Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2014 submitted by Norwegian Industrial Property Office

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

...

• Established case handling efficience efficiency project (2015->) to improve internal process and Tools
• Continue to improve and maintain the SANT Automation System for IP Case Management and registry handling
• Upgrade infrastructure where further virtualization of servers and Oracle databases, EMC Documentum, Microsoft servers and Citrix clients are central (2015)
• Continue to improve PPH cooperation (2015->)
• Integration to national registries for citizen birth number and company ID (Master Customer database).
• Focus towards improvement in participation with Nordic Patent Institute (pending)
• Enhanced tech cooperation with WIPO to ensure 100% electronic exchange (2015 - 2017)
• Improvements in reporting to EPO - all PT applications/rights (2015), legal status (2016)
• Implement electronic gazette publication (2017)
• Improve online surveillance services, online search and create online payment for annuities (by 2016)
• Create national archive (separate) live from production according to national standard (By 2017) 
• Create and host the national anti-piracy information site (by 2015)
• - Improve international sharing of patent documents IPDL/DAS (2016->)

...

• The London treaty was adopted in revised patent act: All applications can be filed in English, including national applications, and where at least prior to grant, only the claims are demanded translated to Norwegian. Valid for all PT application types and national customers, too.
• Project for online payment solution for annuities started. Project aim to allow direct online payment  or payment order generation of all annuties annuities regardless of type of IP-application/right.
• This project is a continuation of the current on line search service and the newly created surveillance service, where customer can make a portfolio and are warned when annuitiy annuity is due, and for other events, such as change in legal status and new records/events in application or IP-right.
• Project for new national archive (time capsule) for IP system started
• New office overall project management system introduced

...

• Reduction in national filings, but within normal year to year variation
• Firm increase in EP-patent for validation in Norway (>20% increase)
• Substantial increase in duration of national patents for 2014: 2 years longer duration comparted compared to 1999.
• At end of 2014 there was 21 218 patents in force.
• Time to grant increasing due within specific technical fields (manpower issue). Time in average considered too long.
• Measured high customer satisfaction for patent examiniationexamination.
• 20% increase in usage of public search services.

...

• The Officer in charge has the means to modify abstract and title. o *
• NIPO allows filing of base documents in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, or in English.
• Publication only performed either fully in Norwegian language, or fully in English with additonal additional list of claims in Norwegian.
• For EP validated in Norway, only front page and Norwegian clams published (reference to EPO-publication).

...

• E-filing interface to national portal, AND interface for electronic correspondence towards all citizens/national companies
• eOlf integation for PCT/RO, and WIPO PCT integration
• Automated EP-patent import and task activation via EBD-Spirit licensed SW,
• Automated CPC import and handler with IPC concordenceconcordance
• Automatic invoicing integration with Agresso (ERP)
• Daily copy of DB for search services
• e-mail integration, integration to Abbyy (scan/imaging)
• Multi image cropping internal cropping and image enhancement tool (publication, grant, etc)

...

• 85% of flings and correspondence currently performed electronic.
• System Covers both the dossier, registers and publications, invoicing and annuities/renewals, as well as all related case types, such as oppositions, assignments, divisions etc.
• TMs and DSs in average higher e-fling rate than patent, possibly due to size limitation in national portal. 
• NIPO and the SANT IP Automatin Automating system also  handles appeals for company name registrar authority.

...

• Weekly/daily (partial) updated database
• A full copy of production database when applicaiton application is deemed open for Public inspection, where all correspondence documents and publications are available when created since 2010 (via secure link to Document management system EMC Documentum)
• Structured according to WIPO ST.36 with additonal additional schemas since search service has cross domain nature.

...

• Content same as NIPO web search + publications.
• Export of same data as extracted to public search site, sent to EPO bi-weekly (bibiographi bibliographic data) and montly monthly all images (PDF-format) with text coded abstracts for al all new publications.
• EPO uploads to Espacenet international, and issues a copy to NIPO site of Espacenet.
• NIPO uses copy to validate and load national services of local Espacenet database (Norwegian interface).
• NIPO  plans full historic Archive export to Espacenet within 2017.

...

Application handling and rights management is all performed within "single dossier" in SANT-application, from birth to death.
A copy of all public data that are published on the public search servicee service is updated frequently to a separate online dossier.

...

• SANT/Ptolemy and EBD-spirit maintenance, development, upgrades and integrations by  Sword SA, Paris
• EMC Documentum, Document management system, maintained by Ciber AS, Oslo
• Template creation and management system PubMan, managed by Perspectives Consulting, France.

Sattelite Satellite systems: ERP system Agresso with bank transaction logic from Babelbank by Visual Banking. Oracle reports

...

Dedicated information targeting patent novices on web site

• EPO Inventors' HandookHandbook, by Graham Barker, translated to Norwegian with access from web site.
• Dedicated collection of information for experts, were 50% is translated to English.
• Full patent act collection

...

The most important information channel for customers is our web site. In 2014 we registered 260 000 visitors. Customer polls shows high satisfaction with information and training courses. The innovation network of public offices team and cross link their nformation information to innovators

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

...

• NIPO aims to use relevant WIPO standards for all publications, both in internal structure and for transfer.
• Our search service is buildt built on a database according to WIPO ST36, whilst all publications are converted to a structured PDF and a structured TIFF image collection.
• Planned access/use of DAS and IPDL-publication for coming years.

...

• NIPO hosted, with participation by EPO, a common training for european European based examiners about communication with professional clients/customers.
• NIPO hosted the annual EPO-meeting for patent IPC classification. 
• NIPO examiners has participated in various EPO trainings session for common practice (harmonization)
• NIPO contributed within the national delegations in EFTA meetings, together with our ministry, with special appendices regarding te the protection of intellectual property.
• Participation in EFTA/EEA-meetings for Special Committee on Intellectual Property and Working Group on Intellectual Property.
• NIPO participate within the Nordic council (Nordic governmental cooperation organization)
• * NIPO is a partner in the Nordic Patent Institute (With DK and IS)

...