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Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
In 2015, compared with 2014 (when measured on a multiple class basis), the number of design applications filed at KIPO was 72,190, representing a 6.8% increase; while the number of registered designs was 54,551, representing a 1% increase.
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Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
• Annual report: http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/user.tdf?a=user.english.html.HtmlApp&c=60111&catmenu=ek07_01_01
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Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
To integrate scattered counseling resources and promptly provide technical advice, the Customer Service Center was established in March 2002. Its main services are on the following issues:
• Procedural and technical advice on (electronic) filing, examination, grant, trial, search and use of design information, as well as on international design applications
• Informing the progress after consultation with additional guidance
• Use of the Expert System (e-filing support system) and remote consultation
• Consultation through mobile web/app or Twitter
• Angel Call service, informing applicants in advance that their applications would be closed along with suggesting reasonable solutions
• Consultation to socially vulnerable classes through text message and/or one-on-one chatting
e-Filing Portal (http://www.patent.go.kr)
At this web page, applicants can file their applications online and pay relevant fees via Internet banking. They can also request and receive a variety of certificates via the Internet and check the progress of their request, as well as be informed of the administrative progress of their applications via e-mail and/or SMS. This is also linked to the WEB-PASS, which is a web-based, e-filing system used for receiving intermediate documents and grant/trial-related documents, as well as all types of IPR applications.
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
All design applications filed at KIPO are made available in electronic format for its administrative processing including examination, publication, and trial. Approximately 96.1 percent of the total design applications (i.e., 64,683 applications) filed to KIPO in 2015 have made available in electronic form from being filed online by applicants via the e-filing portal mentioned above. The rest of such applications which were filed in paper are also digitalized in electronic format, along with all the other application-related documents including amendments and intermediate documents. This digitalization process employs multi-OCR, dual key input, automatic verification and color scanning. In 2015, 3271 design applications were digitalized.
Classification and reclassification activities; classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification
Beginning July 1, 2014, applicants are obliged to put the Locarno Classification when filing their applications. In the meantime, KIPO uses its own classification system for design, which is comprised of 13 categories and 75 main classes for earlier designs and cross-references the Locarno Classification on official gazettes.
Other activities
III. SOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE
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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)
Design applications and registrations are published on KIPO’s website via PDF on a daily basis as official gazettes, as explained in the next section.
Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.
PDF gazettes of design applications and registrations can be seen for three months on KIPO’s website (http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/user.tdf?a=user.html.HtmlApp&c=4135&catmenu=m03_03_02) for three months after being first posted on the website, since July 2001 for quick and easy access by the public. The gazettes are also offered by email to people who have subscribed to the mailing service. Furthermore, DVD-ROM gazettes are produced in XML/PDF format, to be distributed to three domestic entities, twice a month. The gazettes on design published in 2015 contained 1568 design applications and 55,226 design registrations.
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
Design data available to KIPO examiners is provided through its search system and is as follows:
• Domestic data: applications (1960- ), registrations (1966- ), utility model designs (1970- ),
• Overseas data (publications): US (1997- ), Germany (1988- ), WIPO (1999- ), EUIPO (2003- ), Japan (1965- ), China (2010- )
• Combination of domestic and overseas data: computer generated graphic designs (2003- ), typeface (2004- ), catalogues (1980- ), two-dimensional designs (1960-2012)
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
Since January 2001, domestic design information has been made available free-of-charge through KIPRIS at http://www.kipris.or.kr: bibliographic data (in text format from 1948), images (in JPEG format from 1948), full text from gazette data (in XML/PDF format from 1998 onwards), and legal status data. KIPRIS also provides design information from JPO, USPTO and WIPO. Searches and retrieval of such data by international classification were made possible due to the revision of KIPO’s design regulation in 2014. In addition, search services for international designs began along with the Copy & Paste of search results at KIPRIS to SNS, such as Twitter and Facebook, in 2015.
Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
Legal status information is made available at KIRPISPlus (http://plus.kipris.or.kr), a fee-based search service via an Open API targeting web service users launched in September 2012. Such information can be identified with 72 kinds of legal status codes and 129 types of event codes, which are updated every two weeks. Legal status codes represent the administrative progress of an application while the event codes represent the grounds for those legal statuses, such as receipt and dispatch of documents. Some examples of such legal status codes are ‘trial for invalidation of design registration,’ ‘trial to confirm scope of right,’ ‘trial for grant of non-exclusive license,’ ‘extinguishment of design right in absence of successor,’ ‘request for confidential design,’ ‘decision to reject design registration.’ As of the end of 2015, it had a database pertaining to 301 thousand designs.
Other sources
IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
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Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
There are a total of 4122 software applications to support KIPO’s business procedures such as search, examination, registration, and trial in 175 types of the five groups, as below:
• System software: 12 types (i.e., DBMS, web server, middleware)
• Package software: 41 types (including PMS, BPM, electronic approval system, Call Center, DW, messenger, career development management system, Homepage portal, DQM, etc.)
• Security software: 52 types (firewall, invasion detection/protection, DRM, integrated certificates, DB security, personal information protection tool, etc.)
• Management software: 13 types (back-up tool, performance management tool, batch scheduler, etc.)
• Others: 57 types (search engine, drawing viewer, OCR, PDF converter)
Maintenance for system software mentioned above is conducted by a separate governmentally-integrated center, while the other software is managed by KIPO headquarters.
For databases, performance tests and recovery practice tests are regularly conducted with support from DB-related agencies. In addition, introduction and upgrades of system software such as DBMS, web servers and middleware help the KIPOnet system’s performance and functionality to be continuously improved. In order to protect personal information and prevent unpublished information, state-of-the-art security patches are applied to such software.
Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
• Server: 52 UNIX Enterprise servers, 111 NT servers, and 145 Linux servers
• Storage equipment: 38 Storage(2630 terabytes), 18 SANs
• Peripherals: 6 backup devices, 2 jukeboxes
In 2015, the following activities were conducted for the sake of stabilization and improvement of hardware performance:
- 19 times of preventive exercise to respond to complex system hazard
- Upgrade of old OS such as Windows Server 2003
- Timely support for development of the Smart Examination System through relocation of idle servers
- Simplification of infrastructure and reduction of operational costs by modifying network architecture
- Extension of the IT Center to solve overpopulation of IT equipment
- Expansion of 13 terabyte for foreign common documentation database
Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
The internal database is built based on applications and has been continuously updated and refined for search purpose. It contains applications (1960-, JPG/TIFF), dossier of rejected applications (1992-1998, TIFF), registrar (1948-1991, TIFF), catalogues (1980-, TEXT/JPG), computer generated graphic designs (2003-, TEXT/JPG), typeface (2004-, TEXT/JPG), two-dimensional designs (1976-, TEXT/JPG), utility model designs (1970-, TEXT/JPG/TIFF).
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
File building and updating
To be incorporated into the search database, design data is parsed for the sake of classification and refinement and then uploaded after error verification.
Smart Data Quality Management System
Through the Smart Data Quality Management System, KIPO makes an effort to keep or improve the quality of such data, with prioritizing data architecture and data value. Data architecture administers naming rules for logic and physical names, data type and length so that they can prevent confusion of terminology usage and improve data reusability and system efficiency. From the perspective of data value, business rules are continuously created and along with the regular measurements of data value. Finally, data with errors which occur in the process of administrative or business procedures are corrected after consultation with the departments involved.
Foreign data included in the search system
• Publication data: China (2010-), Germany (1988-), Japan (1965-), EUIPO (2003-), US (1997- ), WIPO (1999- )
• Others: computer generated graphic designs (2003-), typeface (2004-), catalogues (1980-), two-dimensional designs (1960-2012)
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
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Office's library (if deals with industrial design information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
IP Library
The IP Digital Library archives design documents from five countries and one international organization, which are published on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The library also possesses 11,387 volumes of design-related journals, magazines and books that were either donated or purchased. The general public is allowed to access to this collection for search and copy services.
Publications related to different business procedures and industrial design information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
• Business procedures: http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/user.tdf?a=user.english.html.HtmlApp&c=93001&catmenu=ek04_01_02Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
Education and training: training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
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International exchange of industrial design information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)
KIPO has provided its official gazettes for designs to 11 offices including China, Japan, and the United States of America via FTP. In reverse, KIPO has been provided with design data from Kyrgyzstan and Slovakia on CD-ROM and from ARIPO, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, EUIPO, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the United State of America, Viet Nam, and WIPO via FTP. Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to industrial design information
Assistance to developing countries
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