Annual Technical Report 2002 on Patent Information Activities submitted by United Kingdom (SCIT/ATR/PI/2002/GB)
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
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(1) Paper
A-Documents
These are prepared by an outside printer. The front page is compiled by downloading bibliographic data (ASCII with special characters) from the corporate database OPTICS to the Internet for collection by the external printer. The data is composed using XICS (Xerox Integrated Composition System), a bespoke system of Xerox. The abstract text, typed or scanned, is added, and any abstract drawings are scanned and merged to finalise the front page. The finished page is added to the rest of the specification and reproduced. The publishing cycle is 5 weeks.
B-Documents
These are prepared by an outside printer. The front page is compiled by downloading bibliographic data (ASCII with special characters) from the corporate database OPTICS to the Internet for collection by the external printer. The data is composed using XICS (Xerox Integrated Composition System), a bespoke system of Xerox. The finished page is added to the rest of the specification and reproduced. The finished documents are then scanned onto CD on a weekly basis for the EPO (WIPO Standard ST.33) The publishing cycle is 5 weeks.
(2) CD-ROM
In association with the EPO, we publish GB A-documents on CD-ROM on a fortnightly basis, ESPACE-UK. The CD-Rom collection covers the years 1979 to date, i.e. for GB serial numbers in excess of 2,000,000.
In conjunction with the EPO and the IP Offices of Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Luxembourg and Portugal, an ACCESS-EUROPE CD-ROM containing the bibliographic data of published BE, CH, LU, NL and UK applications is produced on a monthly basis.
(3) Patents and Designs Journal
Official notices and selected bibliographic data relating to UK patent applications and granted patents are published in the official weekly newspaper called the Patents and Designs Journal on the date of publication. The Journal appears in paper form and on the Patent Office website in PDF format: www.patent.gov.uk/patent/notices/journals/2003.
(4) ESPACENET, EPOQUE etc
The full text, drawings and bibliographic data of all published UK patent applications and granted patents is published on the EPOQUE system soon after the domestic publication date. Esp@cenet is a free internet service which contains a number of different patent collections including all GB applications published since 1978 (http://gb.espacenet.com/).
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of patent information
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The office has a CD-ROM collection containing published/granted US, WO, EP and GB documents on CIMS (Consolidated Imaging System), which can produce paper copies of documents for use in the office.
The office has a complete classified paper collection of GB documents, with some WO and EP documents classified on the UK Key between certain dates. The office also has a partial collection of US, EP and WO documents classified under ECLA (this collection is now frozen and in the process of being disposed of since it is more effectively searchable on EPOQUE).
Word processing and office automation
The Patent Office uses Microsoft Office XP which provides an integrated and extensive network of applications that are available to all staff. All staff have their own personal workstation on which numerous applications are available. Word processing can be carried out using Word Perfect 8 or Word XP; all classification keys used by the examining staff (UK Key, ECLA, IPC, USPC and Japanese F- and FI-Terms) are accessible, as are office notices, manuals, search tools including access to online databases, internal and external telephone directories, translation software, management and administration information etc. There is also a corporate mainframe database (OPTICS), a Paradox database (PAFS) for recording file movement data and examining group statistics, and automated production of search and examination reports using the Section 17/18 system. The office intranet contains a large collection of essential information for staff.
Copies of US, EP, WO and GB documents cited in the search reports are produced by the in-house centralised printing system (CIMS) for supply to applicants, and in addition this system has been extended to enable the ad hoc ordering by staff of any types of patent documentation from CIMS, direct from their desktop. All staff have access to the Internet and to the office intranet and have their own e-mail (via Groupwise 5.5) and official e-mail address.
(New) techniques used for the generation of patent information (printing, recording, photocomposing, etc.)
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The office classifies UK patent applications on the UK Classification Key (Edition T in 2002) and the IPC (7th Edition). The office does not reclassify documents except as a result of a UK Key change.
On January 1, 2002, Edition T of the UK Key came into force. Certain amended parts of the Key were republished and these republished parts together with the unamended parts of Edition S collectively constitute Edition T. Key changes for Edition T have been effected in the following headings:
E1D Further detail classification.
E2X Detail classification.
G2J Further detail classification.
H2E Further detail classification.
H2F Clarification of classifying schedule; Deletion of indexing schedule 2 and renumbering of remaining indexing schedules.
H2J Further detail classification.
H3R Deletion of all indexing schedules.
H4F Further detail classification; Clarification of terms FRD and FRM.
H4L Further detail classification; Clarifying amendments.
H4P Clarification of overlap between headings H4P and H4L.
Coordinate indexing (domestic deep indexing systems, keyword indexing)
Some UK Key headings have deep indexing schemes, with terms that are electronically searchable on OPTICS.
Hybrid system indexing
Double-purpose indexing, currently a feature of the IPC, is searchable in the usual forms in which the IPC is searched. Such schemes do not exist in the UK Key.
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See “File building” above. Upkeep of search files is carried out centrally by administrative staff, in a process that includes listing (comparing the search file contents with the OPTICS record of what should be on that file).
Storage, including mass storage media
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See “File building” above. Patent collections from the rest of the world and that are not in our collection are available by online search techniques.
V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems
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Our internal library is run by the Documentation Unit. The available collection includes GB abridgements/abstracts (including Bennet-Woodcroft), copies of the UK Key, IPC and ECLA, various pamphlets, manuals and other publications, some law reports, name and subject-matter indexes for locating old historic patents, official journals of the UK (Patent and Designs Journal) and of the EPO, magazines for circulations etc. Much of this information is also available on the office Intranet. The library is located in a room in our main building and is therefore secure.
Planning, administration, automation, security, buildings
Our internal library is run by the Documentation Unit. The available collection includes GB abridgements/abstracts (including Bennet-Woodcroft), copies of the UK Key, IPC and ECLA, various pamphlets, manuals and other publications, some law reports, name and subject-matter indexes for locating old historic patents, official journals of the UK (Patent and Designs Journal) and of the EPO, magazines for circulations etc. Much of this information is also available on the office Intranet. The library is located in a room in our main building and is therefore secure.
Collecting, acquisitions, preparation
All staff are free to suggest additional material for inclusion in this collection, and suggestions are periodically invited by management.
Collection management, preservation
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The Science Reference and Information Service (SRIS) of the British Library, located in St. Pancras, London, houses the national collection of patents, science and technology. It remains administratively separate from the UK Patent Office, and is funded by the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sports and by revenue from its services which are heavily used.
SRIS has telephone access to selected examiners in the Patent Office, to help with public enquiries on patent searching.
SRIS and the Patent Office jointly offer support to the Patents Information Network (PIN), which consists of 13 libraries outside London, open to the public, which hold patent material. Both SRIS and the PIN libraries collect most patent specifications in CD-ROM format rather than in paper or microform, although some continue to arrive on paper. Over 25 countries’ patents are covered.
SRIS also continues to offer public access to commercial patent online databases through its Patents Online search service. This is a priced service which handles a number of commissioned searches monthly, mostly for subject searches.
The Patent Office takes part in numerous exchange and grant programmes with other patent offices around the world as in previous years. IP documentation received by the Patent Office is not held by us but by the British Library which provides a national resource for users of this information.
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and patent information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
The Patent Office’s Search and Advisory Service continues to promote its activities in providing priced non-statutory patent and trade mark investigations. At the same time, considerable growth was experienced in supplying patentability and infringement searches, and searches for smaller technologically-oriented companies as part of the DTI’s SMART initiative, an award scheme to enhance competitiveness by encouraging innovation. In all, nearly 6,000 patent and trade mark-based searches were processed, an increase of 21.5 % over the previous 12 months.
The Patent Office’s call centre (Central Enquiry Unit) continues to provide a much needed service to customers, with about 3,000 enquiries coming in every week. Customer satisfaction is very high.
See “Interlibrary lending” for details of library services remote from our office.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information
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Nothing new since the 1997 report.
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
The UK Patent Office has an active programme of bilateral and other cooperation with various countries, including a number of developing countries. In 2002, the Search and Advisory Service carried out 29 free patent searches for WIPO under the programme of Patent Information Services for Developing Countries. We also delivers seminars and lectures in various places including developing countries.
Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)
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See “Evolution of patent activities” above.
Assistance furnished by offices to facilitate the changing over of receiving offices to electronic data carriers for the exchange of patent documents (see also 4th item of paragraph VI, above)
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Nothing new since the 1997 report.
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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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