Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2024 submitted by Israel Patent Office (ILPO)

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 Israel Patent Office (ILPO) remains committed to the continuous improvement of its services to better meet the needs and expectations of its stakeholders. As part of this commitment, the ILPO has already taken measures to enhance its patent information resources, both those available to applicants and those used internally by ILPO staff, to foster a more convenient, efficient, and effective work environment. The office has further plans for improvement in this direction.

Three major plans are slated for implementation by the end of 2025:

1. Improving the quality and variety of services provided to the public.
2. Implementing AI as an assisting tool to support all stages of formalities and substantive examination.
3. Raising awareness of IP rights and ILPO services among academic institutions and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

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

Several significant developments have recently taken place at the Israel Patent Office (ILPO), spanning various areas of activity. These are outlined below:

• New services and procedures
  • Preparations are planned to support new procedures for the prosecution of patent applications, as introduced in a recent Patents Bill. These procedures include the implementation of a request for examination, provisions for filing provisional applications, recognition of a grace period, which can be availed upon applicant's request at the time of filing, and use of secret prior art.
  • A new preliminary search service has been launched in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority, specifically for entrepreneurs applying to the Israel Innovation Authority.
• Innovative initiative in promoting ILPO's standing

To boost the ILPO's public sector role and strengthen Israel's global standing in intellectual property, a team led by the Information & Database Manager has been established. Their mandate includes defining a future vision for the ILPO's role in the IP ecosystem and providing an implementation plan for delivering advanced services meeting the evolving needs and expectations of the public. This plan is developed in consultation with leading industry CTOs, prominent academic experts, and key IP representatives.

• ISO standards
  • In light of the AI advancements at the ILPO and following the compliance of the risk-based practices with the guidelines of ISO 31000, preparations are underway to align the ILPO quality management system with ISO/IEC 23894:2023 (Information technology - Artificial intelligence - Guidance on risk management).
  • The ISO 9001:2015 certification, covering all the functions of the ILPO, was extended to 2025.
  • Plans have been established for the preparations needed to meet the requirements of ISO 56001:2024 (Innovation management system).
• Machine translations of cited documents

The ILPO aims to help applicants better understand how examiners interpret non-English cited documents. To achieve this, the ILPO intends to attach machine translations to examination reports. In cases where the original document lacks paragraph numbering, references in the report will directly point to the translated version.

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

• Artificial intelligence (AI) implementation in examination processes
  • A new AI-based search tool, supporting free-text and image searches, has been provided to patent examiners. The search tool includes an integrated AI assistant for prompt-based analysis of the search results.
  • A pilot program has been launched to implement AI across all stages of formalities, substantive examination, and quality review for published patent applications. To conduct this pilot on unpublished applications, subscribed access to the pro version of the AI tools was obtained.
  • AI-powered tools are being utilized to provide customized training programs tailored to meet the evolving needs of new examiners as well as senior examiners.
• Upgrade of the e-filing system

The e-filing system for national applications has been upgraded to support English in addition to Hebrew and to allow:

• • automatic data retrieval of bibliographic data and application documents from WIPO PATENTSCOPE;
  • automatic detection of formal deficiencies at the filing stage and compliance of the applications with due dates;
  • implementation of a smart-request-filing module for displaying only relevant requests based on the application's status and stage of examination, with pertinent notifications and warnings.
• Upgrade of the internal systems
  • As part of the continuous upgrade of the automated system for processing national applications, most tasks previously managed by formalities examiners became fully automated in 2024, eliminating the need for examiner intervention. Additionally, a recent system feature now includes an automatic module for delaying the dispatch of office actions, allowing for internal quality control procedures to be completed prior to issuance.
  • The deep mapping mechanism, developed in 2022 to track workload fluctuations and optimize application allocation, has been enhanced with bots that automatically map applications using diverse data sources, including PCT reports, for smarter workload distribution.
• Upgrade of the Patents Journal

The smart Patents Journal, launched in 2021 following the previous basic online version launched in 2005, has been upgraded to allow downloading of the published application documents.

• Preparations for adhering to PCT Rules 36.1(ii) and 63.1(ii) effective from 1/1/2026

Preparations are underway for making available all the national patent documents, published since 01 January 1991, in bulk format via SFTP to any requesting Office.

Statistics:  changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year;  trends or areas experiencing rapid changes

The vast majority of the national applications filed with the ILPO are international applications entering the national phase in Israel.

An increase in divisional patent applications has been observed in recent years, particularly within the field of biotechnology.

While overall patent filings have declined in recent years, medical device applications have been on the rise.

Other matters and useful links (URLs):  annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

•  ILPO website (English):

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page

• Israel Patents Law and Regulations:

https://www.gov.il/he/pages/patents-law

• Examination Guidelines (Hebrew + English):

https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/DynamicCollectors/work-procedure-db?skip=0

• ILPO Annual Reports:
  • Hebrew: https://www.gov.il/he/pages/new-annual-reports
  • English: https://www.gov.il/en/pages/new-annual-reports
• Statistical data (Hebrew):

https://www.gov.il/he/pages/ilpo-statistics?chapterIndex=3

• Search engine for national applications (English):

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

• Patents Journal (English):

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal

• E-filing system (English):

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/application/en/login/connect

• Service level agreement (Hebrew):

https://www.gov.il/he/pages/service-declaration

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

 Information on filing and processing national patent applications, legal information, and customer service are available on the following websites:

English: https://www.gov.il/en/departments/topics/patent-department/govil-landing-page

Hebrew: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/topics/patent-department/govil-landing-page

Information on filing and processing PCT applications, legal information, and customer service are available on the following websites:

English: https://www.gov.il/en/departments/topics/pct-department/govil-landing-page

Hebrew: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/topics/pct-department/govil-landing-page

Webinars are regularly provided to users of ILPO services, offering detailed information about legal changes, system upgrades, and new services. These webinars also serve to collect user feedback and raise awareness of existing services.

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

Access to the dossier of published patent applications is available on the following website:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

Classification2, preclassification3 (if applicable), reclassification4   activities; classification system used (e.g., International Patent  Classification (IPC)), matters concerning indexing of patent information

Classification:

All the national and international applications are classified according to the CPC, with automatic concordance to IPC.

Preclassification:

International applications entering the national phase undergo preclassification based on the CPC of corresponding applications. Other applications are preclassified with the aid of AI tools. The applications are then automatically allocated to the pertinent examination team based on the preclassification assigned.

Reclassification:

During the substantive examination of patent applications, examiners reclassify all applications according to the latest version of the claims. Once examination concludes, patent documents are not reclassified further.

Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents

Over 98% of national patent applications and all PCT applications are filed in English. Furthermore, approximately 82% of national examination reports, are issued in English at the applicant's request.

Abstracts for national patent applications are not required under the Israel Patents Law.

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)

 The following types of publications are made available on the Patents Journal, in which the relevant documents for each type of publication can be downloaded:

• Bibliographic data of applications are published online (under Section 16 of the Patents Law) as soon as they are filed.
• Application dossiers are published online (under Section 16A of the Patents Law) after 18 months from the filing date (or priority date if filed), or, in the case of international applications entering the national phase, within 45 days from entering the national phase in Israel. The application dossiers include all versions of the application documents as well as the communications between the ILPO and the applicant.
• Acceptance of patent applications (under Section 26 of the Patents Law) is published online, upon which the applications become subject to opposition.
• Grants of patents, renewals, and patents not in force
• Extension orders
• Changes and corrections in Patents Register
• Corrections in Patents Journal

The Patents Journal can be accessed at the following link:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal

In addition, the ILPO's search engine allows searching all these publication types as well as providing RSS services for all major events. The search engine can be accessed by the following link:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.

The Patents Journal is published monthly on the ILPO's website and contains the types of publications mentioned above.

The Patents Journal can be accessed on the following website:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases

Search databases available at the ILPO

Five advanced commercial search databases are available for all examiners, each of which supporting patent (with full-text machine translations) and non-patent literature (NPL) search:

• Derwent Innovation, additionally including Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI), Derwent Patent Citations Index (DPCI), and Asian translated patent collections;
• STN, additionally including chemical structure and biological sequences databases;
• Reaxys, supported by AI technology, for searching chemical reactions, chemical structures and substance properties;
• Orbit Intelligence (FamPat); and
• PatBase.

NPL full-text documents can be ordered upon need.

In addition to the five commercial databases, the national collection can be searched via the internal automated system for national applications and on the ILPO's internet website:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

Furthermore, a new AI-based search tool has been made available to the examiners. This tool supports free-text and image searches, with an integrated AI assistant for prompt-based analysis of the of the search results. It is also used for the allocation of patent applications.

Intranet

The ILPO’s intranet provides a wide range of documents, tools and information including: national and PCT legal texts, relevant court and Commissioner decisions, Commissioner Notices, internal instructions, links to search and legal databases, Quality Manual, notifications about events, training materials, best practices shared by examiners, and editing tools.

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)

The ILPO's website offers general information and guidance for filing both national and PCT patent applications, available in Hebrew and English. Users can also subscribe to the ILPO mailing list to receive notifications about Commissioner's circulars and notices, amendments of examination guidelines, as well as other news updates.

ILPO's website (English) can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page

The ILPO's patent search engine offers free access to published patent data. This data encompasses the bibliographic details of filed applications, along with the complete dossier for published patent applications and granted patents. The dossier itself contains all versions of the application documents in searchable PDF format, all communications with the applicants, and documents relating to opposition proceedings.

The published patent data accessed via the search engine is linked to Extracts from the Register of Patents as well as to external databases pertaining to the same patent family. These external databases include PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, and Global Dossier.

The search engine can be accessed at the following link:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

The Patents Journal provides free access to the types of publications mentioned above (Main types of publications of the Office) and allows download of the relevant documents for each type of publication. Each document published in the Journal is linked to the same databases mentioned above for the search engine.

The Patents Journal can be accessed at the following link:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/journal

Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)

The legal status information, which is updated daily, can be accessed on the ILPO's patent search engine:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

Information regarding pendency for first examination (per examination team) and continued examination (per examiner) is available via the search engine after entering the application number:

https://israelpatents.justice.gov.il/search/en/home

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

The ILPO maintains advanced automated systems supporting a paperless work environment for the formalities and substantive examination of national and international applications.

The automated system for processing national applications offers a guided workflow platform. This platform includes all necessary checkboxes and text fields, along with integrated standardized clauses in both Hebrew and English, streamlining the entire examination process. Once an examination is complete, the system automatically generates and sends the applicant a PDF examination report.

PCT applications are processed during the RO, ISA, and IPEA stages by an automated system named PCT-SAPIA, which also offers a guided workflow platform. After selecting the appropriate checkboxes and completing the necessary text fields within the system, PCT forms are automatically generated in PDF format and XML format per WIPO Standard ST. 96.

The two systems manage all communications with applicants and comprehensively document all versions of application documents (description, claims, drawings, sequences), all incoming and outgoing communications with the applicant, and all structured data entered into the system (e.g., CPC classifications, citations, objections raised). Both automated systems include a color-coded task list for formalities and substantive examiners, quality control reviewers, and payment coordinators.

An automated allocation mechanism is employed to improve the process of assigning applications to examiners, while considering their workload and seniority.

The ILPO utilizes an advanced Business Intelligence (BI) system for comprehensive analysis of national and international applications. This system allows the ILPO to monitor the workload and processing timeliness of each examiner and team, as well as track fluctuations in demand and backlog. The BI system further provides customizable parameters and comprehensive work analytics and statistics.

The examiners have access to different commercial search databases as well as AI-based search tool as detailed in section III above (Information products and patent document collections).

A teleworking system is in place, enabling all examiners to work from home (50% of work hours) with full access to their regular work environment and comprehensive support for online meetings.

The ILPO staff have access to Microsoft Office applications as well as virtual meeting platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom).

E-filing systems are available for the public to file national and PCT applications; consequently, all PCT applications and over 99% of national applications are filed online. An analytics tool (Glassbox) is employed, with user consent, to visualize customer behavior in real-time. This provides insights that help the ILPO improve the system's quality and efficiency.

Hardware used for supporting business processes of the Office

The ILPO's Service Management implements the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Standard. The ILPO adopted a disaster recovery policy and has implemented GeoCluster which protects the organization from equipment failures, power outages and natural disasters.

ILPO staff members utilize workstations equipped with access to internal automated systems and high-speed internet. Each workstation features two computer monitors.

All examiners are provided teleworking facilities to work from home and connect to the same work environment as at the Office.

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

The internal automated system for processing national applications comprehensively supports all patent data. This includes all electronic documents of the patent applications (bibliographic data, description, claims, drawings, sequences) since 1970. In addition, all versions of application documents (description, claims, drawings, sequences), together with all communications with applicants during examination at least since 2012 are available for public inspection.

Each application within this automated system is linked to external databases for corresponding applications (e.g., PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, Global Dossier, CCD), as well as to other search databases and relevant instructions.

This system also provides daily updates to the online published patent data, accessible via the search engine. Furthermore, the system generates patent data for transmission to other offices.

The published patent data is sent monthly to external free sources such as PATENTSCOPE and Espacenet, and to other commercial databases, making it accessible through these platforms.

PATENTSCOPE: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/search.jsf

Espacenet: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/

Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file

Both automated systems for national and international applications maintain the cited documents, the search reports and the search strategies, all of which are accessible to the public via the search engine once published. For national applications, the applicants' responses to duty of disclosure (providing a list of prior-art documents known to the applicant) are documented in the automated system and made available at the ILPO's website once the application is published.

Each application within the automated system for national applications is linked to external databases for corresponding applications (e.g., PATENTSCOPE, Espacenet, Global Dossier, CCD), as well as to other search databases.

Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)

The ILPO utilizes automated systems for both national and international applications, which support the formalities and substantive examination processes. The legal status of national applications and details from the Extract from the Register of Patents are updated daily in the online patent data, published directly from the national automated system. Building on these systems, a Business Intelligence (BI) system operates as an advanced administrative tool, providing comprehensive analytics and statistics. For further details, refer to the "Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office" section above.

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

The ILPO's website offers general information and guidance for filing national and PCT patent applications in both Hebrew and English.

ILPO's website (English) can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ilpo/govil-landing-page

Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.

Research projects for candidates to senior examiners require substantive patent examiners to conduct research projects on selected topics related to examination of patent applications as a prerequisite for promotion. Part of these research projects are published on the ILPO's blog:

https://govextra.gov.il/justice/ilpo-knowledge-center/ilpo-knowledge-center/ip-prism/

Office’s initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)

The ILPO aims to help applicants better understand how examiners interpret non-English cited documents. To achieve this, the ILPO intends to attach English machine translations to examination reports. In cases where the original document lacks paragraph numbering, references in the report will directly point to the translated version.

Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.

A new preliminary search service has been launched in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority, specifically for entrepreneurs applying to the Israel Innovation Authority. This service includes a meeting with the entrepreneurs, during which a prior-art search is conducted based on the inventive concept described. Additionally, relevant information concerning intellectual property aspects and patent application examination routes is explained.

Advanced professional courses are held at the ILPO, provided by leading Israeli universities and private firms. The courses focus on emerging technologies and the last developments in different technical fields.

IP-related courses and seminars are periodically provided to patent examiners by leading IP experts. Additionally, the ILPO actively participates in IP courses for patent attorney candidates in collaboration with leading IP representatives and WIPO.

The ILPO organizes visits for examiners to industrial firms and academic institutions in Israel. These visits include tours, lectures, and discussions on scientific, technological, and IP-related aspects in various advanced technical fields.

Some research projects, for candidates to senior examiners (also refer to "Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users" above), are conducted in collaboration with other universities and research centers.

Education and training: training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.

The ILPO has a comprehensive training system for all staff, primarily consisting of the following programs:

• Training for new examiners: A 24-month program for trainee patent examiners includes mentorship from senior examiners and an in-house course covering legal and practical aspects of patent prosecution.
• Training programs for all substantive examiners:
  • Training the trainers involves senior patent examiners taking mentoring courses on teaching, evaluating, and providing feedback to new examiners.
  • Regular training programs consist of team meetings, seminars, webinars, workshops, conferences, and courses on patent practices, procedures, search tools, and professional topics.
  • Advanced professional courses focusing on emerging technologies are provided by leading Israeli universities and private firms.
  • Research projects for candidates to senior examiners require substantive patent examiners to conduct research projects on selected topics related to patent application prosecution as a prerequisite for promotion.
  • Study visits to industrial firms and academic institutions in Israel allow patent examiners to participate in tours, lectures, and discussions on scientific, technological, and IP-related aspects in various technical fields.
  • Offshore training facilitates examiner exchange arrangements with other offices for study visits and information exchange meetings on the examination, classification, and processing of patent applications.
  • CPC training programs include both in-person and distance learning courses and workshops conducted by the ILPO and other offices.
• Training programs for PCT formalities examiners: in-house training programs provide comprehensive insight into the PCT processing procedure.

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

The patent data is shared with other offices (WIPO, EPO) on a monthly basis in the form of a data package including the bibliographic data in XML format and the applications documents, including the description, claims, and drawings in PDF format, and sequences according to WIPO Standard ST.26.

The ILPO participates in the WIPO Centralized Access to Search and Examination (WIPO CASE) system as an Accessing and Providing Office.

The ILPO participates in WIPO Digital Access Service (WIPO DAS) as an Accessing and Depositing Office.

The ILPO utilizes the PCT Electronic Data Interchange (PCT-EDI) system for communications with WIPO concerning both national and international applications. The ILPO provides WIPO monthly updates on national phase entry in XML format.

The ILPO regularly uses the eSearchCopy system for international applications filed by US applicants with the RO/US and by Israeli applicants with the RO/IB, for which the ILPO is a competent ISA.  Once received via secure FTP protocol, the international applications are automatically uploaded to the automated system for PCT applications for further processing.

To comply with the new PCT Minimum Documentation requirements, effective January 1, 2026, preparations are underway to make all national patent documents published since January 1, 1991, available in bulk format via SFTP to any requesting Office.

Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information

The ILPO actively participates in the maintenance of the IPC. Additionally, the ILPO participates in the CPC annual meeting hosted by the EPO and USPTO.

The ILPO classifies PCT applications and national applications first filed in Israel according to CPC. The USPTO provides CPC classifications for international applications entering the national phase in Israel based on an agreement.

To enhance international collaboration and examination efficiency, the ILPO has PPH arrangements with several Offices, as well as PCT-PPH and Global PPH arrangements.

The ILPO participates in the ISR feedback pilot led by the UK IPO, where national offices provide feedback on the ISRs issued by ISAs for applications entering the national phase.

As an international authority for searching and preliminary examination of PCT applications (ISA/IPEA), the ILPO participates in the annual Meeting of International Authorities and the Quality Subgroup.

The ILPO participated in WIPO’s First Global Research Experts Meeting on Improving Gender and Diversity in Intellectual Property and Innovation (November 25 and 26, 2024).

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

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

No plan to implement

WIPO Standard ST.14: References cited in patent documents

Implemented

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

Implemented

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

Implemented

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

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

Implemented

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)

No plan to implement

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

Planning to implement

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

Planning to implement

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

Planning to implement

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.

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.