectual Property Training Institute (IIPTI) in Korea. The two institutes began to exchange visitors from 2002 and jointly at the first time organized a seminar in Weihai, China in 2007.
• Training courses for national and foreign participants
The following activities are not only for designs, but aslo for inventions and ultity models.
SIPO has built up an e-learning platform in China Intellectual Patent Training Center (CIPTC). The center has completed the following work:
Since the establishment of the platform in 2002, CIPTC has offered 15 sessions of e-learning courses in audio and video, and 24,498 students have taken the courses. In addition, the platform has also established college sub-websites in four universities, opened a sub-website in Henan province, which provides the video and audio joint course “Basic Knowledge of IP law”.
14 sessions of audio courses of DL101 e-learning education on IP in cooperation with WIPO Worldwide Academy have been provided by the center, among which 2 sessions for 950 trainees were offered in 2007.
• Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
No activities.
IX.Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
• provide information on legislation related to industrial designs
Chinese：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/zcfg/；
Chinese：http://search.sipo.gov.cn/sipo/zljs/searchflzt.jsp；
English ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/laws/.
• contain the Annual Report of the Office
Chinese ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/gk/；
English ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/laws/.
• if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR
Chinese：http://www.sipo.gov.cn；
English：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/.
• provide open source codes related to industrial design information systems
No activities.
• contain industrial design-related news regarding the Office
Chinese ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/；
English ：http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/news/.