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EAPO issues its official publications using own publishing facilities for all prepress processes. The unified publication technology involves scanning, optical character recognition, editing, proofreading and blueprint make-up. All data used for publications (including bibliographic data in Russian and English, pages in facsimile mode, full-text descriptions, first pages, blueprints etc.) is stored in one database (IPDL HIVE system, developed on outsourcing basis for EAPO). Information is extracted from the database by client software in necessary formats. The client software also provides broad automation of everyday operations at every workplace of the publication department. About 11900 Eurasian documents were stored in IPDL HIVE system's database at the end of 2003.
Printing of EAPO publications is performed by other companies on contractual basis.
Annual Report contains more complete information on the activities of the Organization and the Office in past year and can serve as additional source of information to this Annual Technical Report.
Furthermore, EAPO issued several non-periodical publications regarding activities of the Organization and Eurasian patent legislation.
Announcements of the Office of legal and norm-setting kind are published in Bulletin "Inventions"; more general announcements can be also found at Web-site of EAPO at www.eapo.org. The number of sections with notices and announcements in the Bulletin was extended in 2003.
Procedural letters to applicants are formed automatically in Common Software and sent mostly on paper by mail. EAPO uses Microsoft Word for text processing of most of the office documents.
See attached file EAPO_Publications_2003.pdf for detailed information on publications of EAPO in 2003:
III. Matters concerning abstracting, classifying, reclassifying and indexing of technical information contained in patent documents
Eurasian patent applications are filed at the EAPO in Russian only. When patent application is filed, an applicant or a representative provides abstract in required format in accordance with filing procedure. This abstract is published with bibliographic data of the application in the Bulletin, at first pages of application and corresponding patent and on CD-ROM "Descriptions of inventions in Eurasian applications". Abstracts are published in Russian only; claims are translated into English as well for purposes of further electronic publication.
EAPO uses IPC7 classification system both in examination and publication activities. Reclassification of all stored Eurasian patent documents from IPC6 to IPC7 was completed in 2002. The documents in the EAPO library fund that have classifications other than IPC are not reclassified.
Bibliographic data for applications and patents and full texts of patents are stored in database storage of IPDL HIVE system. All documents are automatically indexed on upload to the database. Full text search and patent documents retrieval using various criteria (IPC class, other bibliographic data, keywords in title, abstract, claims or full text) can be performed using client software or Web interface. The search engine allows to use Russian and English morphology to obtain more integrate search results. IPDL HIVE system also allows extracting data in required format for further loading to other external search systems. For example, this extracted data is used in EAPO owned EAPATIS (See Chapter IV and V of this Report) and in Esp@cenet.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
In 2003 work was done to further improve, develop and support the Regional Eurasian Patent Information System (EAPATIS) as well as to raise the volume and quality of the electronic bank of patent and non-patent information, and to improve patent search methods and techniques.
During the reporting period, over 4 million reference and bibliographic descriptions of patent documents extracted and processed from recently received CD-ROM\DVD disks were added to the databases (DB) of EAPATIS. These DB contain information on PCT applications, EAPO and EPO applications and patents, USA patents, patent documentation of several other countries of the PCT minimum documentation at various depths of backfile coverage (eg. Russia – from 1994, Great Britain – from 1979, Germany – from 1991, Austria – from 1990, Canada – from 1999, Japan – from 1976, etc.). Patent offices of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova provided their backfile data funds on machine-readable media. Based on these, DB were created and integrated into the EAPATIS information storage together with other databases. The electronic fund has a total of 15 DB containing over 20 million documents. DB searches can be performed using various search criteria.
Additionally, IPDL HIVE system search file is used in EAPO to perform full-text searches in Eurasian patent documents (See Chapter III and V of this Report).
V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems
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Work continued to add machine-readable materials to the EAPO fund and to exchange patent documentation. The machine-readable fund (CD-ROM\DVD disks) increased, in 2003, by 1010 disks and by the end of the year reached over 9100 disks. Documents continued to arrive from 12 patent offices and 2 international organizations: Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, USA, Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Korea; EPO and the International Bureau of WIPO. The PRECES series disks with East European countries patent information started coming in 2003, on an exchange basis, and a total of 108 backfile and current disks of this series was received during the reporting period. The GLOBALPAT, BENELUX and CISPATENT series disks were also received.
EAPO has no library reading room available for the general public. The most of the patent documents and patent-associated literature in the library fund of the Office can be accessed only by the office staff and examiners from the national patent offices of EAPC Contracting States.
Information on Eurasian patent documents can be obtained free of charge in patent register at Web site of EAPO (www.eapo.org/rus/reestr/) and in Espacenet on Eurasian Level I server (ea.espacenet.com, testing phase in 2003) and Level II server.
EAPO has an information service for general public, "EAPO Hotline". The hotline can be used to request information on general issues, filing Eurasian patent applications, payment of fees and validity of Eurasian patents. Information on the consideration of specific Eurasian patent application can be received from examiner by phone, fax or e-mail. EAPO also provides copies of published Eurasian patent documents and official registry information upon request for established fees.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information
EAPO exchanges patent information with 49 countries. Four official EAPO publications were distributed: the EAPO Bulletin; CD-ROMs with descriptions of inventions of Eurasian patents and applications; a CD-ROM with EAPO legal, norm-setting, methodological, and reference documentation. Latvia was added to the list of international exchange partners (Latvian Patent and Technical Library).
To make working with the CD-ROM collection of Eurasian patent documents easier, the test version of the new EAPO information product was developed – CD-ROM “Eurasian applications and patents: Cumulative index 01.01.1996 – 30.06.2003”, which is an information search tool for the Eurasian patent information fund.
VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries
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IX. Other relevant matters
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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