Annual Technical Report 2002 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Japan (SCIT/ATR/ID/2002/JP)
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 expression "industrial designs" covers industrial designs and models. Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in this series of Annual Technical Reports.
I. Evolution of registration activities
...
Since January 2000, the JPO has been accepting on-line design applications (electronic applications). The JPO electronically edits the collected data, acquired from electronic applications or electronic conversion of paper-based applications, and publishes the Design Gazette on CD-ROM.
a) Design Gazette on CD-ROM
The JPO has been publishing the Design Gazette on CD-ROM since January 2000.
A single-volume Design Gazette on CD-ROM contained a total of 700 issues and was published 50 times in 2002.
Design Gazette on CD-ROM can be searched by 13 data items, including a registration number, an article to which the design is applied, Japanese Design Classification and D-term. The Design Gazette on CD-ROM contains mixed-mode type data, composed of text data and image data, thus text searches using the text data part is available.
JPO has been providing, free of charge, viewer software to use Design Gazette on CD-ROM.
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information
The number of Design Gazettes published in 2002 is as follows:
Design Gazette 31,861 issues
Decisions on Appeal trial Gazette 850 issues
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied
...
As bibliographic data for searches, application number, filing date, registration number, registration date, name of the article to which the design is applied, design classification, D-term (classification symbols different from the Japanese Design Classification) and others are used in documents related to applications. Disclosure date, acceptance date, publishing date, article, design class, D-term and others are used in reference documents related to disclosure.These data are stored on hard disk document by document for use as search references.
In 2001, "name of the article to which the design is applied" was included as one of the search keys.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
...
JPO is engaged in mutual exchange of gazette and other documents with 88 countries (including international organizations), and of which, JPO sends its Design Gazettes to 26 countries.
As part of the exchange of data between two countries, the JPO will send to China and the Republic of Korea Design Gazette image data and analyzed D-term data prior to the first publishing of gazettes on CD-ROM, recorded on an electronic medium (DVD-R or the like).
Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape
...
The JPO held briefing sessions at the following places to explain to users of industrial property information on how to conduct design searches at the Industrial Property Digital Library (IPDL):
October, 2002 Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi and Kagawa
November, 2002 Hokkaido, Miyagi and Fukuoka
January, 2002 Hiroshima
Training courses for national and foreign participants
...
a) A Cross-reference table between Locarno International Classification for Industrial Designs and Japanese Design Classification (concordance data)
In order for effective use of the Japanese Design Gazette as examination documents in foreign countries, the JPO established the cross-reference table between International Classification for Industrial Designs and Japanese Design Classification (concordance data). As reference information, the JPO lists International Classification in the gazette in addition to Japanese Design Classification.
b) English translation of the Japanese Design Classification
In order for effective use of Japanese Design Gazette and concordance data in foreign countries, the JPO established English translation of the Japanese Design Classification.
c) Information on reference documents
The JPO provides in Design Gazettes information on designs which examiners referred in the process of examination for the registered design.