SCIT.ATR.PI.2007.UA

Annual Technical Report 2007 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Ukraine (SCIT/ATR/PI/2007/UA)

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

Statistical evolution concerning:

Inventions
Applications filed:
in 2006 – 5930, in 2007 – 6165, i.e. almost 9% more than the previous year.
Patents granted:
in 2006 – 3705, in 2007 – 4060, 9,6% increase with respect to the previous year.

Utility models
Applications filed:
in 2006 – 8171, in 2007 – 8870, almost 9% increase.
Patents granted:
in 2006 – 8268, in 2007 – 9215, 11,5% more with respect to the previous year.


Year 2007 witnessed changes in the technological process of incoming application flow registration; in particular, the system of electronic registration of incoming application flow was integrated with the central electronic document archive. The electronic register underwent an updating of the subsystem of immediate statistics and reporting on incoming application flow registration.

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

During a few past years, including 2007, none of the trends or areas of technologies experienced rapid changes resulting in fast increase of the number of applications. However, some areas and fields were clearly defined as stable leaders in application filing, in particular:

“Medical or veterinary science; hygiene” – IPC Class A61 (12,3% applications filed in 2006, 11,5% applications filed in 2007); “Organic chemistry – IPC Class C07 (10,6% in 2006, 10,9% in 2007); “Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry…” - IPC Class A01 (6,3% in 2006, 4,8% in 2007); “Measuring, testing” – IPC class G01 (4,6% in 2006, 4,7% in 2007).

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

http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/about/Stateng/currenteng/;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/statistics.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.)

Patent information of Ukraine concerning patents and utility models is published in the following official publications of the State Department: the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” (“Industrial Property”) and Ukrainian patent and utility model specifications. The State Department also publishes methodological literature.
In connection with the increase of the amount of data intended for publishing, since April 2007 the Official Bulletin is issued twice a month. During the year under review 21 issues of the Bulletin were published with the total amount of 1680.2 sheets and the circulation of 135 copies, and the Annual Index to the Bulletins for the previous, 2006, year in 2 volumes with the total amount of 156,24 sheets and the circulation of 65 copies.
13275 patent specifications were published during the reporting period.
The Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” and patent and utility models specifications of Ukraine were issued both on paper and electronic carriers with the same frequency.
During the year under review the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” on CD-ROM was sent to 119 organizations, and CD-ROM “Inventions in Ukraine” was sent to 67 organizations, including 21 organizations of the National Scientific and Technical Information System.
The official web-sites of the State Department (http://www.sdip.gov.ua) and the State Enterprise “Ukrainian Industrial Property Institute” (Institute) (http://www.ukrpatent.org) contain a number of databases (DBs) and information and reference systems (IRS) on inventions (utility models):
- interactive DBs: “Inventions and Utility Models in Ukraine”, “Information about Invention Applications Accepted for Examination”, “Electronic Version of the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist”;
- interactive IRS on the status of processing of invention applications, namely IRS “Invention Applications Proceeding State”.
Since June 1, 2007, free full-scope access to the DB “Inventions and Utility Models in Ukraine” was granted.
In 2007 methodological and practical manuals on drafting and filing applications for industrial property rights (IPRs), as well as the publication “Patent Documentation of Ukraine” were corrected, updated in view of the changes that took place in the industrial property regulatory and legal framework, and re-published. These publications first saw the light in 2006.

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

Information concerning inventions and utility models is published in Book 1 of the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” in the following parts: “Information about Applications for Inventions Accepted for Examination”, “Information about Granting of Patents of Ukraine for Inventions”, “Information about Granting Declarative Patents of Ukraine for Inventions”, “Information about Granting of Patents of Ukraine for Utility Models”, in the Indexes to each part and in the “Notifications” section.
Information about inventions contains bibliographical data; abstracts; claims; invention specifications; drawings; legal status information.

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

The mass storage media for information about inventions and utility models in the Institute are servers of electronic databases, CDs and DVDs and magnetic tapes.

Word processing and office automation

The whole set of procedures connected with text processing and automation of processing applications for inventions and utility models was carried out by the tools of the automated system (AS) “Inventions” containing the technological database.
In September 2007 the operational testing stage for the systems of electronic technological document turnover for processing applications for inventions (processing of application materials, letters, petitions, payment documents etc.) was finalized. After system testing, the data from the technological database of the automated system “Inventions” were converted into a new structure. Downloading of full-text patent documents into the electronic archive was carried out. As of October 1, 2007, the system entered the operation and maintenance phase. Significant preparatory work was undertaken to convert documents into electronic formats, in particular, a technology of scanning and placing into the electronic archive of all application documents, both primary and secondary, was introduced; the technology, software and hardware tools for scanning and converting to electronic form of the whole retrospective paper collection of applications for IPRs (since 1993) and placing them into the electronic archive numbering more than 200,000 cases was developed; all programme and technical measures for the introduction of the system of electronic filing of applications for IPRs were implemented. The development of the technological complex of programme and technical means for access, actualisation and full-text search in the Institute’s central electronic archive of documents was completed.

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

Preparation of the layout of the pages of the Official Bulletin is carried out automatically with the help of the AS “Inventions” software.
The data arrays for publication are formed by a specialized workstation at the editorial division of the Institute The prepared layout of the publication is forwarded to the printing office for replication.

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 on-line publications of patent documents are accessible from the web pages of the State Department and the Institute
http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/information;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/bases.html;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/publications.html

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

Abstracting, reviewing, translating

In 2007 12 000 abstracts for the back file collection of patent documents were drafted, translated form Ukrainian into Russian and English and placed into the electronic archive.
During 2007 translations of bibliographical data and abstracts of currently registered patents for inventions and utility models from Ukrainian into Russian and English were carried out monthly.

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)

The International Patent Classification (IPC) is used for classifying patent documents of Ukraine. Since 2006, from the moment of implementation of the reformed, 8th edition of the IPC, the core level of the IPC-8 is used for classifying patent documents of Ukraine. Also, according to the “List of the technical fields in which patent documents are to be classified according to the advanced level of the 8th edition of the International Patent Classification” (the List), the advanced level of the IPC is partially used. One can have a detailed look at the mentioned List, presented as the IPC advanced level classification entries, with the help of the “Table of Concordance between the Advanced Level Symbols of the 8th Edition of the International Patent Classification Used for Classifying the National Patent Documents according to the List Approved by the State Department of Intellectual Property, and its Core Level Symbols" at the State Department (http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/information/fonds/klasifik/) and the Institute (http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/mijn_klasif.html) web-sites. Considering this state of affairs, according to the Order of the State Department of October 3, 2007 №122, the Ukrainian version of the IPC was established, consisting of the core level extract of the currently effective official text of the IPC for classification symbols not included in the List, and the extract of the currently effective IPC edition for classification symbols and indexing codes included in the List. According to the said Order of the State Department, since October 1, 2007 the Ukrainian version of IPC 2007.10 was approved for the use in the examination of applications for inventions.
Within the AS “Inventions”, a software system for checking classification symbols is operative. It includes classification guides and specialized software for checking the validity of the allotted classification symbols and for reclassifying.
In 2007 the complete collection of applications for inventions and utility models was reclassified according to IPC 2007.10.

Bibliographic data and full-text processing

For the convenience of search, bibliographic data, abstracts, claims and specifications are placed in separate fields of the database structure.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

For searching in the course of examination of applications for IPRs the following resources were used by the Institute:
national database of the “Inventions” automated system;
the Institute’s central electronic archive of documents;
the database of the EPOQUE Net Service of the European Patent Office (test access);
foreign patent databases accessed through the Internet (esp@cenet, USPTO, JPO etc.).

Updating

Updating of the database of the AS “Inventions” and the central electronic archive of documents was implemented routinely by scanning incoming documents, converting them into electronic format and loading to the databases.

Storage, including mass storage media

The means used at the Institute for mass storage of data on inventions and utility models are the servers of the electronic databases and data carriers (CDs, DVDs, magnetic tapes).

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

The foreign patent documentation on optical media received by the Institute in the framework of international co-operation and exchange of patent documentation includes, in particular, the publications of WIPO, the EPO, the USPTO, the Russian Patent Office, the former SU Patent Office, the JPO.

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

In-house systems (online/offline)

The in-house computerized search systems for inventions and utility models comprise those of the AS “Inventions”, “Input Applications Register”, the AS “Indicators”, “Central electronic documents archive”.

External databases

For information supply to the public at large the following interactive databases (DBs) accessible via the Internet (http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/bases.html) were used:
- Specialized DB “Inventions and Utility Models in Ukraine”;
- Collective access DB “Information about Invention Applications Accepted for Examination”;
- DB “Electronic Version of the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist’”;
- DB “Court Decisions on IPR Cases”;
- Information and reference system (IRS) “Inventions Applications Proceeding State”;
- IRS “International Patent Classification. Eighth Edition. Core Level”.
- Databases on optical media (CD-ROM): “The Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” and the national CD-ROM “Inventions in Ukraine”.

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

Administrative support and maintenance of the State Register are realized by the registry database and the specialized workstation of the State Registry functioning in the environment of the AS “Inventions”. The legal status data are captured in the said database. The statistical indicators are collected by the special software.

Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used

The AS “Inventions” functions in the LAN environment under the operating system Windows 2000 Server. Up-to-date personal computers with operating system Windows XP Professional are used as workstations.
During 2007 25% of the computer hardware stock was renovated. 30% of the examiners’ workstations were equipped with new liquid-crystal displays (TFT).

Existing online thesauri; their structure, presentation and usefulness for computerized searches

In order to accelerate searching, to avoid errors when forming search requests and to provide reference information electronic dictionaries have been integrated into the automated system “Inventions”. They include: information on patent attorneys, patent classifications, tables of the valid symbols of the IPC, reference lists of the classification titles, classifiers of the input and output documents (letters, requests, demands etc.), classifiers of the kinds of fees, normative, reference and additional information.

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)

Collecting, acquisitions, preparation

With the aim to satisfy the public needs for patent information in Ukraine, the Public Patent Documentation Collection (PPDC) functions within the structure of the Institute’s branch “Ukrainian Centre of Innovatics and Patent Information Services” (Branch). The PPDC is the most comprehensive public patent library in Ukraine. It contains patent documentation of 65 countries and 4 international and regional organizations (WIPO, the EPO, the EAPO and the OAPI). Official bulletins on paper and electronic carriers, abstracts and specifications are acquired within the framework of international exchange with foreign patent offices and international cooperation with WIPO and the EPO. By the end of 2007 the PPDC contained over 18,9 thousand copies of official bulletins and 259,3 thousand patent specifications on paper and the collection of patent documentation on optical discs exceeded 12,9 thousand items. Information on the content of the PPDC and its quarterly updates is posted in the “Information Resources” section of the web-sites of the State Department (http://www/sdip.gov.ua) and the Institute (http://www.ukrpatent.org).

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)

Forming, management and organization of use of the PPDC is supervised by the Information Search Division of the Branch. It provides patent and normative information to all those interested in creating, legal protection and using IPR objects. On the users’ requests, the Division carries out different kinds of patent information and documentation searches concerning inventions, utility models, industrial designs, marks for goods and services (bibliographical data, full specifications to patents, abstracts, images etc.). The Information Search Division provides services on skilfully drawing up a search order, i.e. defining the subject of the search, information sources and classification entries of the International classifications related to IPRs. The Division’s staff, having a good command of several foreign languages, carries out searches on CD-ROM and in remote patent documentation databases in the Internet. Beside this, the division also provides the following services:
- consultations on the content of the PPDC, the efficient ways of carrying out an information search, the use of reference and search tools;
- free use of the PPDC reading halls and information materials of free access. These, in the first place, include national patent documentation (official bulletins and specifications to patents of Ukraine), bulletins of foreign patent offices, periodicals on patent information, normative, scientific and methodical literature, subject and alphabetical catalogues.

The list of services provided by the Institute to the general public is presented in the document on the Institute’s web-site at: http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/perelik.html.
The main sources of computerized services and search systems are:
- the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist’ on optical discs with a search system;
- Specialized DB “Inventions and Utility Models in Ukraine”;
- Collective access DB “Information about Invention Applications Accepted for Examination”;
- DB “Electronic Version of the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist’”;
- Information and reference system (IRS) “Inventions Applications Proceeding State”;
IRS “International Patent Classification. Eighth Edition. Core Level”.

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.

http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/inventions.html
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/zayavka.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.ukrpatent.org/en/publications.html;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/bases.html;
http://www.ip-centr.kiev.ua/newcipip/head_page_large.jsp

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

In the framework of the international exchange of patent documentation the Institute, appointed by the law as the centre of international exchange of publications, sent in 2007 the national patent documentation, in particular the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” on CD-ROM to 45 foreign patent offices, and the national CD-ROM “Inventions in Ukraine” – to 20 foreign patent offices. In its turn, Ukraine received patent documentation from 45 foreign countries and 3 international and regional intellectual property organizations.
Besides, in the year under review the Institute was sending to the EPO data of the patents of Ukraine (bibliographic data, abstracts in English), which provided a solid foundation for successful bilateral cooperation with this leading office, in particular, was defined as one of the conditions of the provision of the test access to the EPO’s EPOQUE database.

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

In the framework of the international exchange of patent documentation the Institute, appointed by the law as the centre of international exchange of publications, sent in 2007 the national patent documentation, in particular the Official Bulletin “Promyslova Vlasnist” on CD-ROM to 45 foreign patent offices, and the national CD-ROM “Inventions in Ukraine” – to 20 foreign patent offices. In its turn, Ukraine received patent documentation from 45 foreign countries and 3 international and regional intellectual property organizations.
Besides, in the year under review the Institute was sending to the EPO data of the patents of Ukraine (bibliographic data, abstracts in English), which provided a solid foundation for successful bilateral cooperation with this leading office, in particular, was defined as one of the conditions of the provision of the test access to the EPO’s EPOQUE database.

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)

In the year under review the educational institutions in Ukraine continued training, upgrading and improvement of qualification of specialists in the sphere of intellectual property. An indicative event of 2007 was the conversion of the closed joint-stock company “Institute of Intellectual Property and Law” into the State Institute of Intellectual Property (SIIP). The SIIP structure provides for training and improvement of qualification of specialists in three specialties of the specific categories: intellectual property, consolidated information, innovative activities management.
By the decision of the State Accreditation Commission of 27 November 2007 SIIP was accredited the IV (highest) accreditation level. Licenses for master training and improvement of qualification of specialists in “Intellectual Property” specialty were obtained. In 2007, 67 specialists and 46 masters in “Intellectual Property” specialty were trained.
In 2007, the SIIP conducted the courses of basic training for intellectual property rights evaluators (6 persons were granted certificates), courses of improvement of qualification for managers according to the programme “Practical Aspects of Intellectual Property Management at Enterprises”. During 2007, the State Department jointly with the SIIP organized courses of improvement of qualification in the intellectual property field for 11 members of scientific and pedagogical staff of the higher education institutions. Together with the Ukrainian Scientific and Technical Centre and the “Kharkiv Technologies” Centre, a training course “Technological Management: Commercialization of the Results of Scientific Activities in Scientific and Research Institutes” for scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (30 persons) was held on the basis of the Institute. A similar training was provided to the scientists of the National Academy of Georgia and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. As much as 421 persons took part in conferences, courses, seminars and trainings organized and held by the Institute in 2007.
To satisfy its own needs as well as requests of other higher educational institutions of Ukraine which train specialists and masters in specialty “Intellectual Property”, the SIIP published nearly 7000 copies of textbooks (14 titles). In 2007 the concept of the study subject “Intellectual Property Basics” for pupils of the 10th grade of different types of comprehensive educational institutions and students of higher educational institutions of the 1st and the 2nd levels of accreditation was developed. The concept was approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and sanctioned for publishing as a textbook.
The government order for training specialists in specialty “Intellectual Property” of specialist’s and master’s degree in 2007 amounted to 72 specialists and 100 masters. The order was issued to 9 higher educational institutions of Ukraine.
In 2007 the State Department held over 25 seminars and conferences on the current problems related to the acquisition, exploitation and enforcement of IP rights, including the XI International Scientific and Practical Conference “Current Problems of Intellectual Property” (with participants from Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, Germany, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation, Romania, Hungary, the USA, as well as the international organizations – WIPO, the EPO, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the Central and Eastern European Copyright Alliance (CEECA, Budapest) - over 250 persons all in all; “Intellectual Property as an Economic Development Tool”; “The VII All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference “Issues of Training Intellectual Property Specialists in Ukraine”; All-Ukrainian conference dedicated to the Inventor’s Day “Place of Inventor and Innovator in the Ukrainian Society“; training seminars “Commercialization of Intellectual Property Rights”, “Peculiarities of Intellectual Property Rights Examination” and “Organization of Activity of Intellectual Property Divisions in Higher Education Institutions” (for scientific as well as scientific and pedagogical staff of the higher education institutions of the III – IV levels of accreditation) and others. During the year the State Department also organized regional conferences and seminars on intellectual property matters for educational institutions, students, managers of enterprises, institutions and organizations, representatives of regional and district state administrations, enterprises, scientific institutions and organizations.
The State Department gives special attention to encouraging creativity. In particular, to ensure a thorough support for the gifted youth, the State Department yearly takes part in and provides sponsorship for holding a Week of all-Ukrainian and international scientific and educational projects “Ukraine-Europe-World”. Within the framework of the above-mentioned week the all-Ukrainian young innovators and inventors contest “Nature-Person-Industry-Ecology” and all-Ukrainian championship in information technologies “Ecosoft -2007” took place from February 28 to March 4, 2007.
In April 2007 the exhibition centre “KyivExpoPlaza” hosted the III International exhibition “Inventions and Innovations”, organized within the framework of the Week of industrial technologies. The presentation of the innovative developments of the exhibition participants and the “Invention-2006” contest winners was highly successful. During the exhibition hours a ceremony of awarding the winners of the yearly all-Ukrainian contests of inventive activity “Invention-2006” and the competition for the WIPO awards for innovative companies with participants coming from all Ukrainian regions was held. The WIPO awards presentation took place in September during the Inventor and Innovator Day celebration.
It is notable that in 2007 the State Department carried out a significant work on training and improvement of qualification of intellectual property specialists, creativity encouragement etc. Detailed information on this aspect of the State Department’s activity can be found in the respective chapter of the “Annual Report of the State Department – 2007”, which can be accessed at:
http://www.sdip.gov.ua/t/docman/binary/eng.pdf

During 2007 the publication of the monthly scientific and practical journal “Intelectualna Vlasnist’” (“Intellectual Property”) continued. The journal deals with the theoretical and practical problems of the legal protection of intellectual property rights, industrial designs in particular. Current information on the news in the sphere of intellectual property, the contents of the coming issue of the journal etc. are posted on the web-site of the journal at http://www.intelvlas.com.ua.

IX. Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office's website that:

http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/laws/;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/legistation.html;
http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/about/Stateng/zvit3/;
http://www.sdip.gov.ua/eng/;
http://www.ukrpatent.org/en/index.html;
http://www.ip-centr.kiev.ua/newcipip/head_page_large.jsp

X. Other relevant matters