Annual Technical Report 2004 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Austria (SCIT/ATR/TM/2004/AT)
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I. Evolution of registration activities
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In the year 2004 the number of national applications kept constant, the number of national registrations grew due to a change in the procedure.
In the international field the number of applications based on austrian trademarks increased clearly.
A general trend for a reduction in national trademark applications could not be observed, the high level of 2001 was almost reached again. In spite of the possibility of a CTM application the number of requests for an international registration on the basis of domestic trademarks increased.
As in 2003, 88% of the national applications originated from Austrian enterprises.
About 58.129 Community Trademark applications, which also have effect in Austria, were filed at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trademarks, Designs and Models) in Alicante. This represents a modest increase over the numbers of the year 2003.
Approx. 34.486 trademarks were registered at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market in the year 2004, which came into effect for the whole EU and thus also for the territory of the Republic of Austria.
Also the number of effective trademark rights has further increased: 108.422 signs were protected as national trademarks by the end of 2004. This is an increase of 3% compared with the year 2003.
The oldest trademark in force in Austria is still the one that was filed on April 2nd, 1859.
About 250.000 signs are protected as international trademarks with respect to Austria. Adding the effective community trademarks, nearly 560.000 signs in total are protected as trademarks in the territory of the Republic of Austria.
The majority of applications were filed in the class 9, followed by the classes 35, 16, 3 and 5.
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
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The Austrian Trademark Gazette is a separately published, monthly issued bulletin which exclusively relates to trademark information. Its production employs a Desktop Publishing program adapted to the special requirements of the office. The production works with a master copy, from which the paper copies are made.
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of trademark information
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National trademark applications and incoming lettters are scanned with EPOSCAN. Outgoing letters are prepared with MS-Word via a workflow-management system including an in-house online file-inspection since the year 2000.
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information
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The Nice Classification Systems of Goods and Services, Eighth Edition, is used for the registration of marks. The applicants are not obliged to use pre-defined terms of the classification system. Classification symbols are allotted by the applicant. The symbols are checked by examiners of the trademark department in the course of the examination procedure and are used for the registered marks.
For the classification of figurative elements of marks the Vienna Classification system, 5th edition, is applied.
The bibliographic data of trademarks are indexed for quick online inquiry purposes.
Obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied
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The Austrian Patent Office receives the Trademark Gazettes from: Australia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, United States of America, United Kingdom, Vietnam and from the OHIM.
These gazettes are stored in the reading room of the public library.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
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The examination of trademark applications as to similarity is completely executed by electronic means. The database includes national trademarks , community trademarks and international trademarks valid in Austria.
External databases
Access to the database ROMARIN and to the bibliographic data of “Community Trademark Applications” is available and also used for information services.
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The complete register of national trademarks is available in an electronic version. The project of converting the paper version of the national register of trademarks to an electronic register was finalized in 2001.
An electronic registry for Appeals and Nullities including information about the procedural steps is accessible via the office´ s intranet.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used
Hardware: From Pentium III 800 MHz to Pentium IV 2,4 GHz for all examiners via Ethernet-LAN, two flat-screen monitors for all trademarks examiners, leased lines to Internet.
Software: Windows Operating System (Win2000, WinXP), in house document management system for trademarks, Host System Siemens BS2000.
VI. Administration of trademark services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering trademarks, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
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The Austrian Trademark Gazette is exchanged on a bilateral basis with almost all of the PCT Member States and OHIM. In addition, the office receives the trademark gazettes of WIPO.
Exchange of machine-readable information
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External seminars are frequently organized together with partners, like the Institute for Promotion of Trade and Industry (WIFI), technology transfer centres, universities, other authorities, inventor’s federation or the bar association. The cooperation with partners frequently improves the contacts to the target groups using the existing communication structure. Seminars take place also in cooperation with other offices
Seminars on industrial property rights, including trademarks held by the Austrian Patent Office during 2004:
27 seminars for Universities, with 805 participants
5 seminars for high schools, with 151 participants
17 seminars for SMEs, with 924 participants
7 participations on exhibitions and fairs
Training courses for national and foreign participants
Visits from the following offices at the Autrian office during 2004: Slovenia, China and GCC.
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
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For further information about activities of the office in 2004 please refer also to the “Annual Report of the Austrian Patent Office 2004”, published in German and English on the homepage of the office.