Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2022 submitted by African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)

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URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

• Link to pages with information in English, Spanish, or French
• The URL will remain stable over time (at least three years, preferably more)
• Goes to the specific information requested, not to a general homepage
• If the URL goes to a long PDF document such as an annual report, please indicate which sections or pages contain relevant information.
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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of trademark information activities and expected time frames for their realization - Policies are guided by the ARIPO Strategic Plan 2022-2026 which underscores delivery of quality IP rights as a priority.  To support this a number of initiatives have been taken such as; the establishment of the ARIPO e-learning service for capacity building activities and e-service platform for administration of IP rights as well as the Regional IP Database, 
2. New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks - Upgrading of the Member States Module to be compatible with IPAS 4.0.
3. Main areas of trademark information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year- Promoted the utilization of the TMView; increase the uptake of the online application filing platform

4. Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes - Mark application filings in 2022 rose to 672 from 510 in 2021, an increase of 32%; Marks registered rose from 305 in  2021 to 511 in 2022, an increase of 66%. 

5. Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs - E-Service Platform for online filing of IP - http://eservice.aripo.org/pmi/PMIMain.do; Provided an online user guide to assist users on online filing processes, fees payment, notifications - http://eservice.aripo.org/pif/pue/PIFUserGuideList.do; ARIPO filing procedure brochures - https://www.aripo.org/aripo-filing-procedures/
2. Availability of the application dossier in electronic form - Availed ARIPO application forms in electronic form to be filled and submitted electronically - http://eservice.aripo.org/pif/pfd/PIFEFormList.do.
3. Matters concerning classifying
   1. 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 - ARIPO adopted the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification)
   2. Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied
4. Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)
5. Other activities

III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Main types of publications in the field of trademark information, outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs) - Trademark information stored in digital formats with access to bibliographic information through the IP Digital Library - http://regionalip.aripo.org/wopublish-search/public/home;jsessionid=1DD5A3D8901B9AFC4DFB1C0C17BF7167?0; 
2. Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online, URL), etc. - The monthly ARIPO Industrial Property Journal - http://eservice.aripo.org/ppb/pjd/PPBJournalViewList.do; ARIPO Annual Report - https://www.aripo.org/annual-reports/; ARIPO Newsletter.
3. Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases - TMView, POLite+ - http://192.168.10.2/si/ss/signinScreen.do; ARIPO Regional IP database - http://regionalip.aripo.org/wopublish-search/public/home;jsessionid=1DD5A3D8901B9AFC4DFB1C0C17BF7167?0
4. Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.) - Free access to the ARIPO Journal including downloading - http://eservice.aripo.org/ppb/pjd/PPBJournalViewList.do.
5. Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
6. Other sources

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements - ARIPO E-service platform, Member States Module to facilitate data exchange between ARIPO and the Member States implemented in 13 Member countries, online library management software, ARIPO patent databases, Office 360.
2. Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office - Network servers (on site and cloud), Desktops, Laptops, printers, scanners, telephones, smartphones
3. Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources - ARIPO IP Digital library; POLite+ database linked to the member states systems 
4. Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
5. Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support) - The ARIPO website and the social media channels have been used to promote Innovation and IP and publish success stories from the Region. The available online platforms are; The e-service platform, ARIPO online library - http://library.aripo.org/liberty/libraryHome.do?; social media platforms such as Twitter - https://twitter.com/_aripo, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ARIPOSecretariat/,  YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCshGop4R31G57G1s7v0DKow; LinkedIn.
6. Other matters

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries - Anderson Ray Zikonda Online Library - http://library.aripo.org/liberty/libraryHome.do; ARIPO Regional IP Digital Library or Database - http://regionalip.aripo.org/wopublish-search/public/home;jsessionid=CE272586CE134B84F32715FA19BBCDB5?0, 
2. Publications related to different business procedures and trademark information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc. - https://www.aripo.org; https://www.aripo.org/aripo-filing-procedures; https://www.aripo.org/general-information; https://www.aripo.org/protocols/.
3. Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc. - Offer a Masters Degree in Intellectual Property at 3 universities; Africa University (in partnership with WIPO), University of Dar es Salaam and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; Delivered awareness lectures at and organized training workshops with several tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe; ARIPO-EPO University Outreach Project - aimed to build the capacity of the participating Universities in conducting searches, particularly on the importance of the intellectual property systems, IP information and search tools. Eighteen (18) universities from the ARIPO region participated in the pilot phase in June 2022.
4. Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc. - Participated at trade exhibitions in our Member States namely, Zimbabwe (ZITF2022), Zambia (ZITF2022), Tanzania (Sabasaba); published an updated Directory of Intellectual Property  Graduates. The Directory provides a rich pool of expertise from which the Organization and National IP Offices can draw resource persons for training programmes and other IP related activities; ARIPO participated in the global WIPO IP Training Institutions (IPTI) training titled e-Learning and Online Teaching Methodologies
5. Other activities

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes) - Availed the ARIPO Industrial Property Journal for free access and downloading, Sent CD-ROMs to EPO and EUIPO, contribute to TMView,
2. Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to trademark information - In partnership with WIPO, ARIPO held a Conference of Heads of IP Offices (HIPOC) in Ezulwini, Kingdom of Eswatini from 8th to 10th June 2022 to promote cooperation and dialogue amongst ARIPO Member States and sharing best practices and experiences in IP administration in the region; ARIPO delivered IP Awareness Seminars for academic and research institutions in the Kingdom of Lesotho and The Gambia. The seminars were intended to enhance IP awareness among researchers; staff and students from academic and research institutions with a view to promoting the creation, protection and utilization of IP tools for socio-economic and technological development.
3. Assistance to developing countries - Offer trademark search and examination training courses to national IP offices of our member states and IP agents.
4. Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS