SCIT.ATR.PI.2007.LT

Annual Technical Report 2007 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Lithuania (SCIT/ATR/PI/2007/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.

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

Application filings and grants in 2007:

84 patent applications filed direct with the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania (SPB), from which 86,9 % applications originating in Lithuania (including: 10 PCT international applications; 1 application in accordance with EPC);
9 PCT international applications commenced the national phase;
464 patent applications published, from which 84,1 % European patent applications extended to Lithuania;
69 Lithuanian patents granted;
736 European patents enforced in Lithuania (including 75 European patents in accordance with EPC).

Compared with 2006 the number of:

national filings decreased by 2,3 %;
filings originating in Lithuania constant;
Lithuanian grants decreased by 22,5 %;
patent applications published decreased by 88,5 %;
European patents enforced in Lithuania increased by 4,5 %.

Agriculture, Organic Chemistry, Medicine, Biochemistry remain the leading areas as reflected in patent filings 1996 - 2007.

Statistics of the year 2007 (national filings and PCT national phase entries, national patents granted on the basis of national filings and PCT national phase entries, national patent applications pending, national patents in force) is provided on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/index.php?c=statistics.php).

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

SPB official patent publications are:

Patent Applications (A documents);
Patent Specifications (B documents);
Official Gazette Inventions, Designs, Trademarks.

The Official Gazette contained announcements published in 2007:

BB1A Patent Applications published in accordance with Article 21 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
FG9A Patents published in in accordance with Article 22 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
FD9A Patent Applications withdrawn in accordance with Article 21 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
MM9A Patents lapsed in accordance with Article 27 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
PC9A Transfer of Patents in accordance with Article 31 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
QB9A Licensing in accordance with Articles 34-36, 38 and 39 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
PD9A, TC9A Changes in Patents published in accordance with Article 43 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
BB1A International Patent Applications published in accordance with Article 48 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
BB1D European Patent Applications published in accordance with Article 51 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
FG9D European Patents published in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
BB4D European Patent Applications published in accordance with Article 59(3) of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
FG4D European Patents published in accordance with Article 59(3) of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
MG9D Revocation of European Patent extension in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
MG4D Revocation of European Patents in accordance with Article 59(3) of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
PD9D, TH9D, TC9D Changes in European Patents published in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
PC9D Transfer of Patents published in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
QB9D Licensing in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
MF9D European Patents revoked in accordance with Article 54 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
MM9D Cancellation of European Patent extension in accordance with Article 58 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
ND9D Applications for Supplementary Protection Certificates published in accordance with Article 271 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
ND9D Supplementary Protection Certificates published in accordance with Article 271 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
ND1D Decisions not to grant Supplementary Protection Certificates published in accordance with Article 271 of Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania;
TK9D Rectifications.

Sections of the Official Gazette have been coded in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.17.

SPB Official Gazette paper publications have been prepared using DTP tools and have been provided by LTL. SPB Official Gazette publications in Adobe PDF format have been accessible on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/index.php?c=gazette.php).

Paper Patent Applications (A documents) and Patent Specifications (B documents) have been open for public inspection at Lithuanian Technical Library (LTL).

Paper Patent Specifications (B documents) SPB have sent to ARCANUM INFORMATICS Ltd. for digitisation (WIPO ST. 33) and inclusion into ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO Bacon Numerical System (BNS) and esp@cenet databases. Sending to ARCANUM INFORMATICS Ltd. by mail of Lithuanian paper documents for digitisation (WIPO ST. 33) caused presentation delay (up to a half of the year) of Lithuanian Patent Specifications (B-documents) on ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases in 2007. Lithuanian Patent Applications (A-documents) have been not at all available on ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases.

Because of EPO official tool epoScan absence Lithuanian A and B documents have been scanned by LTL not in standardised exchange facsimile format (WIPO ST. 33).

Databases of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania and of European Patents entered into force in the Republic of Lithuania have been accessible on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/isradimai/index.php?l=en).

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

Lithuanian language invention abstracts of patent applications and patents have been published as presented by applicants.

English language abstracts to be published on EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases have been translated by SPB examiners.

74 patent applications published were classified in accordance with eight edition of International Patent Classification (IPC) in 2007.

Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of Data (INID codes) relating to patents have been used in the Register, Official Gazette, Patent Applications (A documents) and Patent Specifications (B documents).

SPB Official Gazette Sections have been coded in accordance with WIPO Standard ST.17.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

SPB internal file contained Lithuanian patent publications and the following CD/DVD-ROMs received in 2007:

ESPACE-SI (SI);
ESPACE-PRECES+ACCESS (BG, CS, CZ, HU, LV, LT, PL, RO, SK);
ESPACE ACCESS-EPC (AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IT, LI, LT, LU, LV, MC, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR);
ESPACE-EP (EP);
ESPACE-ACCESS (EP, WO);
ESPACE-WORLD (WO).

At the end of the year, the stocks of LTB contained over 34,7 million patent documents. Over 1,6 million documents were acquired in 2007.

LTL stocks have been updated with full text patent documents from 28 countries and organizations (AM, BG, BY,CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EP, FI, FR, GB, GE, HU, JP, KG, LT, LV, MD, PL, RO, RU, SK, TJ, UA, US, UZ, WO).

Public users had a possibility to use the following CD/DVD-ROMs received in 2007:

Promyšlennaja sobstvennost. Oficialnyj biuleten (AM);
ESPACE-CA (CA);
ESPACE-CH (CH);
Schweizerisches Patent-, Muster- und Markenblatt (CH);
ESPACE-DE (DE);
DEPAROM-ACT (DE);
ESPACE-DE-U (DE);
DEPAROM-U (DE);
DEPAROM-KOMPAKT (DE);
ESPACE-DK (DK);
Industrial Property Bulletin (GR);
Boletin Oficial de la Propiedad Industrial. (ES);
ESPACE-FI (FI);
COSMOS (FR);
BREF (FR);
Published unexamined patent and utility model applications (JP);
Published examined patent and utility model applications (JP);
JPO CD-ROM A&U (JP);
JPO CD-ROM B&Y (JP);
PAJ (JP);
PAJ/INDEX (JP);
Patent Abstracts Japan. Unexamined Applications (JP);
Glasnik intelektualne svojine (RS);
Buletin Oficial de Proprietate Industriala (MD);
IPPO Glasnik (MK);
Buletin Oficial de Proprietate Industriala (RO);
ESPACE-RFD (RU);
ESPACE-RFP (RU);
Izobretenija. Poleznyje modeli (RU);
Navidi patenti (TJ);
Resmi Patent Bulteni (TR);
Inventions in Ukraine (UA);
Promyslova vlasnist (UA);
ESPACE-UK (UK);
USAApp (US);
USAPat (US);
Patents BIB: Apps (US);
Patents BIB: Grants (US);
Official Gazette: of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents (US);
Rasmij achborotnoma (UZ);
CISPATENT (AM, BY, EA, GE, KG, MD, RU, TJ, UA, UZ);
ESPACE-PRECES+ACCESS (BG, CS, CZ, HU, LV, LT, PL, RO, SK);
GLOBALPat (US, WO, EP, GB, DE, FR, CH);
ESPACE ACCESS-EPC (AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IT, LI, LT, LU, LV, MC, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR);
ESPACE-EP (EP);
ESPACE-WORLD (WO).

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

SPB published on its website (http://www.vpb.lt/en/) the Official Gazette Inventions Designs Trade Marks and databases of Lithuanian Patents and European Patents entered into force in the Republic of Lithuania. SPB website Databases have been an exact copy of the data stored in the Common Software Databases. Common Software Databases contained bibliographic, legal status data, abstract data, translated claims of European Patents entered into force in the Republic of Lithuania included.

Industrial Property search and other services have been provided by Patent Information Center of LTL (http://www.tb.lt/PIC/PIC.htm).

Statistics of national patents has been also provided on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/).

Lithuanian Patent Specifications (B documents) have been available on ESPACE®-PRECES CD-ROM, EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases (http://lt.espacenet.com/).

Bibliographic, legal status data (SPC data and data in accordance with EPC included) have been available also on EPIDOS/INPADOC databases.

The CD-ROM and DVD-ROM databases as mentioned in Section IV were available in 2007 at the SPB and LTL.

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)

OPS have been introduced by LTL in 2004. LTL also offered to its visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with a wide range of Lithuanian publications (SPB Official Gazette, full text of patent specifications in paper and CD-ROM format, etc.), Official Gazettes, patent bibliography of foreign states and intergovernmental organisations on CD/DVD-ROMs, sets of communications and regulations in 2007.

The visitors of LTL had been consulted on the spot as well as by phone or e-mail and had an opportunity to order patent search in 2007.


LTL website (http://www.tb.lt/PIC/PIC.htm) provided Lithuanian patent A and B documents scanned not in standardised exchange facsimile format (WIPO ST. 33) because of EPO official tool epoScan absence in Lithuania in 2007.

SPB published on its website (http://www.vpb.lt/en/) the Official Gazette Inventions Designs Trade Marks and databases of Lithuanian Patents and European Patents entered into force in the Republic of Lithuania.

Industrial Property search and other services have been provided by Patent Information Center of Lithuanian Technical Library (http://www.tb.lt/PIC/PIC.htm)

Statistics of national patents has been provided on SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/index.php?c=statistics.php).

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

The official gazette of SPB haser been distributed in 39 foreign states and intergovernmental organisations (AM, AT, BA, BG, BY, BX, CH, CZ, DE, EE, EP, FI, FR, GB, GE, GR, HR, HU, IE, JP, KG, KZ, LV, MD, MK, PL, RO, RS, RU, SI, SK, SM, TJ, TM, TR, UA, US, UZ, WO) on the basis of mutual exchange.
The distribution of official patent publications of SPB in foreign states and intergovernmental organisations on the basis of mutual exchange has been effected by LTL.
Bibliographic, legal status data, abstracts in Lithuanian and English of Lithuanian patent applications and patents, extracted from SPB CommonSoftware Database, have been posted on EPO FTP sites prior to the actual publication date. Paper Patent Specifications (B documents) SPB have sent to ARCANUM INFORMATICS Ltd. for digitisation (WIPO ST. 33) and inclusion into ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO Bacon Numerical System (BNS) and esp@cenet databases. Sending to ARCANUM INFORMATICS Ltd. by mail of Lithuanian paper documents for digitisation (WIPO ST. 33) caused presentation delay (up to a half of the year) of Lithuanian patent specifications (B-documents) on ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases. Lithuanian patent applications (A-documents) have been not at all available on ESPACE®-PRECES, EPO BNS and esp@cenet databases.
The bibliographic, legal status data on Lithuanian Patent Applications, PCT Applications, Lithuanian Patents and European Patents have been supplied to EPO to be included into ACCESS-EPC, INPADOC PFS, INPADOC PRS and esp@cenet. PCT Applications data have been also supplied to WIPO to be included into PATENTSCOPE® search service database.

Several libraries of Lithuanian universities and specialised research libraries have been provided with ACCESS-PRECES, ESPACE®-PRECES CD-ROMs (obtained from the Hungarian Patent Office).

Paper format have been used for exchange of priority documents and for filing of patent applications.

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)

Lithuanian specialists took part in the following events in 2007:

EPO Conference PATLIB2007, Seville (Spain);

WIPO Standards and Documentation Working Group (Eigth Session) of Standing Committee on Information Technologies, Geneva (Switzerland);

EPO 65th - 66th meetings of Working Party on Technical Information, Munich (Germany);

EPO Electronic Publication Days 2007, Vienna (Austria);

Patent Information Conference 2007, Riga, (Latvia);

European Patent Academy seminar on Intellectual Property knowledge dissemination at universities, Helsinki (Finland);

Conference on Problems and prospective of the Library information activities in the context of innovations, Minsk. (Belarus).

European Patent Network (EPN) seminar on the issues of technology transfer and multilateral collaboration has been organized by EPO and SPB and took place at LTL (Vilnius). Delegations from the European Patent Office (EPO) and European Patent Academy, patent offices of Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden, Latvia, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria, Bulgaria, and Lithuania took part in the seminar.

The International Baltic Conference on Intellectual Property was held in Vilnius in 2007. The 30th Anniversary of the European Patent Office and the 50th Anniversary of Lithuanian Technical Library have been commemorated during the Conference days. A meeting of heads of Northern and Baltic Sea countries patent offices has been also organized during the Conference days in Vilnius.

Seminars on the protection of the industrial property, patent information and copyright in the information society have been held in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and LTL.

Upon active cooperation with WIPO industrial property information coordinators has operated in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University as well as in Kaunas University of Technology.

SPB participated in the 15th International Specialised Industrial Exhibition BALTTECHNIKA 2007 (Lithuanian Exhibition and Convention Centre LITEXPO). An exhibition dedicated for the World Intellectual Property Day and for the 16th Anniversary of the SPB has been organized at LTL.

In cooperation with WIPO the Lithuanian language International Patent Classification has been published and Lithuanian press published articles on the improvement of Lithuanian industrial property information system.

Bibliographical index The Protection of the Industrial Property, where books and articles of the Lithuanian authors in the field of industrial property for years 1991-2007, has been maintained and quarter publication Protection of the Industrial Property has been published by LTL as well.

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 patents in 2007.

The Annual Report of the Office has been included in the SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/).

SPB website (http://www.vpb.gov.lt/en/) contained patent related news in 2007.

X. Other relevant matters

The replies of the Lithuanian party to Standing Committee on Information Technologies Circulars had been directed to WIPO and the formats of the publication and exchange of the Lithuanian industrial property data based on WIPO standards had been determined in 2007.

In 2007, Lithuanian industrial property statistical data had been submitted to WIPO to be published in its publication Industrial Property Statistics.

In 2007 the Ministry of Justice had created an inter-institutional website on legal information www.teisingumas.lt, which provides to the public information on protection of industrial property objects.