Annual Technical Report 2002 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Slovakia (SCIT/ATR/TM/2002/SK)
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I. Evolution of registration activities
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to the previous year
In comparison with the year 2001, the statistics for 2002, in the trademark area, were as follows.
In 2002, the number of trademark applications from Slovak applicants grew slightly by 8.9%. The total number of national applications was 3,790, 4.1% lower than in 2001.
In 2002, in the international procedure under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol to the Madrid Agreement, 6,596 applications for trademarks were filed, representing a decrease of 9.6% as compared to 2001.
By December 31, 2002, there were 37,363 trademarks registered in the national trademark register of the Slovak Republic. On the international level 92,500 trademarks were registered for SR.
Trademark application procedure without changes.
Tab_trademarks - Table of statistical data
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
Publishing, printing, copying techniques
Publication of trademarks
The Office publishes published trademarks applications and published registered/ renewed trademarks in the Official Gazette.
Trademark information is included in the Official Gazette - “ Vestník ÚPV SR”,
covering all industrial property rights in one publication. The paper form is issued monthly and published in standard size A4, paperback and usually in cca 300 pages. In 2002, the Gazette had a circulation of 250 copies, of which 128 were distributed by subscription. The electronic form of the Official Gazette, available to the public in the Internet free of charge, contains searchable data. The Official Gazette “Vestník ÚPV SR” has been distributed within the frame of mutual exchange to 32 countries and to EPO and
WIPO last year.
The following numbers of trademarks were published in the Official Gazette in 2002:
Number published trademarks applications 3,816
Number of published registered trademarks 3,629
Number of renewed trademarks 2,422
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of trademark information
The Gazette contains trademark announcements arranged in the following main chapters:
- publications of trademark applications
- trademark registrations
- trademark renewals
- trademark assignments
- partial assignments
- change of data concerning trademark owners
- change in the list of goods and services
- change of wording or reproduction of trademarks
- lapse of trademark rights
- registration of licence agreements in respect of trademarks
- international registration of trademarks
- official decisions (cancellation, etc.)
- the right of lien
- the termination of sub-licence contracts
Word processing and office automation
Word processing and office automation is ensured by application over the trademark database.
Techniques used for the generation of trademark information (printing, recording, photocomposing, etc.)
MS Office 97, QuarkXpress 4.1 for Windows and Corel Draw 10, Photoshop 6.0, FineReader 5.0, Adobe Acrobat 5.05 CE, SLEX99 – Lexicon of Slovak language are used for the data processing; the photocomposing and printing is carried out by the Office.
The Desk-Top Publishing technology is used for data and image inputs processing for the Gazette.
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information
Classification and reclassification activities; Classification systems used, e.g., International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classification (please indicate whether goods and services for the registration of marks and whether the figurative elements of marks are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification(s) is (are) used)
Goods and services are classified in accordance with the actual version of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification). In the IPO SR, there is an obligatory classifying system of goods and services by applicant according the said Classification. The last version of the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification) is used as the code system of figurative elements of trademarks, which are classified by the Office's experts.
Use of electronic classification systems to check the classification symbols furnished by an applicant and which are contained in the lists of goods and/or services
Classification symbols were checked with the internal electronic classification system built in the office registry software.
Obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied
In accordance with the Act No.55/1997 amended by the Act No.577/2001, the applicant is obliged to indicate in the application the goods and services for which the trademark is filed, according to the International Classification (Nice Classification) accompanied with the appropriate number of this Classification. But there is no obligation for applicants to use pre- defined terms of the classification.
Bibliographic data and processing for search purposes
The WIPO Standard ST.60 is used for patent and utility model bibliographic data coding in all relevant outcomes or records. All bibliographic data are being processed in an electronic database form. The fully searchable data are updated and made available to the public each 15 minutes on the Internet.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
File Building
Since the computerized search system for trademark information has been launched, the trademark manual search files building and updating has been ceased.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
In 2002, within the frame of mutual exchange, the IPO SR received trademark gazettes from the following states and organizations: AT, BA, BG, BR, CH, CZ, DE, EE, FR, GE, HR, HU, KG, LT, LV, MD, MK, PL, PT, RO, RU, Sl, SM, UA, US, OHIM and WIPO.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
In-house systems (online/offline)
The online trademark database kept by the Industrial Property Office serves for national trademarks searches and also for trademark procedure. Select registry data are available to the public on the Internet.
It is possible to carry out searches according to bibliographic data in all the databases used for trademarks. International trademarks searches are performed in the ROMARIN database on CD-ROM received from the WIPO; also the joint CD-ROM ESPACE TRACES was used for searching (both accessible on local network through the UltraNet 2000system).
List of search CD-ROMs and databases used on local network through the UltraNet 2000system:
EUROM - Community trade mark CD-ROM ROMARIN
NIVILO classifications
WIPO Official Gazette on CD-ROM
CD-ROM CASSIS containing registered and pending trademarks in the US
External databases
Czech registered trademarks database in the Internet
Madrid Express Database
IPLEX CD-ROM – full legislative texts (national original laws, multilateral and bilateral treaties)
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics, administrative support, etc.)
Office automation management system containing trademark registry.
Administrative databases based on Lotus Domino.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used
Equipment used:
Fast ETHERNET 1000/10/10 Mbit/s, WINDOWS NT 4.0, 2000 for servers; workstations PC Pentium, Windows 95, NT 4.0 and 2000; HP Unix for database, Informix Dynamic Server 9.21
VI. Administration of trademark 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)
Planning, administration, automation, security
In 2002, there were 1,801 visits to the office’s reading room, 1,161 of which were from public users. In total, 9,982 borrowings of patent and other literature were made available to the public. 29,954 copies of patent documents for the manual and computer search purposes, as well as copies from technical periodicals and other associated and non-patent literature were also made available to the public. In 2002, 407 patent searches, 2,831 trademark searches and 38 design searches were performed based on 1,183 written and 209 in-person requests.
The office’s reading room, including the search workstation, opens daily from 7:30 to 15:00 except on Wednesday (8:00-16:00).
All online sevices and other basic information are available via the Internet address of IPO SR: www.upv.sk.
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and trademark information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
Sales of the Gazette in paper form.
General information provided by Office's experts.
On-line searches in Office’s search system, self-service during a personal visit.
Searches in International Trademarks Database ROMARIN.
Searches upon request - orders in written and on-line form.
At present, traditional methods of searching trademarks (card catalogue) are not used.
Trademark information on the World Wide Web:
- general information
- information about Office activities (seminars, training courses, etc.)
- application guide and forms
- relevant laws
- Annual Reports
- selected registry data
- Official Gazette
- order forms (searches, non-patent literature)
- Nice Classification (8-th edition)
- Viena Classification (5-th edition)
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
International or regional cooperation in the exchange of trademark information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes
In 2002, the IPO SR continued the mutual exchange of trademark information in the form of official gazettes with other offices and with international organizations, including the OHIM and the WIPO.
Exchange of machine-readable information
In 2002, the IPO SR stopped the participation in the joint ESPACE TRACES CD-ROM project (Trademarks of BG, CZ, HU, PL, RO and SK).
VIII. Matters concerning education and training including technical assistance to developing countries
Training courses for national and foreign participants, use of audiovisual means:
Four Module Accredited COURSE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY conducted by the Intellectual Property Institute of the Industrial Property Office for office employees and professional public continued in 2002 with 93 participants. Twenty two employees of IPO SR graduated the course, 25 continue in 2003.
A two-day SEMINAR ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES took place as a cooperation effort between WIPO and the Industrial Property Office.
Supporting activities:
CONFERENCE
THE CONFERENCE - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN SLOVAKIA II was organized by the office celebrating the World Intellectual Property Day on April 26. The conference was attended by 25 lecturers and 80 participants
LECTURES
Lectures outside the Industrial Property Office for seminars covering IP rights and their
enforcement.
Lectures for students of economic, technical and law faculties of universities in Slovakia.
Special lectures for the ministries and branches of economy, defense and education.
JOURNAL
The INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY magazine (“Duševné vlastníctvo”) published by the Industrial Property Office was issued 4 times in 2002 covering all relevant fields in IP rights, copyright, trade names, domain names, logos, licenses, creativity and management with 47 original extensive papers and a number of translations, news, decisions of the Industrial Property Office and the Supreme court, etc.
EXHIBITIONS
Participation at INCHEBA Fair in Bratislava, the International Engineering Fair in Nitra, the FOR ARCH Fair in Banská Bystrica and at IENA Fair in Nűrnberg (Germany) with aim to provide free information and consultations in the IP field.
PUBLICATIONS
New brochures on INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY OFFICE ACTIVITIES, PATENTS, UTILITY MODELS, TRADEMARKS, DESIGNS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES and OFFICE HOME PAGE as well as leaflet and other materials were published under new design bearing information on IPO activities, industrial property in a user-friendly form for the purposes of awareness campaign aimed at universities, SMEs, regional libraries, companies and broad public.
Three original publications – MARKETING OF THOUGHTS, APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS and COMMUNITY TRADEMARK were issued in the new edition under a new design for the the Intellectual Property Institute and for the public.
The translation of WIPO material on “Intellectual Property as a Resource for Quality Development” completed with material on the situation in the Slovak Republic was issued under the title INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY – INSTRUMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES.
The COLLECTION OF SPEECHES presented at Conference was issued.
Two new publications covering international treaties and agreements and valid laws in the Slovak republic in the IP field were issued.
OTHER
The OPEN DOOR DAY - celebrating the World Intellectual Property Day on April 25.
IX. Other relevant matters