Annual Technical Report 2003 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Canada (SCIT/ATR/PI/2003/CA)
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
...
Nothing stands out so far.
– Trends in our e-services
95.8% increase in e-filings (192 in 2002 and 376 in 2003)
90.7% increase in e-correspondence (1,380 in 2002 and 2,632 in 2003)
Even though patent agents have not started using e-filing on a large scale, some small firms do use it on a regular basis.
Our e-correspondence allows an applicant to perform all transaction (enter national phase of an application, pay fees, etc.) The biggest impact is on paying maintenance fee on applications. They can pay all fees online using their credit-card or a deposit account. Unfortunately, once we receive the data, we still have to enter it manually in our system (this part has not been automated yet).
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, distribution and use of primary and secondary sources of patent information
...
Office notices and changes to office procedures are done through the Canadian Patent Office Record (CPOR).
Some of these office notices, when considered important, are put directly on the CIPO WEB site under the Patent notices section.
Mass storage media used (paper, microforms, optical storage, etc.)
...
Canadian Patent Office maintains an electronic search file of all patent documents open to public from 1920-present, searchable using bibliographical data.
Documents from 1978 -present are also searchable using text fields of abstract, claims and description. Only the text from the abstract and claims is verified for quality when the image is converted to text using OCR. The bibliographical information and image format of patent documents are available internally through our in-house system “Inquire Text” or externally though our Web site. The only information not available searching our Web site is the text from the description.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
...
Administration of Office Libraries:
CIPO consolidated the main Patent and Trademark Search Library in Hull Quebec into a single Client Service Centre. The various paper search files have been removed. CIPO clients now search only the electronic search files.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information
Exchange of Patent Documents:
· CIPO now provides Laid-open and Grants documents on CD-R.
· The Canadian Patent Office Record (gazette) and Annual index in electronic format by means of the CIPO Web site
· Priority documents are printed from the CIPO TECHSOURCE system.
VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries
In May 2002, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, in partnership with WIPO, offered a one-week Specialized Training Workshop on Client Service and Quality Management in the Delivery of Patent Services to twelve senior officials from the Asia-Pacific region.
CIPO has provided, in cooperation with WIPO, the following free patent services to developing countries:
· Patent search and examination reports for developing countries, upon request from WIPO (ICSES);
· State-of-the-art patent searches under the WIPO Patent Information Searches (WPIS) for developing countries; and
· Paper copies of relevant Canadian patent documents identified by WIPO patent searches.
IX. Other relevant matters
...
| 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.
|