Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2020 submitted by The Estonian Patent Office
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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.
I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
The average duration of the examination of trade mark applications and international registrations (if there are no deficiencies) was 3.7 months. The examination of national applications from filing an application until making the decision took approximately 3 months.
On 12 October 2020, the Patent Office started offering a new service – an accelerated procedure for trade mark applications. An application for an accelerated procedure with reduced data must comply with certain conditions which allow the registration decision to be made in a shorter period of time.
There are four possibilities to obtain legal protection for a trade mark in Estonia:
- by registering it in the register of trade marks and service marks by filing an application with the Estonian Patent Office;
- by registering it with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), requesting legal protection in Estonia;
- by making a trade mark well known in Estonia;
- by registering it as an European Union trade mark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
1,403 trade mark registration applications were filed in 2020 (1,351 applications in 2019). Estonian applicants filed 1,239 applications (1,172 in 2020). International trade mark registrations designating Estonia numbered 943 (1,284 in 2019). In total 2,346 trade marks were filed for legal protection (2,635 in 2019).
More: https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks
Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of trademark information activities and expected time frames for their realization
New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
Main areas of trademark information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks
https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/statistics
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
https://www.epa.ee/en/publications/methodical-publications
https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/free-consultations
https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
https://www.epa.ee/en/trade-marks/what-trade-mark
Matters concerning classifying
(i) Classification and reclassification activities; classification systems used, e.g., International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classification
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied
https://www.epa.ee/et/kaubamargid/kaupade-ja-teenuste-klassifitseerimine
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)
Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online, URL), etc.
https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
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
Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
https://andmebaas.epa.ee/avalik/#/trademarks
Other matters
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION
https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/public-awareness-policies
Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
Publications related to different business procedures and trademark information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist
Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/information-events
Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid
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)
https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette
Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to trademark information
https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/international-cooperation
Assistance to developing countries
Other activities