Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2014 submitted by ARIPO
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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of trademark information activities and expected time frames for their realization
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New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
- For 2014, the flagship program was the “ARIPO Roving Seminars” aiming at creating awareness on IP and ARIPO activities. The Roving Seminars which were held in Gambia, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Swaziland benefited 655 participants. The Roving Seminars undertaken by the ARIPO officials in the member States included technical missions to the IP Offices.
With regard to trademark applications, the trend is also positive with the numbers increasing steadily
as illustratedAn MoU was signed with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM)
Main areas of trademark information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
- Amendments to the Banjul Protocol in order to improve its usage.
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
- With regard to trademark applications, the numbers increased from 321 in 2013 to 362 in 2014.
- The five most designated states for trademarks in 2014 and since the inception of the system are: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana and Uganda.
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- Website: www.aripo.org
- Face book account under African Regional Intellectual Property Organization
II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
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Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)
Other activities
III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE
Main types of publications in the field of trademark information, outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)
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Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
Other sources
IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
- The POLITE Database
- Internal e-mail system
- Facsimile
Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
- PCs and Laptops, Network printers, Photocopiers, Scanners, Servers
Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
- POLITE Database
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
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Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
Other matters
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION
Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
- A Library is available. It has literature published by the Office and from cooperating partners like the WIPO, EPO, EAPO, UK-IPO, JPO, KIPO, ROSPATENT, SIPO
- Currently, officers can access the library online public access catalogue (OPAC) via the Office intranet
- The library management software is the Liberty3 software
Publications related to different business procedures and trademark information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
- The Anderson Ray Zikonda Library is available and stocks literature by the ARIPO office and also stock from other IP Offices and Organizations like the WIPO, EPO, EAPO, UK-IPO, JPO, KIPO, ROSPATENT, SIPO and others
- It also has a collection of textbooks to support activities of the ARIPO Academy.
- Currently, officers can access the library online public access catalog (OPAC) via the Office intranet
- The library management software is the Liberty3 software
Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
- IP awareness campaigns though public lectures at Harare Institute of Technology, National University of Science and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology
ARIPO participated and gave a lecture at the First Research and Intellectual EXPO from September 3 to 6, Harare, Zimbabwe
Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
- Training Workshop for Heads of Police Academies of the Member States from July 9 to 11
Regional Workshop on Human Resource Development of Patent/Trademark Agents from ARIPO Member States and Observer States from October 27 to 28
- Workshop on Access to Scientific and Technical Information for Technological Capacity Building and Product Branding for Goods of Export Interest for English Speaking Least Developed Countries, from October 21 to 24
Other activities
VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION
International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)
- Trademark information is published in the ARIPO Journal and on CD-ROMs for distribution to Member States and Cooperating partners.
Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to trademark information
- ARIPO participated and exhibited at the 136th Annual Meeting of INTA, from May 10 to 14, in Hong Kong, China
Canada Africa Business Summit from September 15 to 18, Toronto, Canada
The World Intellectual Property Congress of AIPPI from September 14 to 17, Toronto, Canada
- Meetings at the Office for the Harmonization of Internal Market (OHIM)
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF 2014) from April 22 to 26, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Assistance to developing countries
- In the form of training of Trademark agents on the ARIPO procedures
- Scholarship to study for the Masters in Intellectual Property Degree at Africa University in Zimbabwe
Other activities