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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to the previous year
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Since 2007, progression of the number of industrial design applications has a sinusoidal character with minimum of 273 (2017) to maximum of 457 (2012). Concerning amount of registered industrial designs, there is a three-year decrease – approximately 28 % compared to 2016.
Othermatters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
Statistics
Since 2000 the Annual Reports and statistics have been available at the Office’s website: http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/annual-report/annual-report.html
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Use of an electronic classification system to check the International classification for industrial designs: http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/classsification-systems/classification--industrial-designs.html
II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
The Office website http://www.upv.cz/en.html is rich source of information.
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Industrial classification system: http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/classsification-systems/classification--industrial-designs.html
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
The content of the file (element of proceedings) is available at: http://isdv.upv.cz/portal/pls/portal/portlets.rejst.formular?lan=en
Classification and reclassification activities; classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classificationclassification
The 11th edition of the Locarno Classification has been used since January 1, 2017.
Bibliographic data and processing
Registered and published designs are searchable by proprietor as well as the former proprietor (for IPO CZ employees only), designer, by date of filing, registration and publication, by number of application and registration, and by indication of the product, legal status and the Locarno class and subclass, as well as by registration and application number, number of the publication Bulletin, and proceeding status.
III. SOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE
Main types of publications in the field of industrial design information, outline of the content (industrial design applications, design patents, registrations, etc.) and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)
Office notices are published weekly in the electronic Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic. Notices are also published at the Office’s website.
Mass storage media used are hard discs, magnetic tapes for backup and paper.
Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.
Publishing, including printing, copying techniques and electronic printing
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Registered designs, including Community designs (RCD), are searchable in the public database. It provides a range of search options including proprietor, designer, image, indication of the product, legal status, date of filing, registration and publication, and Locarno class and subclass. The Official Bulletin picks up data from the internal database.
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
The Office’s Examiners have an access to:
- Internal SyPP database – contains all pending as well as already decided applications
- Internal database of industrial design applications since 1967
- EUIPO research tool Designview
- Other external public databases:
http://upv.cz/en/client-services/online-databases/industrial-design-databases/foreign-database.html
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
National and international industrial design (paper) documentation
Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
Internal and public Industrial Design databases
Other sources
Access to online industrial design bulletin and to other sources of designs information, including download of bulk industrial designs data
The Official Bulletin URL: http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/ipo-bulletin.html
The public database URL: http://upv.cz/en/client-services/online-databases/industrial-design-databases.html
IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
Within the Office, there are obeyed, maintained and improved several business management systems:
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The business process management system (BPMS) internally named ADONIS that describes the office’s processes flow structure is also deployed, maintained and improved. Each employee can find information on organizational structure, valid laws, rules and other documents, available applications, databases and information systems.
Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
Workstations - HP, processor Intel Core2Duo, Core I3 and Core I5, RAM 1- 8 GB, HDD 160 - 500 GB. 300 workstations connected in the Office network are of the Office staff direct service. Thereof 50 computers connected in the Office network are intended for the clients of the Office and staff training. MS OFFICE – 2007/2010/2013/2016 software. The Office uses CD, DVD and magnetic tapes as data mediums.
Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
In-house systems (online/offline)
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The Office also performs searches in design databases freely accessible in the Internet such as Hague Express Database, eSearch plus, DesignView (both maintained by EUIPO) and other national databases. The links to these databases are provided at the Office´s web site (http://www.upv.cz/en.html).
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
File building
The industrial design search file consists of the collection of registered industrial designs of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. The full retrospective collection of registered and published industrial designs is accessible via public database. The database contains bibliographic data as well as images of approx. 33000 published registrations. The oldest data comes from the 1966/67 turn of the year.
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Collections of official bulletins of foreign offices are available in an electronic (via Internet or in a paper or on CDs/DVDs (older volumes) . WIPO and Community Design Bulletin are available in electronic version via Internet (new volumes) and in CD/DVD version (previous volumes).
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
The Office uses the internal information system SYPP2(starting from January 2014) to proceed the applications of patents, supplementary patent certificates, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and geographical indications. The system has been developed since 2011 as a major upgrade of previous version SYPP which was used from 2004 until 2013. The new application is more flexible, based on Oracle Forms with easier maintaining and more flexible data structure. Data are stored in xml format including the history. The system is also more user-friendly. System is connected with central registers of the Czech Republic (ISZR). The project was co-financed by the European fund for regional development within the EU project Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights..The system enables to maintain official registers of all the industrial property rights. Furthermore it archives all incoming and outgoing communications of the Office, provides the information on the state of proceeding, legal status of registrations and statistical data. The Document Management System (DMS) is integrated as well. The system also processes foreign applications within PCT and the European patents valid in the territory of the Czech Republic. The data are transferred to the electronic Office’s Bulletin and to the public search database. The system is compatible with electronic filing recognizing authorized electronic certificates. The current version of on-line filing system was launched in 2017 and is based on web application. This system has replaced the previous application which was based on pdf forms... Starting from January 2008, the system produces automatic electronic extracts from registers upon online request.
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The Office provides full range of brochures and flyers free of charge. They can be downloaded in PDF format from the Office´s web site, taken in the office headquarters or sent upon request. The Office publishes its own books and the Industrial Property Journal (6 issues per year) reflecting the current issues of IP rights.
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION
Office's library (if deals with industrial design information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
Patent library stores the industrial design collection which consists of registered industrial designs of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. The full retrospective collection of registered and published industrial designs is accessible via public database or in paper form. The database contains bibliographic data as well as images of approx. 33 000 published registrations. The oldest data comes from the 1966/67 turn of the year. The document can be studied in the public reading room equipped with PC workstations available for visitors.
The Office cooperates with Regional Patent Information Centres (PATLIBs) on information product dissemination.
Publications related to different business procedures and industrial design information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
The Office provides full range all IP rights dedicated brochures, leaflets and guides free of charge. They can be downloaded in PDF format from the Office´s web site http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/information-brochures/information-brochures.html, taken in the office headquarters or sent upon request. All the materials are distributed to visitors during fairs. The Office publishes its own books.
The Industrial Property Journal reflecting the current issues of IP rights is published six times a year (both in paper and electronic versions).
Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
Cooperation with Metropolitan University Prague on training in a bachelor´s programme in „Industrial Property“ and a master´s programme in „International and Regional Relations in Industrial Property“. Lectures were held at a number of innovation and technology centres.
IPO CZ also cooperates with other universities. There are seminars and educational activities (various topics) for students and academic staff organised in Office’s premises or in university headquarters. University students are also regularly invited for excursions and guided tours in the Office’s premises.
Education and training: training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
The IPO CZ regularly organizes wide range of training courses and seminars - such as Designs - National and International Legal Protection, Searches in the National and Foreign Design Databases, IP Protection and National (CZ) and International Systems of IP Protection, Intellectual Property Protection in Business (SMEs), Technology Transfer, Enforcement of Intellectual Rights, IP Jurisdiction (administrative and judicial issues),. All the educational activities are organized for public, mainly for students, academic staff of universities, representatives of SMEs or research institutions and IP professionals.
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- 59th International Engineering Fair (Brno, CZ)
- 16th International Trade Fair of Engineering Technologies FOR INDUSTRY 2017 (Prague, CZ)
- The Science Research Innovation Trade Fair (Brno, CZ)
- Science Trade Fair (Prague, CZ)
- Science Festival (Prague, CZ)
- For Interior (Prague, CZ)
- Innovation 2017 (Prague, CZ)
- 20th Moscow International Inventions and Innovative Technology Salon (Moscow, RU)
- KIWIE - Korean International Women’s Invention Exposition (Seoul, KR)
- INTARG (Katowice, PL)
- IWIS (Warsaw, PL)
- IENA (Nuremberg, DE)INFOINVENT (Chisinau, MD)
Other activities
The IPO CZ continued its activities for children and youth (elementary school pupils and secondary school students). The Office offers to them short training sessions on industrial rights, guided field trips to the Office's headquarters and an example search in patent databases, as well as courses for teachers interested in adding the topic of industrial rights to their curricula. A special section for youth which is maintained on the IPO CZ website was launched with a new design. The leaflet and comics books on the topics of patents, trademarks and copyright can be downloaded in this section. All the materials mentioned are also available for children and youth during their excursions to the IPO or during the fairs and exhibitions. The new e-learning course on industrial property for elementary and secondary school students was launched. The course acquaints young people with the principles or individual institutes of industrial property rights protection in an entertaining way. The IPO also kept on cooperating with the RVP.CZ Methodological Portal, operated by the National Institute for Education to support of teachers.
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A presentation of the Amazing Physics Theatre group- (UDiF) was held in October 2017 together with a discussion on intellectual property. More than 300 pupils and students of secondary schools attended the program.
VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION
International exchange of industrial design information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)
The Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic is published exclusively electronically as of the beginning 2007. The Official Bulletin is published on a weekly basis (updated every Wednesday) instead of the monthly basis as it was before. The paper version has been discontinued. Electronic version of the Official Bulletin is available since 2000 (Czech version, English version is available since 2007) and accessible at the Office’s web site:
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Various courses and seminars were organized for students and representatives of SMEs or research institutions; Groups of university students were accepted for excursions and guided tours for excursions and guided tours in the Office’s premises.
Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to industrial design information
Once entered into the registry run by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EU IPO) in Alicante, Spain, design owners gain protection for the entire territory of the European Union. The IPO CZ has been integrated into the Designview database, becoming the eleventh National Office to do so. The IPO CZ has uploaded nearly 63 000 designs into Designview.
Since 2008, upon the European Union's joining into the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Czech applicants have had the possibility to use the international industrial design protection system. The system is managed by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Assistance to developing countries
At the request of foreign IPOs (or WIPO) the Office offers study visits for their staff members.
Other activities
The Industrial Property Office continued to fulfil responsibilities resulting from the Czech Republic's membership in the European Union especially related to the area of industrial property protection. It participated in the meetings of the EU Council Working Group on Intellectual Property.