Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2024 submitted by Norwegian Industrial Property office

Please provide links to your website where the requested information can be found in English, French, or Spanish.  Alternately, you may provide text responses instead of URLs if desired.  If the information is not available on your website in an ATR language, then please provide text.

URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

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

Information on the following topics is desired:

Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization:

• The Digital Strategy 2020 - 2025 evaluation and activity for renewal of strategy according to the WIPO Recommendations (Final by 2025)
• Else see strategy and annual report.

New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plan mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, task:

• Generative AI infrastructure and Rag/Fine tuning projects (End by 2025)

Main Arewas of patent informaiton activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year:

• Team organization of Digitalization Dept. (Continuous)
• Generative KI
• Cloud infrastructure (Azure)
• Legal Status extract and database for PT
• Digital Gazette for patent
• Open data API for patent
• Altinn migration (National platform for secure electronic filing and correspondences)

Statistisk: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to prevous year, trends oare ares experiencing rapid changes: 

• A significant decrease of national patenting activity since 2021.
• The number of applications with foreign applicants is increasing. 
• The annual increase in EP validation is still strong.

Other matters and useful links (URLs) Annual Reports of the office, news page, statistics, etc: 

• Annual report: (Annual reports are only in Norwegian)
• Office strategy 
• Patent statistics from NIPO
• About NIPO

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) – URLs
  • Overview of digital services
• Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
  • Search.patentstyret.no
• There were no specific activity related to the following issues:
  • Classification², preclassification³ (if applicable), reclassification⁴   activities; classification system used (e.g., International Patent  Classification (IPC)), matters concerning indexing of patent information
  • Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
  • Other activities 

III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Main types of publications of the Office (patent applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, granted patents, etc.), medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URLs)
  • Patent publications are available as PDF (full text content), full text file (txt) and ST.96 v.7 files
  • Patent collection is national patents (including PCTs) and EP-validation (translations)
  • SPC is only availble as events in the gazette
• Official Gazettes:  main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URL), etc.
  • Patent gazette is from 2024 and onwards only in digital format with optional PDF-rendition for download.
    • Dual language, except som register fields due to regulations
    • Weekly official publications, but where all events are avabile in real time (coming possible gazette content)
    • Not availble on paper. Earlier gazettes only availble in Norwegian and on Weekly PDF.
  • The solution is cross domain database based on Legal Status extract in real time.
• Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases
  • Most commercial search engines are available and used based on need
  • Started migration from Epoque to AbS as main search portal in 2024
  • All national patents from 1891 available in full text and as image browsing.
• Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
  • Full bibliographic dossier for all applications open for public inspection with all incoming and outgoing correspondence, including all decisions that are related to the application or right (se link above)
• Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
  • From march 2024 onwards Legal Status events are produced according to standard, but in local JSON format
  • THere is a plan to open the patent legal status event record database as Open Data by 2025
• Other sources

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office:  general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements

  • All infrastructure off prem (data center) 100% except for network capabilities and work stations.
    200+ local servers (virtual included). Redundancy, off site backup. Secure home office availability.

  • Some main technologies: VMWare, MS.Net, Oracle, Documentum, MS.Azure, Citrix Workspace

  • Standard workstation is laptop, docking, 49" widescreen monitor. Providing up to dual monitor home office.

• Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
  • Off site colocation server racks.
  • Some main technologies: VMWare, MS.Net, Oracle, Documentum, MS.Azure, Citrix Workspace, Elasitc Search
• Internal databases:  coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
  • Patent register and dossier coverage: Register since 1976, dossier (all documents) since 2004.
• Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file:  file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
  • Search file based on St.26 data and full text indexes (Elastic Search), and Oracle databases, with images in TIFF ccitt g4, PDF and ST.96 v7 XML, full coverage
• Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
  • Ptolemy, SDU ++ (by Coexya, France)
  • Unit4 ERP
  • Plus integrations
• Other matters

  • Digital service portfolio (By NIPO developers):

    • Register search on updated copy database, with user selected alerts
    • Legal status event export, 
    • Digital gazette publication
    • Open data management (under test)
    • Customer portfolio /dossiers with self service (require secure authentication)
    • Altinn service owner (Management of forms, correspondence, outgoing messages to correspondence party)
    • Real time statistics
    • Customer message inbox (all incoming and outgoing forms)
    • Product finder (TM)
    • Guided application filing (for non-professionals)
    • Online payment (annual fees, renewal, partial renewals) calculation, due dates, CC or bank transfer.

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF PATENT INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Patent library:  equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries
  • Open data access: Release in 2025
• Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
  • Open access to patent information provided at request
  • Building IPR knowledge by offering free of charge physical and online courses for different customer types. https://www.patentstyret.no/kurs/
  • Increase in activity both in traditional and social media.
• Office’s initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)
  • This is not needed due to extensive knowledge in English by community
• Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
  • Extensive annual program  cooperation with national universities, catapults and incubators (siva.no), IPR-attorney and agents.
• Education and training:  training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
  • Building IPR knowledge by offering free of charge physical and online courses for different customer types. https://www.patentstyret.no/kurs/
• Other activities 
  • Best Norwegian Public Sector Customer Service Desk 2024 (by SeeYou, 6th time)

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

• International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information
  • Register fully availble in Patentscope: Plan for extension to published document in 2025
  • Register as open data, including published document planned for 2025
• Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information
  • Broad and active participation in CWS and CWS task forces, active in WIPO Conversations
  • Supporter og ICT Road Map Meeting
  • Supporter of WIPO initiatives for ICT Strategey Best Practise and extended ICT focus under the WIPO umbrella 
  • Initiatives for a Nordic ICT forum for cooperation
  • Various projects with EUIPO on TMView and Designview
  • Active members in many EPO projects
  • Observator in several projects for distributed register, digital wallets, digital national currencies
• Assistance to developing countries
  • None for 2023 due to office relocation

VII. ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WIPO STANDARDS CONCERNING PATENT INFORMATION

Note: For each Standard listed below, please enter one of the following values: 

• "Implemented";
• "On implementation phase";
• "Planning to implement";  and
• "No plan to implement"

WIPO Standard ST.3: Two-letter codes for the representation of states, other entities and organizations

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.6: Numbering of published patent documents

Implemented

The office to not use identification (optional), but only year and index number

WIPO Standard ST.9: Bibliographic data on and relating to patents and SPCs

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.10/C: Presentation of bibliographic data components

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.13: Numbering of applications for IPRs

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.14: References cited in patent documents

Implementef

WIPO Standard ST.16: Identification of different kinds of patent documents 

Implemented

Identification of need to change with concurrent update of WIPO Handbook (pending revision)

WIPO Standard ST.18: Patent gazettes and other patent announcement journals

Implemented

Digital Gazette available

WIPO Standard ST.26: Presentation of nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings using XML

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.27: Recommendation for the Exchange of Patent Legal Status Data

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.36: Processing of patent information using XML

Implemented 

Used only party for internal database and exchange of data to EPO

WIPO Standard ST.37: Recommendation for an Authority File of Published Patent Documents

On implementation phase

To be finialized in 2025

WIPO Standard ST.50: Corrections, alterations and supplements relating to patent information

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.90: Recommendation for processing and communicating Intellectual Property data using Web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)

Implemented

Not 100 procent compliant to all detailed level. No plan for further compliance.

WIPO Standard ST.91: Recommendations on digital three-dimensional (3D) models and 3D images

On implementation stage

To be compliant by 2026

WIPO Standard ST.92: Recommendations on the Data Package Format for the Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents

On implementation stage

To be compliant by 1st of July 2027

WIPO Standard ST.96: Processing of Industrial Property information using XML

Implemented

All patent documents available in full text XML ST.96 v7
Patent register avabile in JSON ST.97 v.5

Other WIPO Standards Related to Patents

Note: Please list any other WIPO Standards related to patents (not mentioned above) that your Office or Organization has implemented, is currently in the process of implementing, or plans to implement in the future.  For each Standard, please indicate the implementation status with an option: Implemented, On implementation Phase or Planning to Implement.

VIII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

Please include any other relevant information here.

https://www.patentstyret.no/en

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.