Annual Technical Report 2005 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Austria (SCIT/ATR/PI/2005/AT)
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
...
Patent applicants have to provide an abstract drafted according to national rules similar to WIPO Standard ST.12/A. This abstract is subject to the examination as to formal requirements. The abstracts are only published on the first page of patent documents (Ax, Bx).
Austrian patent documents are reviewed by Derwent Publications Limited and available through the Derwent World Patents Index databases (WPI).
Classification and reclassification 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)
Filed patent and utility model applications and published documents are classified according to the last IPC edition (7th edition). For search purposes the IPC, ECLA and the Japanese classification systems are used. Reclassification of patent documents is not carried out.
Internal training courses on the use of the IPC, ECLA and the Japanese classification systems were held for the technical examiners in 2005.
Preparatory work on the implementation of the new reformed IPC system has been undertaken. With 2006 the Autrian Patent Office uses the IPC advanced level for classification.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
...
The classified search files of the technical examiners cover all documents of the PCT minimum documentation.
Since 2003 the APO uses the full version of EPOQUE via Patnet.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
The Austrian Patent Office receives patent documents from: Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Serbia and Montenegro, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Uzbekistan, United States of America, United Kingdom, Vietnam and from the four international organisations ARIPO, EPO, OAPI and WIPO. These documents can be searched in the library of the Austrian Patent Office, too.
V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems
...
The legacy systems are running on a SIEMENS mainframe (SR2000), providing administration of bibliographic data, of patent, trademarks and utility models as well as industrial designs in the whole application process.
Online registry information is provided via internet.
It is planned to migrate the existing legacy-systems relating to patents and utility models to common software soprano (toolbox-concept of EPO) in 2007.
External databases
Access to EPOQUE-NET, epoline, QUESTEL, STN, Internet- databases (ELSEVIER, IEEE... )
Internet Access is available to all examiners at their desk top.
...
Hardware: Pentium III 800 MHz for all examiners via Ethernet-Lan, leased lines to Internet and EPO (Vienna, The Hague); Host Siemens BS2000.
Software: Windows Operating System (Win2000, WinXP), MS-Office, B-DOOR/FirstPage+, MS Internet Explorer, STN-Express, Questel Imagination, In house document-management systems for establishing search & examination-reports.
VI. Administration of the industrial property office library 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)
...
Fur further information about activities of the office in 2005, one may also refer to the “Annual Report of the Austrian Patent Office 2005”, published in German and English on the Homepage of the office http://www.patentamt.at/geschaeftsbericht2005 .
...
| 1. | Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.
|
| 2. | Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner). Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.
|
| 3. | Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available on patent databases.
|