Annual Technical Report 2007 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Estonia (SCIT/ATR/TM/2007/EE)
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
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to the previous year
Trademarks are registered under the Trade Marks Act, which entered into force on 1 May 2004 and was changed and amended both in 2005 as well as 2006. The Trademark Regulation entered into force on 5 July 2004 and the changes and amendments entered into force on 16 July 2007. The most important change was the possibility to file applications electronically on the web page of the Estonian Patent Office https://online.epa.ee/
It enables to fill in and send registration applications of trademarks to the Estonian Patent Office or look at the earlier filed applications. The existence of an ID-card and its reader are required. Anyone can fill in the form, but solely the applicant (or a patent attorney representing him/her) can sign it. 10% of Estonian applicants used the possibilities of electronic filing of applications in 2007.
There are four possibilities to obtain legal protection for a trademark in Estonia:
• by registering a trademark in the register of trademarks and service marks by filing an application with the Estonian Patent Office;
• by registering a trademark with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) requesting legal protection in Estonia;
• by making a trademark well known in Estonia;
• by registering a trademark with the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) as a Community trademark.
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
In 2007 the number of trademark registration applications was 1,980, which is 16% more than last year (1,704 in 2006). The number of applications filed by Estonian applicants has also increased. 1, 284 applications were filed in 2006, whereas 1,537 applications were filed in 2007, which is 20% more. International trademark registrations designating Estonia numbered 3,199 ( 3,430 in 2006). This means a 7% decrease compared with last year. Thus in total 5,179 trademarks were filed for legal protection (5,134 in 2006). A falling tendency (14% fall in 2004, 18% in 2005, 1% fall in 2006), which began already in 2004 due to accession to the European Union and continued in 2005 and 2006 in both national and international trademarks, has stopped. Although there is a slight decrease in the number of international registrations compared with last year, the total number of applications and registrations in 2007 has increased by 0,9% due to active Estonian applicants.
At the end of the year, 426,221 registered Community trademarks (including 97 trademarks from Estonia); 30, 777 registered national trademarks and 28, 612 international registrations with protection extended to Estonia were valid in Estonia.
The Trademark Department rendered 3,939 decisions, of which 1,505 concerned national applications and 2,434 international registrations, which is 20% less than in 2006. Estonian applicants filed 108 international trademark registration applications for forwarding to WIPO (97 in 2006). Latvia was number one among the countries designated for protection, followed by Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine.
In 2007 the applications from the member states of the European Union made up 74% of the total of trademark applications, including 30% by Estonian applicants and 4% by the applicants from the USA. Amongst the European Union member states Germany was the most interested in obtaining legal protection in Estonia, making up 11% of the total of applications. Russia, Switzerland, the USA and China followed it.
The most popular goods in 2007 were pharmaceutical preparations (6,5%), followed by electrical and scientific apparatus (5,2%), printed products (4,9%), clothes (3.9%), foodstuffs (3,9%) and cosmetics (3,9%).
The most popular services were advertising, business management and office functions (8,6%) followed by education, training, entertainment and cultural and sports activities (5,7%), scientific and technological research, design and development of computer hard- and software (3,7%).
Trademark applications will be fully examined on both absolute (distinctive character) and relative (prior right) grounds. The average duration of the examination of trademarks is 12 months and international registrations 10 months
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to trademarks
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=565&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
Publishing, printing, copying techniques
The official publication of the Estonian Patent Office is the Estonian Trademark Gazette, published under the Trademark Act. The Gazette contains the text and reproductions of all trademark applications published for opposition, all trademarks that have been registered, all registrations that have been amended, renewed, expired or cancelled.
Registered trademarks are published in the Estonian Trademark Gazette twice – first, after the decision on registration of the trademark in Part I and second, after the entry of a trademark in the register of trademarks and service marks in Part III. International registrations are published for appeal in Part II of the Gazette.
The Estonian Trademark Gazette is published 12 times a year.
Editing and printing is done with PCs, including the trademark certificates and preparation for the printing of the Estonian Trademark Gazette.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online trademark gazettes and to other sources of trademark information, including download of bulk trademark data
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=920&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
http://www.epa.ee/default.asp?wa_id=507
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)
International Classifications (Nice Classification, Vienna Classification) of Goods and Services for the purpose of the registration of marks are used.
Before filing a registration application with the Patent Office, it is possible to submit an enquiry on registered and pending trademarks and to use the database of trademarks via the Internet which also includes international registrations of trademarks designating the Republic of Estonia.
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
International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks used in the Estonian Patent Office (in Estonian)
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=831&wa_id_key=
Bibliographic data and processing
WIPO Standard St. 60 is used for bibliographic data coding.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
The Estonian Patent Office does not use the manual search files.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
The Common Software (CS) is used in the Patent Office for administering the procedures of the examination. It has already been used for more than 10 years and it is regularly updated. Now Version 3.3.1 is in use. CS integrates automated data entry software SPIRIT (European patents) and SPIRIT-MECA (international trademark registrations). As the Community trademarks are valid in Estonia since 2004 the number of entries in the databases increased 7 times. Therefore the Estonian Patent Office started to use figurative and verbal searches software ACSEPTO V7.05.7 to facilitate trademark examination procedure in the end of 2006. Recently besides trademarks valid in Estonia and Community trademarks also data of the emblems, official control and warranty signs and names of international intergovernmental organisations under protection in compliance with Article 6 ter of Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Since April 2007 a portal for electronic filing of trademarks has been available. So digitally signed applications for registration of trademarks can be filed without coming to the Office.
The Estonian Patent Office maintains a computerised database that enables the search of verbal and figurative elements of the trademarks (applications, registered marks, international registrations).
The search databases of trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications which are available via the Internet are regularly updated, their use is free.
Trademark database (http://www2.epa.ee/Patent/mark.nsf/SearchEngl?OpenForm) includes registered and pending trademarks and international registrations designating Estonia, and is available to interested parties, including customs authorities and the police. The database of trademarks contains the data since 1 October 1992 of registered trademarks, trademark registration applications filed with the Patent Office and international registrations of trademarks valid in Estonia or filed for registration under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement in the amount provided by the Trademarks Act.
The database is updated once a week. Updating of the database takes place from 5 p.m. until 12 p.m. (midnight) every Thursday. Searches done at that time may not be successful.
There is also possibility to use CTM-online via web page of the Estonian Patent Office.
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)
The computerised Estonian trademark database contains registered marks and published applications (both national and international) and it can be exploited at the reading room of the Patent Library. Search is carried out by the bibliographer and the customers pay a moderate price for the computerised services.
The Patent Library renders services using the following CD/DVD-ROM databases:
ROMARIN (WO), also available via the website of WIPO,
US TRADEMARKS BIB
US PATENTS & TRADEMARKS ASSIGN
TRACES
USAMARK
In-house online access is established to the commercial databases Questel-Orbit via the Internet connection. This database is charged on the bases of annual fee and on the bases of usage.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
The Estonian Patent Library has agreements with 28 trademark offices on exchange of trademark gazettes. At present the information concerning Estonian trademark on machine-readable carriers is not being forwarded to our exchange partners.
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.)
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=658&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
Year 2007 was the second year of activities for the Small-Sized Enterprise Support Division, which main goal is to raise the awareness of the entrepreneurs and the public in the field of legal protection of intellectual property by arranging seminars, info days, consultations and participating in the fairs.
One of the priorities of the division was undoubtedly raising awareness of the entrepreneurs in the counties. So cooperation between the Division and the developing centres of the counties continued in 2007 by arranging info days on intellectual property. In the framework of cooperation info-days were held in Kuressaare and Rakvere.
Info day in cooperation with Johvi representation of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was held in J�hvi in the beginning of the year. The info day was in two parts; the first was in Russian and the second in Estonian.
In 2007 the impact of the seminars held in the classroom of the Estonian Patent Office
rose. There were 4 seminars for the entrepreneurs both in the field of trademarks and inventions as well as a seminar for the students of Business Law of Tallinn College of Tallinn Technical University. Approximately 90 people were trained in the classroom.
Also cooperation with Tallinn City Enterprise Board, which started last year, continued successfully.
Tallinn City Enterprise Board started to provide benefits to the items of industrial property for the grant of patent protection to facilitate getting protection to the innovative solutions of industrial property in foreign countries and to support their application in business in Tallinn in 2006. An Evaluation Committee was established. Two representatives of the Estonian Patent Office participate in its activities. Besides, in case the submitted application requires further examination the Committee of Tallinn City Enterprise Board does cooperation with the examiners of the special field of the Estonian Patent Office.
Training courses for national and foreign participants
On 3-4 October a subsequent Tallinn Entrepreneurship Day was celebrated in Tallinn and the Estonian Patent Office participated as a cooperation partner for the second time by arranging 2 seminars: “Make Use of Industrial Property Information and Inventing is Simple!” and “About Trademarks. What is a Trademark? How to Protect It? How to Choose a Trademark not to Have Problems at Registration Later”.
Besides the seminars, also an info centre of the Estonian Patent Office was opened for the entrepreneurs on two days. It provided information on intellectual property, consultations, and official gazettes of the Estonian Patent Office as well as other publications.
This year for the very first time those who were interested had an opportunity to test their knowledge in the field of intellectual property. The best one was awarded.
Traditionally two larger seminars were arranged for the small-sized entrepreneurs in Tallinn.
On 26 April the Estonian Patent Office in cooperation with WIPO celebrated the World Intellectual Property Day for the seventh time by arranging a seminar "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Intellectual Property".
In October the Estonian Patent Office in cooperation with the European Patent Office arranged a seminar "Challenges and Risks at IP Protection" in the Conference Centre of Meriton Grand Hotel in Tallinn. 87 was a record number of participants.
Customer training activities of the Estonian Patent Library in 2007.
16 training courses “Patent information in the R&D of the company” were carried out among the entrepreneurs and specialists. The courses were arranged in different enterprises and institutions of Estonia. 9 training courses were held for students. The subject matter of these courses is constantly revised and modified.
IX. Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
provide information on legislation related to trademarks
http://www.legaltext.ee/text/en/X50063K2.htm
contain the Annual Report of the Office
http://www.epa.ee/client/default.asp?wa_id=922&wa_object_id=1&wa_id_key=
contain trademark-related news regarding the Office
http://www.epa.ee/news.asp?wa_site_id=2
X. Other relevant matters
The library published the training material related to the training program “Patent information in the R&D of the company” on CD-ROM and in the web. The leaflet “How to find IP protected in Estonia in the Internet” was published on the library’s website.