Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2020 submitted by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of the Russian Federation (ROSPATENT)

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

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

Among the activities specified under the Digital Economy program of the Russian Federation, Rospatent implements activities to create and operate information systems for digitalization of IPRs registration and protection procedures.

As a result of these activities implementation, it is envisaged to create 15 information systems for IP rights registration and protection procedures by December 2021.

In 2020, along with activities within the Federal project “Information Infrastructure”, there were conducted activities aimed at reducing the time for the provision of public services on state registration of objects for IPRs protection; activities aimed at increasing the indicator, reflecting “a share of citizens, using digital mechanism of public services”. Further work on optimization of the Office workflows and the development of electronic services will allow achieving significant results.

The activities were focused on the improvement of functional range of personal accounts for electronic services and information user support, including answers for questions, incoming through the technical support service. There were conducted relevant regular meetings on how to work with digital services, to update the information, published within the “Application Filing” section at Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) webpage https://new.fips.ru/ podacha-zayavki.

The above-mentioned activities allowed in 2020 to achieve the indicator of electronic filing of applications for inventions of more than 58% of the total volume of applications received under the national review procedure.

As a result of technological processes automatization in 2020 the system of digital document management for inventions and utility models became capable of receiving electronic applications containing sequence listings in compliance with the ST.25.

The development of an open API in 2020 for establishment of the digital communication of FIPS with the stakeholders of electronic filing service “Registrar” allows to upgrade to interaction of stakeholders’ sub‑ systems with FIPS, that will significantly enhance the quality of interaction and examination procedures.

Among the new products developed by the Project Office on its own and with the participation of FIPS patent experts, the following can be highlighted:

- monitoring of new solutions of industry companies: updating analytical reports with any frequency and with additional analytics;

- recommendations on technology commercialization: a selection of target markets, methods of commercialization;

- recommendations on patenting and development of patent strategies for Russian and foreign patenting: identification of protectable objects, recommendations on the scope and type of legal protection.

The comprehensive project commissioned by PJSC Russian Railways in 2020–2021 should be specifically highlighted.

Within the framework of the project, the integration of patent analytics and corporate foresight of science and technology was accomplished for the first time.

This integration allows supplementing the results of patent analytics (the current state of technologies) with the results of expert and analytical research (the future state of technologies at the turn of 5, 10 or more years).

Within the framework of the project, coordinated development of the domain-specific patent landscape, patent technology intelligence, as well as expert and analytical research based on corporate foresight methodology, were carried out.

FIPS Project Office works in close collaboration with its partner, the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The key analytical presentation of the project will be an album of technological radars, which accumulates a large number of indicators of patent analytics and indicators of promising technology development.

2020 was the year of expansion of the activities of the FIPS Project Office in the direction of technology management services.

Developing our competencies and integrating those of our partners, the FIPS Project Office provides a wide range of technology management services, including:

- identification of potentially patentable solutions based on technical documentation;

- recommendations for the preparation of patent documents;

- recommendations for the commercialization of technologies and products;

- assessment of commercialization prospects for a particular technical solution;

- updating previously developed patent landscapes;

- monitoring of patenting in the field of technological interests of the customer

- patent research in compliance with State Standard of the Russian Federation (GOST);

- search for technological and business partners;

- research on new applications of technologies and products;

- evaluation of the company’s patent portfolio;

- technology transfer (direct technology transfer, sale of customer’s technologies);

- technology transfer (reverse technology transfer, purchase of technologies);

- worldwide technology scouting

- competitive analysis of the companies from a given list of companies

- technology due diligence;

- due diligence;

- study of patenting particularities, barriers and windows of opportunity for non-residents in selected

countries;

- research of combined patent portfolios in mergers and acquisitions of companies.

One of the directions that has emerged in the development of patent information activities is filling in missing documents in the State Patent Collection (SPC) from PatSearch and Open Registers. 

In the meantime, 58’700 descriptions of patents and authorship certificates of the USSR were prepared for restoration (including 16’200 descriptions during 2020).

On the Rospatent website, the goals, objectives and plans of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property are published in the section "Plans": https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/about/plans.

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

In 2020, the federal project "Digital Public Administration" of the national program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" provided the following results:

1) Introduction of the second development stage of the 11 State Information Systems that digitally transform provision of the State services for the registration and protection of intellectual property rights;

2)  Introduction of the first stage of the Information System for Management of Rospatent Administrative Processes;

3) Introduction of the second stage of the Information System Management of Centralized Maintenance and Support of Information Technology Infrastructure and Users;

4) Introduction of the first stage of the Information System supporting storage, comparison and similarity determination of the objects for IPR protection in 3D formats to ensure the technical capability of describing and storing the objects for IPR protection in digital formats, including 3D, for State registration;

5) Introduction of the Information System Infrastructure to Search for Patent Information and Means of Individualization into the trial operation.

Results of 2020:

1) the following state systems were put into trial operation in the volume of 2 stages:

- SIS Management of formal checks on the possibility for performing legally important actions

- SIS Smart examination system for means of individualization

- SIS Administrative Decision Support in the Field of Intellectual property

- SIS for document management

- SIS Single State digital register for results of intellectual activity

- SIS for documents storage management

- SIS Distributed ledger of objects for IPRs protection and means of individualization on the market

- SIS Single information workspace for internal interaction

- SIS for integration and management of legal and reference information

- SIS “Omnihannel interaction of Rospatent with stakeholders when providing public services, services under international agreements and treaties, publication of publicly available information on activities in the field of registration and protection of intellectual property in the form of open data”

- SIS for supervision of the use of rights to results of intellectual activity

The above projects are aimed at creating a comfortable information environment in the field of IP for citizens, business, government organizations, federal executive authorities.

Implementation of the mentioned services will enable applicants to interact with Rospatent entirely in an electronic form, including issuance of the electronic protection titles.

Developing State Information System for Administrative Decision Support in the IP Field will open up possibilities for analysis on various indicators of patent activity in Russia and the world, including in terms of priority areas for the development of science and technology. This system will make it possible to make forecasts of the development of economic priority sectors both in Russia as a whole and in individual regions, and to assess the level of achievement of the targets of national and federal projects related to IP.

The following services will be implemented within the framework of the Information System Infrastructure to Search for Patent Information and Means of Individualization:

- automated pre-evaluation of applications;

- comparison of patent statistics in 35 WIPO technology areas across countries;

- consultation with professional experts;

- granting the free access to the world’s patent information.

In order to optimize technological processes in maintaining electronic workflow on applications for inventions and utility models, in 2020 it has been made possible to provide the following:

• automatic processing of sequences in ST.25 format, arriving as part of electronic packages from personal accounts for correspondence on previously submitted applications.;
• registration and processing of electronic applications for inventions with drawings in 3D model formats;
• development of software tools for switching to electronic protection titles and informing patent holders of the location of the electronic protection titles.

In order to enable electronic prosecution in the provision of State services, FIPS carried out the following work in 2020:

- operability and fitness for purpose of FIPS information systems and resources was ensured, including the Electronic State Registers for Inventions and Utility Models (ESR).

- a system for official Internet publication of information on intellectual property subject matter from the ESR was implemented and trialed.

- Software functionality for examiner’s departments ensured to the preparation of electronic correspondence and electronic signing thereof in the automated information system of paperless prosecution of invention examinations.

- operability of the service of electronic filing of applications for inventions and utility models is ensured.

In 2020, operation continued of an automated paperless prosecution system for examining applications to amend entries in the registers for inventions and utility models (including extending and renewing the validity of a patent) (Patent Prosecution).

The transition to paperless prosecution has had a positive influence on the work of expert staff and interaction between subdivisions involved in registration activities. The transition to electronic prosecution has seen a gradual decline in the use of paper-based information, a reduction in the time taken to process documents and search for required information, thereby leading ultimately to increased productivity and better public awareness of patent rights and amendments thereto, as well as the status of patent documents.

In 2020, the following electronic registers were filled with records: the State register of inventions (ESR of IN), the State register of utility models (ESR of UM).

As of December 31, 2020, digital registers contained:

- ESR of IN – 736’156 patents;

 - ESR of UM – 198’670 patents.

               During 2020, work was carried out on populating data; after formal verification for the purpose, completeness, and compliance with specifications on the website, some errors were identified. After verifying downloaded data during 2020, errors were detected in the arrays of Australia, China, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Japan, Canada (49,651 documents in total). All errors were corrected by re-uploading the data. In the framework of the previously signed agreements with foreign offices on data exchange and other written agreements, the work is ongoing to ensure the quality and completeness of the uploading to the system.To provide the completeness and quality of provisioning of the State Patent Collection on electronic carrier, the PatSearch system and Open registries on the FIPS website, as well as the preparation of the in-office list of patent documents published by Rospatent (WIPO Circular C.CWS 111-03) in 2020, the All-Russian Patent and Technical Library of the Federal Institute og Industrial Property (FIPS Library) carried out work on the analysis and filling of gaps. 16,200 descriptions of inventions to authorship certificates and patents of the USSR were revealed and prepared for digitization.The work on the project was continued to include into the National Electronic Library (NEL, http://нэб.рф) national patent documentation from the State Patent Collection (SPC), which allowed users to get a new way of access to patent information not only for patent searches but also to solve scientific and educational issues. To achieve the goals set in the “Information Society Development Strategy in the Russian Federation for 2017–2030”, access to the national patent documentation of the SPC is provided through the NEL. Total 2.5 million patent documents from 1924 to 2020 were included into the NEL, which constitutes 57,3 % of the total array of documents in the NEL. It's possible to enter the NEL through the FIPS website, and access to information using mobile applications is organized through the NEL platform.In order to popularize the documents of the State Patent Fund among the general public, a thematic collection of patent documents of the USSR registered during the Great Patriotic War was prepared and posted in the National Electronic Library: "Inventions of Victory".To expand access channels to patent information, an array of national patent documents is kept available in the Scientific Electronic Library eLIBRARY.RU, the largest Russian information and analytical portal in the field of science, technology, medicine and education, as well as at the Yandex. Patents service as the part of the new joint project of Rospatent and Yandex launched in March 2019.During 2020 work was carried out on updating and supplementing the materials posted on the FIPS website, updating was carried out quarterly.

http://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/index.php

Changes and additions were made to the “Internet navigator for patent information resources”, the Internet links were updated (it contains 5’770 links as of December 31, 2020). Changes were made to the electronic version of the “Guide to the FIPS Library Collections and Internet Resources”: the sections “Legislation” and “Search Systems” were supplemented with new information, as well as the annexes to the Guide; the Internet links were updated (there are 11’284 links as of December 31, 2020). Monthly lists of recommended bibliographies for Russian regions in three thematic areas were posted. 33 lists in total were prepared in 2020.

Along with the introduction of up-to-date information, the material was updated in the following sections: "Library News", "Projects". "Contacts", "Thematic meetings", "Information products of Library", "Electronic catalog of patent-legal and scientific-technical literature", etc.

The official website of Rospatent focuses on the provision of state services in the field of intellectual property, informing on legal regulation of issues related to supervision, control, and functioning of the Russian system for protection and enforcement of intellectual property.

From July 6, 2020, the official website of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property has been moved to a new domain at rospatent.gov.ru

In 2020 the following new sections were developed and introduced on the website: “application documents for geographical indication, appellations of origin”, “Rospatent’s 65th Anniversary”, “Rospatent annual report 2019”, “Rospatent: figures; facts and projects”, “COVID‑19”, “Cooperation with foreign IPOs”, “Rospatent conferences”, “Online Presentations of Rospatent’s new digital platforms and services”, “Interactive map of regional brands”, etc.

The following sections were updated: “Public services”, “Regional brands”, “Open data”, “Legal acts regulating the provision of public services provided by Rospatent”, “Control and supervision in the field of legal protection and use of results of intellectual activity, created at the expenses of the federal budgetary funding”, “Rospatent decisions”, “International cooperation”, “Patent attorneys”, “Structure and administration”, “Collegial and Deliberative bodies”, “Public council”, “Video”, “Presentations”, “Interview”, “Electronic publications”, “Recommendations on IP management in the regions”, “Regional cooperation”, “Bilateral cooperation”, etc. Press releases on the Rospatent activity events as well as the information regarding the Intellectual property rights protection were consistently posted on the official websites.

In 2020, the Rospatent website was visited by 83600 unique users monthly, which was 35% more visitors in contrast to 2019.

The FIPS official website (www.fips.ru) was actively developed along with the Rospatent website in 2019. It provides access to a wide range of databases, including official electronic bulletins. The FIPS official website in 2020 was visited by 162380 unique users monthly, which was 18% more visitors in contrast to 2019.

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

Provision of intermediate results of the implementation of the Federal Digital State Administration project of the national program entitled Digital Economy of the Russian Federation:

• Information System Information Infrastructure for Search for Patents and Means of Individualization has been introduced into the trial mode granting access to external users. Citizens and the representatives of the business community now have the access to the information search system consisting of 50 million national and international patents (Stage I);
• SIS Distributed Ledger of Objects for IPRs Protection and Means of Individualization on the Market entered into the trial mode granting access to external users. Citizens and businesses are given access to the platform for trading intellectual property rights and the following services:

a). providing (and storing) additional information on intellectual property rights and their holders (so-called “data pools”);

b). carrying out due diligence;

c). registration of electronic transactions with Rospatent.

In 2020, the number of requests for the provision of public services (hereinafter referred to as requests) for registering applications for inventions filed with Rospatent electronically increased by 9.56% compared to 2019.

In 2020, the number of requests for the provision of public services (hereinafter referred to as requests) for registering applications for utility models filed with Rospatent electronically increased by 12.42% compared to 2019.The list of measures aimed at increasing applicants’ interest in applying electronically for the provision of government services is as follows:1. Expanding the functionality of electronic interaction services.In 2020 a new version of the Registrar AWS (Automated Work Station), which provides a comfortable environment for filing and managing applications, was made available to users of the service.2. Conducting monthly thematic meetings for FIPS specialists with users of electronic filing services for applications for inventions and utility models, applicants and representatives thereof, as well as all those wishing to participate in the process of electronic interaction with Rospatent and FIPS when submitting and reviewing applications.3. Posting of educational video materials and programs on the FIPS website.Users become more interested in e-filing mechanisms and digital interaction, this brings the increased number of views under tutorial videos, posted within the “Application filing” section, that exceeded 45’000 views.4. The FIPS technical support service is conducting a review of requests from users of electronic services. In 2020, more 5’000 requests were considered.5. Any interested person may obtain the necessary knowledge and practical experience in preparing documentation electronically for applications for the grant of a patent for an invention or utility model. One-to-one training is conducted in the computer room of the patent library, and is free-of-charge.

In 2021 there are plans to continue work on the development of electronic filing services and promoting the use of electronic filing and electronic communications among applicants and patent attorneys. This will make it possible to expand the circle of users of electronic filing services and maintain growth in the number of applications filed.

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

Inventions

Data relating to the filing of applications and the grant of Russian Federation invention patents for 2019-2020 are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

As can be seen from table 1, in 2020 compared to 2019 there was a decrease in the number of applications filed (by 1.48%), as well as a decrease in the number of patents granted (by 15.35%).

The invention patents granted in 2020 were distributed according to the IPC sections as follows:

Table 2

                The largest number of patents for inventions granted in 2020 was to Russian applicants for Section A of the International Patent Classification (IPC) – HUMAN NECESSITIES, the first place among foreign applicants is also held by section A.

The least popular Section among Russian and foreign applicants alike remains Section D – Textiles and Paper. The number of patents granted for this Section in 2020 amounted to less than 1 per cent of the overall number of patents granted for inventions.

Utility models

Тable 3

In 2020, there was a decline in the number of applications for utility models. The number of applications decreased by 9.28%, while the decline was observed both for applications from domestic applicants (by 8.83%) and foreign (by 19.81%). The total number of granted patents also decreased (by 23.73%).

Data on the distribution of patents for utility models by IPC Section are presented below.

Тable 4

The leading IPC Section in 2019 remained Section A – Human Necessities. As in 2018, Section D – Textiles and Paper – continued to be the least in demand, with the lowest number of certificates granted.

For 2020, 24’170 applications for inventions and utility models were submitted in electronic form.

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

The following pages of the Office’s websites contain:

Information on patent legislation- Regulation section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/docs

Office Annual Report- Rospatent Annual Reports section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/about/reports;

Booklet «ROSPATENT: TRANSFORMING THE IP BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT»

https://rospatent.gov.ru/content/uploadfiles/annual-report-2020-short-version-en.pdf

https://rospatent.gov.ru/content/uploadfiles/annual-report-2020-short-version.pdf;

Statistical information- Statistical Data section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/about/stat http://www.rupto.ru/about/stat

Monitoring of the quantitative and qualitative indicators for the main activities of FIPS in 2020 is provided on the FIPS website in the FIPS Main Activities section: https://www.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/

State services: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/stateservices

Rospatent News: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/news;

FIPS News: https://www.fips.ru/news/

List of public services of Rospatent:

https://rospatent.gov.ru/en/activities/public_services

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/news/

FIPS Library News: https://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/novosti-vptb.php

In the reporting year, the automated library system FIPS Library was transferred to a new version - SAB IRBIS 64+, with extended service functions for users. The electronic catalog of patent-legal and scientific-technical literature as of December 31, 2020 , contained 367,937 records.

http://irbis.fips.ru:8080/web/index.php?LNG=ru&C21COM=F&I21DBN=FIPS&P21DBN=FIPS&S21CNR=10&Z21ID

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT 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

One of the most important tasks of a patent office, including Rospatent, is to provide an environment conducive with filing patent applications for industrial property subject matter, thereby promoting inventive activity in the country.

The main measures aimed at addressing this issue include:

- posting instructional materials necessary for preparing and filing applications for all types of industrial property on the Rospatent website;

- providing advice on matters relating to the registration and filing of applications;

- providing opportunities for all categories of users to work with the State Patent Collection (SPC) and other patent information products available in the Library free-of-charge;

- holding thematic meetings between Rospatent and FIPS heads and specialists and patent attorneys and other business community representatives about acquaintance with new normative legal acts in the field of intellectual property and their practical applications, about patent search systems usage and thematic meetings about learning to use electronic application filing services;

- holding internships and training for work with patent documentation, electronic application filing services for the grant of patents for inventions and utility models and for trademark registration etc.

Users of the FIPS website have access to user and technical documentation on setting up and operating an electronic application filing service for the grant of patents for inventions and utility models, and corresponding electronically using the ‘AWP “Registrar":’ service: http://new.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/podacha-zayavki-na-tovarnyy-znak/

Answers to frequently asked questions are posted on a section of the FIPS website.

Service users may contact the Technical Support Service during working hours at helpdesk@rupto.ru to obtain professional help from technical specialists.

The web page addresses of Office websites providing information on filing applications are as follows:

State registration of inventions, and grant of patents in respect of inventions, and duplicates thereof:

https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/stateservices/gosudarstvennaya-registraciya-izobreteniya-i-vydacha-patenta-na-izobretenie-ego-dublikata;

State registration of utility models, and grant of patents in respect of utility models, and duplicates thereof:

https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/stateservices/gosudarstvennaya-registraciya-poleznoy-modeli-i-vydacha-patenta-na-poleznuyu-model-ego-dublikata

http://www.rupto.ru/activities/function/reg_pm

Access to documents for patent applications for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, and issuance of copies of said documents:

https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/stateservices/oznakomlenie-s-dokumentami-zayavki-na-vydachu-patenta-na-izobretenie-poleznuyu-model-promyshlennyy-obrazec-i-vydacha-kopiy-takih-dokumentov;

Methodical recommendations on the examination of applications for inventions and utility models:

https://www.fips.ru/to-applicants/inventions/metodicheskie-rekomendatsii-i-informatsionnye-pisma.php;

section "Forms of documents":

https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/documentforms;

Specimen Applications and Requests, and Completed Examples section heading:

https://www.fips.ru/documents/formy-dokumentov/;

Filing Applications section:

https://www.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/;

The ‘Personal Office’ service facilitates correspondence on stage of prosecution for applications filed both in hard-copy, and using the electronic application filing services:

https://www.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/lichnyy-kabinet-dlya-perepiski-po-zayavkam/index.php;

Fees section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/activities/dues;

Fee calculator: https://www.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/kalkulyator-poshlin/index.php

"http://www.rupto.ru/activities/dues/patduty/pat_poshl";

Patent Law subject matter section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/objects-of-patent-rights;

For Beginners section: https://www.fips.ru/to-applicants/dlya-novichkov/;

Frequently Asked Questions section: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/faq

• Webinars: https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/activities/conferences#v; "http://new.fips.ru/faq/

Details of seminars and other similar events held in 2020 can be found in Part 5(d,e).

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

Within the framework of the system of paperless electronic office work for the examination of inventions, utility models, access is provided to the primary materials of applications for inventions and utility models received in paper and / or electronic form, versions of the application components (Claims, descriptions, abstracts or drawings), bibliographic data on applications and versions documents - incoming and outgoing correspondence signed with an electronic signature.

Classification¹, preclassification² (if applicable), reclassification³ activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information

After the completion of the subsequent version (2021.01) of the International Patent Classification (IPC) in 2020, Rospatent prepared a new full Russian version of the IPC. This version is used both in the internal search system of Rospatent “PatSearch”, and is published on its website for external users of patent information. The Russian version of the Guide to the IPC has been updated.

In the classification, FIPS examiners use the complete IPC scheme, including indexing codes for classifying additional information on national patent documents.

During the 2020 FIPS examiners in parallel to the IPC assigned the СPC symbols on all current patent documents both inventions and utility models.

Within of the IPC revision framework conducted by WIPO in 2020 Rospatent commented projects C500 and F126.

Because of financial restrictions the reclassification process from IPC.2018 to IPC.2019 and to IPC.2020 was not yet completed till now.

As usual in 2020 Rospatent took part in the IPC revision work of Working groups and the WIPO Committee of Experts of the IPC Union.

In 2020, 33,936 applications for inventions and 7,923 applications for utility models were assigned a preliminary classification index before being forwarded to the appropriate examination divisions.

International applications received by the International Patent Cooperation Division of Rospatent in its role as an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examining Authority are assigned a preliminary IPC index classification, which determines the appropriate examination division for each application. In 2020, 3,754 international applications were assigned a preliminary classification index before being forwarded to the appropriate examination divisions for the purposes of conducting an international search.

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

In 2020, abstracts continued to be published in Russian and English for RF patents granted for inventions as part of the Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette and posted on the FIPS website.

With the aim of providing examiners and other categories of users with comfortable conditions when working with foreign patent documentation, immediate translation assistance is provided for patent documentation, both from Russian into other languages and from other languages into Russian, in both written and oral form.

The FIPS Library performs translation from foreign languages and prepares summaries of foreign legal and patent literature. In 2020, the titles of articles and books were translated into Russian and prepared summaries of 3590 publications of interest to specialists in legal protection of intellectual property.

The results of this work are entered into the Library electronic catalog of legal and patent literature, containing details of publications dating since the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. The electronic catalog is available on the FIPS website in the FIPS Library section, and is accessible to remote users online. In total, this catalog of legal and patent literature and scientific and technical literature was comprised 367,937 documents as of December 31, 2020.

http://irbis.fips.ru:8080/web/index.php?LNG=ru&C21COM=F&I21DBN=FIPS&P21DBN=FIPS&S21CNR=10&Z21ID

Other activities

III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

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)

Table 5 contains data on the main types of Office publications in the field of patent information, carriers and also the frequency of publications.

Тable 5

During 2020, the Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette has been posted on the website of the Federal State Budgetary Institution, the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS), which is subordinate to Rospatent, in the Official Publications section, and is freely available, constituting a functional and comprehensive information source. The ISSN number is 2313-7436.

Gazette documents are in PDF format. 

Since January 10, 2017 the system of continuous publication of data on inventions and utility models in the official gazettes immediately after making entries in the State Register of Inventions and the State Register of Utility Models is introduced (current registrations and changes to them).

All Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette for 2005-2020 available at:

https://new.fips.ru/publication-web/bulletins/IZPM

The web page addresses of the Office’s websites providing information concerning Office publications are as follows:

• Regulations on the official publications of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property:

"https://www.fips.ru/documents/npa-rf/prikazy-rospatenta/Pologenie_105.pdf";

• Official Publications section: "https://www.fips.ru/publication-web/"
• Catalog of Publications and Databases in the Patent Information Products section:

"https://www.fips.ru/vse-uslugi/patentno-informatsionnye-produkty/".

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

The Official Gazette, Inventions and Utility Models, is published three times per month.

The forms of notifications on inventions and utility models published in the Rospatent Official Gazette, Inventions and Utility Models, are presented in Table 6:

Table 6

The addresses of web pages of the Office’s site providing access to online publications:

• Regulations on the official gazette Inventions. Useful Models:

https://www.fips.ru/documents/npa-rf/prikazy-rospatenta/Pologenie_IZ.pdf

• Inventions and Utility ModelsOfficial Gazette:

https://www.fips.ru/publication-web/bulletins/IZPM

• International Classifications: 

https://www.fips.ru/publication-web/classification/index 

• Open Registers of Russian Patent Documents:

https://www.fips.ru/registers-web/

From the above page, a user may refer to the following resources by means of the appropriate link:

Register of Inventions of the Russian Federation

Register of Utility Models of the Russian Federation

Register of Applications for the Grant of a Russian Federation Invention Patent

Register of Applications for the Grant of a Russian Federation Utility Model Patent.

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

Examiners primarily gain access to patent information through the in-house search system, PatSearch. The search files of the PatSearch system include patent documents from Russia and the USSR going back to 1924, of the CIS countries, foreign countries in the PCT minimum documentation, other countries` documentation are used mashine translated in English (Lexis-Nexis database) as well as a DWPI database. If the information contained in the PatSearch system is insufficient, examiners may use freely available Internet patent databases (mainly Espacenet, PATENTSCOPE, EAPATIS, and other national patent offices’ databases). In order to view Korea applications’ file wrappers, examiners can access K-PION databases.

Examiners also have access to patent and non-patent information through an external database REAXYS for chemical searches. At the Examiners' workplaces there is access to the Questel ORBIT patent database.

When necessary, examiners could perform searches in the STNext databases for chemical and any other searches. In 2020, more than 635 searches in STNext were carried out.

Examiners also have access to information regarding Indian traditional knowledge, contained in TKDL database, in accordance with the agreement between CSIR and Rospatent.

In addition, examiners may perform searches in any source freely available on the Internet. For searches of nucleotide and amino acid sequences our examiners use freely available databases on the NCBI PubMed website: MEDLINE, Protein, Nucleotide BLAST databases, and EMBL-EBI BLAST databases by the European Bioinformatics Institute [GB].

In addition, experts have access to the EPO Global Patent Index resource (in the computer room of the VPTL), the Questel Orbit database, the Scopus abstract database and the ScienceDirect full-text database of the Elsevier publishing house, to the resources of the SPRINGER NATURE publishing house, to the content of Wiley journals, the National Electronic Library (NEL), the Electronic Library of Dissertation of the Russian State Library (in the computer room of the VPTL), to the Web of Science search platform and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database on the Web of Science platform, and KluwerIPLaw.

Examiners have access to non-patent literature from the collections of the largest specialized libraries in Moscow, including printed publications and electronic resources, through the inter-library exchange system and the electronic document delivery system.

The Internet resources of Rospatent contain the following databases:

- database of published applications for inventions (contains information about 567 thousand applications for inventions of the Russian Federation from 1994 to 2020 inclusively);

- full-text database of Russian patents for inventions (contains information on 859 thousand descriptions of patents for inventions of the Russian Federation from 1994 to 2020 inclusively);

- abstract database of Russian inventions (contains information on 859 thousand abstracts of patents for inventions from 1994 to 2020 inclusively);

- abstract database of Russian inventions in English (contains information about 746 thousand abstracts of patents for inventions from 1994 to 2020 inclusively);

- “Promising Inventions” database (contains information on 2388 patents for inventions recognized by FIPS as promising);

- Retrospective database of Soviet and Russian patent documents in facsimile form (contains information on 1,431 thousand patent documents for inventions from 1924 to 1993 inclusively);

- Full-text database of Russian utility models (contains information about 202 thousand Russian certificates and patents for utility models from 1996 to 2020 inclusively);

- abstract database of Russian utility models (contains information about 202 thousand abstracts of Russian certificates and patents for utility models from 1996 to 2020 inclusively);

- “International Patent Classification” database (IPC).

In 2020, experts made about 84 thousand requests to search Internet resources.

In 2020, experts viewed more than 1005 thousand pages of the "Open Registers".

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

External users of the Library have access to the Eurasian Patent Office’s EAPATIS search systems, National Electronic Library (NEL) and other freely accessible patent databases on the Internet (mainly Espacenet, PATENTSCOPE and databases of other national patent offices).

In 2020, patent information subscribers were presented with the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette, based on official Rospatent information, with full descriptions of inventions and utility models for RF patents on electronic CD/DVD carrier with search system. They are distributed with a frequency of 36 issues (disks) per year. 

For new subscribers, and also for the purposes of keeping patent collections up to date, the series of the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette with full descriptions of Inventions and Utility Models for RF patents published in previous years (2017-2019) were offered on CD/DVD.

In addition, in the interests of users, the following information products were distributed:

- Annual retrospective sets of invention descriptions for USSR authors certificates and RF patents, from 1924 to 2019, on DVD / USB Flash Drive (a total of 120 disks and 5 USB flash drives ), as well as the Retrospective set of descriptions of inventions for 2019 by FTP (File Transfer Protocol );

- An information-search system for invention descriptions for RF patents in Russian and English, from 1994 to 2020, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Title pages of utility model descriptions for RF documents providing protection, from 1994 to 2020, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Descriptions of utility models for RF documents providing protection from 1994 to 2019 on DVD (23 disks).

In addition, the Report of Rospatent for 2019 was published on CD.

Also, users on the site were offered free access to the International Patent Classification (2020 edition. Complete scheme).

Products on CD/ DVD / USB Flash Drive and via FTP were distributed with MIMOSA software, allowing all forms of patent searches to be carried out.

On the basis of official information relating to inventions and utility models, thematic databases are produced for users on CD/ DVD on special request.

In 2020, access to the electronic version of the Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette was provided on the FIPS website, while the registers of Russian inventions and utility models continued to be updated, and details of the legal status thereof were provided.

Users’ work with the information-search system

Office examiners are given the possibility to work with all inventions and utility models databases. 

Access for external users to full-text inventions and utility models databases is granted on a contractual basis.

Within the frameworks of the agreements on cooperation between Rospatent and relevant organizations in 2020, they had access to:

- to full-text databases of inventions and utility models:

• 153 institutions within the framework of the program of Rospatent cooperation with the regions of the Russian Federation;
• 36 institutions involved in the implementation of the state project on the development of new technologies;

- to full-text databases of inventions and utility models and databases of industrial designs:

• 236 technology and innovation support centers;
• 3 organizations of the “Rostech” State Corporation;

For third-party users, the following databases are publicly available:

- for inventions:

• reference abstract databases in Russian and English;
• Database of published applications for inventions;
• “Promising Inventions” database;
• full-text database containing the information on patents for inventions of the Russian Federation for the past 30 days;
• IPC database;

- for utility models:

• database containing the information on patents for utility models of the Russian Federation for the past 30 days;
• reference database;
• IPC database.

In 2020, external users made more than 3863 thousand queries to search Internet resources through the IRS.

User access to “Open Registries” of Russian patent documents

Users have free access to all documents contained in the “Open Registries”. In 2020, users viewed the page “Open Registries” more than 131,503 thousand times.

Information on subscribing to patent information products – in the Patent Information Products section: Catalog of Publications and Databases:

https://www.fips.ru/vse-uslugi/patentno-informatsionnye-produkty/

How to carry out a search – in the Information-Search System section:

"../Downloads/Материалы отделов/PI - 2017 отдел 107.doc"

Open Registers: "https://www.fips.ru/registers-web/";

Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette, in the Official Publications section:

"https://new.fips.ru/publication-web/bulletins/IZPM"

Patent databases- Databases subsection in the Information-Search System section:

"http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/bazy-dannykh.php

Information on how to access and use resources – in the Information-Search System section, 

subsection :

Instructions for Using an Internet resources FIPS:

https://new.fips.ru/iiss/Инструкция по работе с информационными ресурсами.doc

Support:

"https://www.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/podderzhka-polzovateley-informatsionno-poiskovoy-sistemy.php"

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

All patent documents in Russian databases contain information on current legal status that is updated three times a month.

The Automated Database (ADB) subsystems to determine legal status use the given official publications containing information on new registrations of protection titles and changes. Following publication of each Gazette, data on legal status are displayed on the Rospatent site in the Information Resources section. For inventions and utility models patent status may be “valid”, “may terminate validity”, “validity terminated, but may be restored”, and “validity terminated”.

Information on the legal status of inventions and utility models is published in the Rospatent’s Official Gazettes “Inventions. Utility Models” on CD/DVD and on the Rospatent site:

- information on the grant of RF patents for inventions and utility models;

- information on amendments to the published information on applications for inventions and to entries in the State Registers of Inventions and Utility Models (Notifications section of the Gazette).

Information is provided in the Information Resources section of the Office’s website on registrations with an indication of the legal status or stage of prosecution of the registered subject matter in the Open Registers: http://www.fips.ru/wps/portal/Registers/

Other sources

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

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

Due to the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection, the Office’s experts have been teleworking with the access to the FIPS automated systems.

The software and hardware complex allows the Patent Disputes Chamber to remotely review requests and objections submitted by regions residents. Participation in the hearings is provided through the browser and does not require the installation of additional software for external participants.

In 2020, experts used the PatSearch information retrieval system to examine inventions and utility models. The PatSearch system is a professional search system for examiners of the Patent office conducting searches during the examination of inventions and utility models. The system implements an extended set of functions and service options, taking into account the importance of conducting a patent search for various scientific and technical fields. There are available patent documents of the USSR and the Russian Federation, CIS countries, World Intellectual Property Organization, European Pat‑ ent office, USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, Austria, Australia, ARIPO, OAPI, Korea, Japan, China and other countries. The system contains more than 200 million patent documents. The work on the implementation of artificial intelligence to conduct a patent search was proceeded. The received results were integrated into the search system.

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

Equipment used:

Fujitsu M10-4S server

(RAM – 96GB, processors – 20, external memory – 40 TB)

HP DL380 server – 46 units

(RAM – 4GB, processors - 2, external memory – 300 GB)

HP DL580 server – 18 units

(RAM – 16GB, processors - 4, external memory - 600 GB)

HP, IRBIS workstations – 1075 units.

Switching equipment:

Cisco 6509, Cisco 6503, Cisco 4507

Software:

Solaris, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2012 Server operating systems.

Carriers used:

LTO-7 magnetic tapes.

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

The search arrays of the PatSearch system include patent documents from Russia and the USSR, patent documents from the CIS countries, the WPI (World Patent Index) database and documents from foreign countries included in the minimum PCT documentation, as well as an array of extended abstracts and bibliographies of Derwent (Thomson Reuters) DWPI. The PatSearch system supports the search for non-patent literature on the website of the Scientific Electronic Library of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and in the abstract database of non-patent literature SCOPUS.

In addition to PatSearch, all examiners use free access to all foreign patent office search databases, and to several databases of non-patent literature.

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

One of the main sources of information for the principal functions of Rospatent is the SPC.

The main source for establishing the SPC, including its electronic PatSearch system content, is the international exchange of patent documentation. At present, international exchange continues to exist and evolve using information technologies used by most foreign patent offices, as well as meeting the requirements of PatSearch, and providing free updates to the SPC.

Foreign patent documentation obtained using FTP may be loaded onto the PatSearch system from the websites or specialist Internet resources of foreign patent offices or organizations.

In 2020, information was uploaded onto the PatSearch system from all arrays of patent documentation from PCT minimum countries and as well as an array of extended abstracts and bibliographies by Derwent (Thomson Reuters) DWPI. Arrays of patent documentation have been uploaded onto the system from the USSR and Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), PCT, the European Patent Office (EPO), the United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Australia, ARIPO, OAPI, and the Republic of Korea, and English-language abstracts and patent documents from Japan and other countries. 

VPTL users also have access to the EPO Global Patent Index, the Questel Orbit database, as well as to the electronic resources of non-patent literature: the Scopus abstract database and the ScienceDirect full-text database of the Elsevier publishing house, the resources of the SPRINGER NATURE publishing house, the content of the Wiley journals, the National Electronic Library (NEL), the Electronic Library of Dissertations of the Russian State Library (in the computer room of VPTL), the Web of Science search platform and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database on the Web of Science platform, and KluwerIPLaw.

The SPC is one of the most accessible and highest-quality patent collections in the world. The SPC is a collection of documents on different carriers. The Collection comprises patent documents and other information sources (including automated information databases) on a material information medium (paper, various micromedia, hard magnetic and optical disks (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-R, etc.)), and also patent information sets presented on the internet. The SPC includes the FIPS search and information system containing Russian and foreign full-text patent documentation. The Collection is replenished almost daily.

A part of the SPC is available on optical disks – 76’285 optical disks as at December 31, 2020 (the amount has changed due to the restructuring of the collection). The patent collection on optical disks contains patent documentation from Russia, the PCT minimum countries, CIS, the international organizations, WIPO, EPO, and EAPO, as well as Denmark, Spain, Serbia, Slovenia, and Finland, etc; patent documentation on optical disks is made available to all categories of users in the Library computer room.

The share of documents submitted to the SPC in electronic form increases annually: by the end of 2020, it accounted for 68.7%, which is 1.7% more than in 2019.

The collection of optical disks is stored in metal cupboards. Information on disk locations (cupboard number, shelf number, etc.), their usage history, possible exchanges and so on are available in a special technology database. Work with this collection is free of charge for all categories of users in the Library computer room.

Information downloaded from the FTP servers is temporarily stored on the local network before being subsequently uploaded onto PatSearch.

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

The Automated Databank (ABD), designed to prosecute applications and protection titles for inventions and utility models, has subsystems that manage the work of examiners and support staff, as well as capturing statistical information on various aspects of the activities of Rospatent subdivisions.

The electronic prosecution system for the examination of inventions (AS EA), supports the following functional capabilities:

upload and download electronic documents to Applications e-Work;

plan examiners’ work, draft master plans and portfolios of examiners’ applications;

capture statistics;

provide access to Applications e-Work and application components and bibliographical information;

prepare outgoing correspondence and sign decisions on issuance of patents by electronic signature;

verify and revise the electronic package of application elements intended for publication;

application search function;

developed user administration system.

System AS EA integrated with ABD.

Other matters

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

Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries

The main functions of the FIPS Library are the establishment and maintenance of the SPC including patent documentation on all industrial property subject matter, scientific and technical and legal and patent literature on all carrier types, and also providing them to all categories of users. In so doing, the FIPS Library fulfills the functions of a public library and the library of the Office at the same time. The main source for the SPC is international exchange, which ensures the receipt of patent documentation and Official Gazettes of foreign offices, the collection of non-patent literature (Russian and foreign scientific and technical, legal and scientific and technical literature) is replenished through subscription and purchase of books and periodicals.

As of December 31, 2020, the volume of SPF amounted to 149’666’400 storage units, including 102’764’404 stored units in electronic form, or 68.7%.

In order to assist Library users, both general and specialized reading rooms are provided:

- computer room (for optical disks and remote databases);

- paper and micro-form patent documentation;

- information and bibliography services.

The FIPS Library provides free access to patent collections that are targeted at all categories of RF users, as well as those in neighboring and other foreign countries without any restrictions. Visits and services are free of charge for all categories of library users.

The Library patent collection is organized depending on the type of industrial property and the information medium.

The Library premises are equipped with an alarm system and an automatic fire-fighting system.

In 2020, the number of calls to the SPC was 220 400. Usage statistics are included for Library information products on the FIPS site: 1’616’461 appeals in 2020.

In 2020, due to the pandemic and will close the Library for visits, users (including examiners) were issued with over 10.2 million exemplars of patent documents: over 9.7 million exemplars on optical disks and from remote databases; about 0,5 million exemplars on paper.

The patent information services of the FIPS Library are provided to remote users on request, including performing patent information searches and factual references, providing certified copies of patent documents and translations of patent documents, etc.

Overall, during the course of the year, over 300 patent information services were provided at the request of remote users.

The Fund of the Applications and Contracts related to the Intellectual Property Rights and the Means of Individualization is one of the most important sources of information for FIPS intellectual property experts. The Fund includes applications and contracts for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, computer programs, databases, integrated circuits topographies, trademarks and service marks and appellations of origin. As of December 2020, the Fund has reached  1’516’487 applications and contracts presented on paper, micromedia and in an electronic form.

The Russian patent office does not have a regional network of patent libraries, although in 2020, as part of the project to create Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC), it cooperated with Russian libraries in providing patent documentation.

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

The FIPS Library offers a unique collection of legal and patent, and dictionary and reference literature (PPL), which is an important constituent part of the SPC is available. The PPL collection on paper and electronic information carriers includes publications on a wide range of theoretical and practical issues of intellectual property protection in the Russian Federation and abroad, including issues relating to the creation, legal protection, and commercialization of the results of intellectual activity, jurisprudence, protection of intellectual property on the Internet, activity of international organizations, and international cooperation in the field of intellectual property, etc.

The PPL contains various types of information source: legislative acts, international and intergovernmental agreements, treaties, regulations, as well as instructions, orders, rules and other documents; comments and reviews; guidelines and study aids; standards in the field of patent and scientific and technical information; annual reports of patent offices; symposium and conference materials; collections of court decisions; collections of statistics; bibliographical publications, industry, terminology and language dictionaries, reference books and encyclopedias.

At present, the PPL collection comprises approximately 92’407 publications, with the oldest publications dating from 1810. 

Aside from the above-mentioned information sources, users of the FIPS Library, except for remote ones, are provided with access to Kluwer IP Law (Wolters Kluwer - Kluwer Law International B.V. publishing house) containing information on different aspects of legal protection of IP in the world, Edward Elgar and MyLibrary electronic books and to the editions of the National Electronic Library (NEL). VPTL users also have access to the EPO Global Patent Index, the Questel Orbit database, as well as to the electronic resources of non-patent literature: the Scopus abstract database and the ScienceDirect full-text database of the Elsevier publishing house, the resources of the SPRINGER NATURE publishing house, the content of the Wiley journals, the National Electronic Library (NEL), the Electronic Library of Dissertations of the Russian State Library (in the computer room of VPTL), the Web of Science search platform and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database on the Web of Science platform, and KluwerIPLaw.

The Office examiners are also provided with access to non-patent literature through interlibrary lending and electronic document delivery systems. In order to meet examiners’ requirements, the collections of 8 specialized Moscow libraries are used, as well as databases QUESTEL, STN International, the Digital Dissertation Library of the Russian State Library, Elesevier’s Scopus references database and ScienceDirect full-text database, the National Electronic Library (NEL), Web of Science and KluwerIPLaw search platforms, resources of the publishing house SPRINGER NATURE and to the content of Wiley magazines.

The electronic catalogue was created based on the analysis of publications received by the State Patent Collection and includes publications related to patent law, scientific and technical literature, as well as online publications. The catalogue is a comprehensive information source for patent and legal information and is a reference and search tool for publications in the field of intellectual property. It contains bibliographic descriptions in the original language and Russian translations of names and/or abstracts of patent and legal publications. As of 31 December 2020, there were 197,624,000 bibliographic entries and 113 full texts of documents, as well as 15’827 links to full-text documents posted on the websites of the rights holders. Totally, the Catalogue comprises 367’937 bibliographic records.

The FIPS Library posts various information products and materials on the FIPS website. These are prepared on the basis of the State Patent Collection, and obtained as a result of identifying and studying global patent-information resources. During 2020, the Library was updated and supplemented with materials. The following are updated quarterly: Guide to the Library Collection and Internet Resources, Internet Navigator for Patent Information Resources and translations into Russian of the EPO publication. Bibliography lists are made available on a monthly basis to help regional specialists with current issues regarding protection of intellectual property subject matter and jurisprudence, and issues in the commercialization of the results of intellectual activity and means of individualization.

In total, in 2020, there were 201352 calls to the section of the Library section on the FIPS website, 1616461 pages were viewed.

https://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/index.php

Reference information on the stages of prosecution in patenting subject matter of patent law is published on the Rospatent website in the Subject Matter of Patent Law section:

http://www.rupto.ru/ru/objects-of-patent-rights.

In order to ensure the uniform practical application of the provisions of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulating the grant of legal protection to the subject matter of patent legislation and means of individualization, a range of guidelines have been posted on the FIPS website in the Inventions and Utility Models section:

http://new.fips.ru/to-applicants/inventions/metodicheskie-rekomendatsii-i-informatsionnye-pisma.php

To assist the patent subdivisions and the State services of the science and education sector and organizations of the national nanotechnology network, a range of method-related materials are available on the website:

http://new.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/sotrudnichestvo-s-regionami-rossii/rekomendatsii-po-perechnyu-literatury-dlya-patentnykh-podrazdeleniy-obrazovatelnogo-sektora-i-organi.php

In the "Search" section, in the Open Registers, information is provided on registering intellectual property subject matter with an indication of its legal status or state of prosecution: 

http://new.fips.ru/registers-web/

Internet publications from the All-Russian Patent and Technical Library Division are available on the FIPS website in the State Patent Collection and the Library Information Products sections at:

https://www1.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/index.php

Presentation of patent information analysis capabilities using Office information products:

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/publishing_activities/present.

For novice users of patent information, links can be found to WIPO publications in Russian under the “What is Intellectual Property?” heading in the For Beginners section:

http://new.fips.ru/to-applicants/dlya-novichkov/

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

In the reporting year series of works were provided to improve the PROMT system, as the main system used for machine translation of foreign information.

There was constant correspondence with the PROMT developers to correct some functions of the translation system. At the same time the suggestions and feedback of examiners using PROMT in information search were taken into account. The implementation of such improvements makes the use of PROMT more comfortable and the quality of translation higher.

Work was carried out with translation profiles and its number increased. New user dictionaries were added to the profiles, taking into account the IPC Scheme.

Work was continued with user dictionaries for their further integration into PROMT. New dictionaries were created, provided dictionaries on narrow examiner topics were corrected and replenished.

PROMT functions trainings as well as other translation tools trainings were conducted for examiners. Consultations on machine translation of foreign information sources were regularly provided.

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

Given the importance of knowing the basics of intellectual property and in order to train new specialists in the skills for successful work in science, economics and industry, the Library holds a range of different events in cooperation with universities, research centers, Technology and Innovation Support Centers, etc.:

In 2020, one thematic meeting with the participation of the administration of Rospatent and FIPS and leading specialists were held for applicants, copyright holders, patent attorneys, IP specialists, representatives of the business community and other stakeholders (3 face-to-face thematic meetings and 8 thematic webinars in remote access mode).

5 of them were devoted to electronic filing of applications for various industrial properties: “Electronic applications for inventions, utility models using the Automated Personal Office “Registrar”; «Use of the functionalities of the personal office ARM Registrar during examination of trademark applications submitted electronically»; «Answers to actual questions raised by users of ARM Registrar when processing the requests for inventions, utility models»; «Overview of modern digital data representation formats. Prospects for use in electronic application services and electronic interaction with applicants»; «Electronic filing of applications for geographical indications, appellations of origin with the help of ARM Registrar».

The rest were on the following topics: Conducting a Patent Search in the EPO DB Espacenet; "Conducting a patent search in the WIPO database" Patentscope "," State registration of databases, computer programs and integrated circuit topogrhapies "; "Examination of industrial designs that are confusingly similar"; "Examination of inventions and utility models in the field of mechanics and electronics"; “Inventions in the field of genetic sequences. WIPO Standard 26. Relevant information".

In total, in 2020, 194 persons from Moscow, the Moscow region and other cities took part in these events, and 66 through videoconferences organized on the basis of 4 organizations with the status of TISCs. As of 12/31/2020, 1996 recorded views of videos of thematic webinars.

In 2020, FIPS Library implemented the following educational projects in the field of intellectual property (information about them is posted on the FIPS website).

https://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/projects/

The FIPS Project Office released in 2020 the first professional educational program on patent analyticsin Russia, which has no analogs in the world. The 30hour modular program includes almost all the skills of the Project Office in the field of patent analytics and is accompanied by several tests (placement test and graduation test). Much attention is paid to the practical and independent work of the students: practical classes with students make about 2/3 of the total time on the course. At the end of the course, the student’s written papers are examined and defended.

The course consists of the following basic modules:

1. Modern Patent Analytics: areas of application. The module forms the strategic and tactical vision of patent analytics application areas for a wide range of management tasks: analysis of technological trends, evaluation of investment projects, the search of diversification directions and others. An important element of the module is the systematization of the key business needs of modern companies and the solutions based on patent analytics that meet these needs.
2. Patent Information. Patent Analytics Metrics. The module reveals the basic rules for working with patent information in conducting analytical research based on it. The structure of patent publications is also presented, and the meaning of each published field of a patent document is revealed from the point of view of business analysis of patent data. The module addresses the issues of measuring the quality of patents, introduces the concept of patent quality metrics and basic indicators for identifying “strong” patents.
3. Domain Modeling. The module covers issues related to the formulation of problems and boundary conditions when conducting research, including in patent analytics. The approach of domain modeling as a basis for various types of information analysis is also considered. The types of models, their main functions and construction stages are presented in detail.
4. Tools. Search. Collection. Within the framework of the module, the main approaches and some specific techniques are presented in general form, on the basis of which personalized search strategies for different tasks can be built. As an example, the work with the search and analytical system Orbit intelligence of Questel company is examined in detail.
5. Insight-Driven Analytics. The module presents the structure of the patent landscape and a list of analytical representations for the building-up of a holistic and versatile analysis of the subject area.
6. Patent Analytics & Marketing. The module presents the basic concepts of classical marketing, which will be overlaid with the tools of patent analytics. Practical examples show the integration of marketing, research, development and patent analytics for technology management in companies.
7. Patent Data Analysis Using Python. The module covers such issues as the basics of patent data analysis, the principles of processing structured patent data, the use of unstructured patent data, the installation and configuration of the Python Anaconda software environment, introduction into the Jupyter data analysis tool, the basics of the Python programming language, the principles of working with the Pandas library, data loading, preparation, processing, creating reports, creating analytical graphs based on data sets, the basics of machine learning, etc.
8. Technological Roadmaps and Science and Technology Foresight: Techniques for Predicting the Future. The module presents approaches and techniques of modern forecasting of science and technology: technological roadmaps and science and technology foresight. A separate discussion is devoted to the possible application of patent analytics indicators applied to medium- and long-term forecasting of science and technology.

In 2020, the two training sessions were held, namely in February and September. As of 2021, the training is scheduled for April. On average, 12 to 16 students are enrolled in the course.

The Patent Analytics Training Program has also been developed in optional corporate, regional and government agency versions with the preparation of relevant practical case studies. The first course took place in the spring of 2020, gathering participants from 10 regions of the Russian Federation with different backgrounds and specializations: patent specialists, engineers, heads of small innovative businesses. The second course took place in September 2020 partly in-person, partly in an online format.

In 2021, it is planned to launch a special version of the education program for corporate universities.

In 2020, the Project Office continued the release of open analytical studies in the “Digital Landscapes” series. At the end of the year, a patent landscape themed “5G Mobile Networks and Their Subsequent Modifications (6G)” was released, which was commissioned by and made with the participation of PJSC Rostelecom.

The study demonstrated that in recent years, the activity of patenting 5G solutions has outpaced many other breakthrough areas, such as quantum technolo‑ gies or artificial intelligence. At the same time, there is a high level of monopolization in this area: key 5G technologies are patented and belong to a very narrow group of players. 60% of all inventions are patented by ten leading companies. The People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan are the countries with the largest number of compa‑ nies actively patenting 5G technologies. The leading 122 123 position is occupied by the Chinese company Hua‑ wei, which almost doubly outnumbers competitors. The second place is shared by Qualcomm, Samsung, Ericsson and BBK Electronics, followed by telecom operators AT&T, NTT DoCoMo and a number of major Chinese universities and research centers.

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

Further professional training for FIPS specialists

Traditionally, one of the key objectives of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property development is a continuous improvement of the professional skills of FIPS employees as a part of a Unified Education System based on the continuity principle, starting from the first day of employment. The FIPS Regulations contain the provision for continuous training for employees.

The main tool for this task in 2020 was a system of studies for various categories of FIPS employees following the introduction of new legal acts regulating rules and procedures for the provision of public services.

The courses were conducted in accordance with the plans of internal education directly in the FIPS departments and in centralized sessions. Despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, department training continued through videoconferencing.

In accordance with the Consolidated Plans for Internal Training of Employees approved by the Director of FIPS, 5 centralized training sessions were held in 2020, in which 506 FIPS specialists participated. 146 sessions were held directly in FIPS departments. In 2020, the focus of the training was put on the new provisions of the legal acts concerning the provision of public services, amendments to the Patent and Other Fees Regulations.

For the first time, State experts have been trained in a specialized advanced training program on acquiring competencies in teaching intellectual property and public speaking. Besides, 188 FIPS staff members completed distance learning programs of advanced professional training.

The Federal Institute of Industrial Property, by implementing a balanced human resource policy, draws particular attention to the training of the employee pool of state intellectual property experts.

In total, the newly recruited FIPS employees within the framework of the expert trainee program were trained:

Professional development of experts who review applications for inventions and utility models - 21 people.

Professional development of experts who review applications for trademarks - 69 people.

Organization of supplementary vocational training at FIPS for specialists of organizations

To satisfy the national economy’s need for specialists with a high level of professional competence in the intellectual property field, the Administration of Rospatent and FIPS decided to enhance the educational activities of the Federal Institute of the Industrial Property, taking into account the high professional competence of the expert staff of FIPS.

Activity on realizing the additional educational pro‑ grams is based under license series 77L01 No. 0008944 (registration No. 038110), issued 19 December 2016 by the Moscow Department of Education, and educational activity is carried out since 2017.

In this period during its sessions, the Scientific and technological Council of FIPS developed and approved 28 advanced training programs and 3 professional retraining programs, all aimed at improving the level of the professional competence of employees in the intellectual property field. Leading FIPS state experts in the intellectual property field, as well as external specialists and practitioners, are invited to teach.

 In order to coordinate the educational activity of FIPS, a Scientific Educational Center was created.

In 2020, the Federal Institute of Industrial Property was a key figure in implementing a large-scale project to upgrade the skills of specialists in the field of intellectual property, carried out within the framework of the federal project “Personnel for the digital economy”. Within the framework of the contracts with Autonomous Nonprofit Organization University 2035, the operator of the project, under the training program “Intellectual Property in Digital Economy: from the Application to the Introduction” 4’586 people were trained in four federal districts.

In total in 2020 the FIPS Scientific Educational Center trained 5’908 specialists, with 5’894 of them under advanced training programs (206 specialists through distance learning); 14 specialists under the professional retraining program “Legal Protection of the Results of Intellectual Activity and Their Rights Management”.

The global trend of 2020 is the limitations associated with the COVID‑19 pandemic. In response to this situation, FIPS introduced distance learning. A professional education platform has been developed, and on its basis students have been trained since April. In the future, taking into account the positive aspects of distance learning as easier access to the knowledge for the representatives of the Russian regions, FIPS plans to integrate face-to-face and distance learning programs harmoniously in terms of teaching.

In 2020 Rospatent participated in the organization and holding of 1 international exhibitions and 2 international salons of inventions and new technologies in 2 regions of the Russian Federation:

March 24–27: “Archimedes – 2020” XXIII Moscow International Salon of Inventions and New Technologies (Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Center, Moscow); 

September 15–17 – XIII International exhibition HELIRUSSIA 2020 (Moscow); 

September 24–26 – “New Time” XVI International Salon of Inventions and New Technologies (Sevastopol). 

In 2020 Rospatent participated in the organization and holding of conferences, seminars, and round tables in different regions of the Russian Federation.

The addresses of web pages of the Office’s site containing information about training, seminars and conferences:

- the "Training. Аdvanced professional training. Retraining":" section

"https://www.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/obuchenie/index.php"

 - a plan of thematic meetings of the employees of Rospatent and FIPS with representatives of the business community dedicated to acquaintance with new by-laws for 2020.:

"https://www.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/tematicheskie-vstrechi/plan-provedeniya-tematicheskikh-vstrech-na-2020-g.php"

 - conferences and seminars in the regions of the Russian Federation in 2020:

"https://www.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/konferentsii-seminary/plany-provedeniya/plan-provedeniya-konferentsiy-i-seminarov-v-regionakh-rossiyskoy-federatsii-v-2020-g.php"

- еducational videos:

https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/sourses/multimedia/video#training-video

Other activities

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information

In order to keep the State patent collection up to date, the FIPS Library at present engages in international exchange of patent documentation with 57 countries and six international organizations.

In order to fulfill its obligations in relation to exchange of patent information, FIPS posts patent documentation on the Institute’s FTP server, and has granted log-in and password access to the documentation to the offices of 47 foreign countries and four international organizations.

In 2020, FIPS Library has received:

- 7’408,159 copies of full descriptions of foreign patent documents electronically (of which 7,498 documents were received on optical disk, and 7’400’661 were downloaded from foreign patent office websites or Internet resources) from 19 countries and 4 organizations; 11 annual sets of invention descriptions on optical disks.

- 903 copies of Gazettes containing information on inventions were received in all formats from 40 countries: 58 paper copies; 12 copies on optical disks; and 833 copies were downloaded from the websites or Internet resources of foreign patent offices.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the instigation of WIPO between FIPS Library and the information and education services of the WIPO information division, as a WIPO Depository Library, the FIPS Library has since 2009 received one copy, in English and Russian, of every new WIPO publication free of charge.

In 2020, Rospatent, acting as a Receiving Office, transferred 800 registered copies of international applications and 726 certified copies of priority applications to WIPO electronically by means of PCT-EDI, without sending paper copies. 

In 2020, 4’000 international search reports and written notes prepared by Rospatent, acting as an International Searching Authority, were transferred to WIPO electronically by means of PCT-EDI.

Acting as International Preliminary Examining Authority, Rospatent transferred 35 of the international preliminary examination reports to WIPO electronically by means of ePCT.

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

In 2020 specialists of Rospatent and FIPS experts actively participated in the work of the Committee on Standards and its Task Forces in order to promote the Russian initiatives related to digitalization of intellectual property at the international level.

The Blockchain Task Force led by the Russian Federation and Australia, continued the development of the international WIPO Standard for blockchain technology in the intellectual property ecosystem. In June 2020 the Task Force discussed the draft Standard prepared jointly by the coleaders. The Task Force also took part in the WIPO webinar on blockchain for intellectual property which focused on the presentation of the draft WIPO technical document and on the discussion the Task Force activity results, including the potential scenarios for implementation of the blockchain technology in the field of intellectual property.

The 3D Task Force led by the Russian Federation conducted a survey among the WIPO Member States on the use of 3D models and 3D images as visual representations of objects for intellectual property rights protection. Following the collection and analysis of the responses received from the Member States the Task Force defined main 3D file-formats and restrictions, as well as the best practices and future plans.

While working on the WIPO Standard ST.96, specialists from Rospatent and FIPS were actively engaged in the development of the XML schema for geographical indications and appellations of origin, as well as a new approach to national extensions to this WIPO Standard. The results of this work were summarized by the WIPO International Bureau at the 8th session of WIPO Committee on Standards in the report on the WIPO ST.96 version 4.0.

In the 8th session of the CWS, held in a hybrid format on November 30 - December 4 in Geneva took part delegates of Rospatent and FIPS.

To update the information in Part 7 of the WIPO Handbook, FIPS specialists prepared and sent to WIPO responses to the “Questionnaire on Numbering Systems Used by Industrial Property Offices” and “Questionnaire on Ensuring Access to Publicly Available Patent Information (Part 1)”.

In order to inform the stakeholders on the progress of the transition to WIPO Standard ST.26, the Russian Patent and Technical Library organized a thematic webinar “Inventions in the Field of Sequences listings. WIPO Standard ST.26. Up-to-date Information”, where specialists from FIPS presented reports and answered user questions.

The work was continued to update the “WIPO Standards” sections at the Rospatent and FIPS web sites. The updated versions of WIPO Standards ST.96, ST.26 and ST.27 with Annexes were published in Russian, as well as the List of periodicals in accordance with Rule 34 of the PCT Instruction (“Documentation Minimum”).

The publication of the authority file of the Russian Federation in XML format was continued at the FIPS web site. The format complies with the WIPO Standard ST.37 “Authority file of published patent documents”.

In 2020 the representatives of Rospatent took part in the sessions of PCT Working Group, Meeting of International Authorities and PCT Quality Subgroup.

Since a considerable part of items on the agenda of the above mentioned PCT working bodies were taken over from the previous meetings Rospatent continued to support in particular the following issues:

- exploring ways in implementation of Pilot on Netting of PCT Fees including alternative methods of transfer of PCT fees;

- establishing a Fee Policy to Stimulate Patent Filing by Universities;

- revising and improving Criteria for Fee Reductions to Certain Applicants from Certain Countries, notably Developing and Least Developed Countries;

- the use of PCT Online Services.

Another area of interest for Rospatent as an International Authority were the issues relating to enhancing the quality of international searches and preliminary examination. Rospatent is following with interest the results of the on-going Pilot project on PCT Collaborative Search and Examination.

Among other questions which could facilitate the improvement of search and examination quality Rospatent sees the following:

- evaluation of different approaches to sharing search strategies;

- review of the PCT minimum documentation;

- availability of the File Held by the International Preliminary Examining Authority;

- making Written Opinions and Chapter II Correspondence publicly available.

Rospatent supported appointment of the Eurasian Patent Office as an International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority.            

Rospatent continued its efforts to make preparations for joining two WIPO sponsored projects: WIPO Case and DAS system.

During 2020 Rospatent took part in the work of IPC Union the WIPO Committee of experts and Working groups.

In 2020 Rospatent continued to develop cooperation with foreign intellectual property offices on invention applications under the Patent Prosecution Highway Program (PPH).

Multilateral Global Patent Prosecution Highway Pro‑ gram exists between Rospatent and the offices of Austria, Australia, United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Island, Spain, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Singapore, USA, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Japan, as well as the Nordic Patent Institute and the Vysegrad Patent Institute. In 2020 the Global PPH program was joined by the office of Chile.

Bilateral Memoranda on PPH exist with the China Na‑ tional Intellectual Property Administration and the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. In February 2020 the duration of the PPH Program under the Memorandum of Understanding with the European Patent Office was extended indefinitely. Also, work was conducted to draft a Memorandum of Understanding on the PPH Program with the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil.

Rospatent exchanged statistical data on applications covered by various types of PPH Program with the Japan Patent Office on a regular basis.

As of December 31, 2020, Rospatent as an Office of Later Examination received a total of 5471 requests for expedited examination for invention applications since the initiation of the Program in 2009.

In 2020, the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between Rospatent and WIPO for the creation of TISCs in the Russian Federation continued to be implemented: 

1. 21 cooperation agreements were concluded, including the main provisions on the organization of TISCs activities of the 1st level (including 16 renegotiated);
2. 27 trilateral agreements were concluded between FIPS and 1st and 2nd level TISCs on creating 2nd level TISCs (including 25 revised).

For the purpose of TISCs activities information support free access to the FIPS databases is provided (login and password).

To make it possible to file TISCs applications electronically for IP objects (inventions, utility models, trademarks and service marks, appellations of origin, computer programs and databases) and to receive the key certificate for electronic signature 3 supplementary agreements were signed. Within the framework of the supplementary agreement to the 2020 TISCs creation agreement, TISCs issued 15 electronic signature verification keys, including contracts of the early period.

TISC Development Conception 2019-2024 was adopted.

“TISCs Map” was updated containing detailed information on the TISC network in 2020. Using the regional TISCs’ activities monitoring data TISCs effectiveness rating was formed with top 15 TISCs detected.

In order to achieve mutual interests in addressing the development of an innovative economy, active use of intellectual property and technical innovations, an agreement was concluded between Rospatent and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. As of 12/30/2020, TISCs were created at the sites of 10 CCIs.

Since March 24 to March 27, 2020, the XXIII Moscow International Salon of Inventions and Innovative Technologies "Archimedes-2020" was held in Moscow with the support of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, WIPO, the International Federation of Inventors' Associations. The co-organizers and partners of the event were the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Rospatent, the All-Russian society of inventors and rationalizers, the Union of Machine Builders of Russia, the Association "League for Assistance to Defense Enterprises" and LLC "Soyuzpatent". There were presented more than 600 projects which were submitted by 314 participants from 24 states and 35 regions of the Russian Federation.

Assistance to developing countries

In accordance with the Agreements between Rospatent and the International Bureau of WIPO, Rospatent, acting as an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority, prepares search reports with preliminary examination reports on applications filed with the International Bureau of WIPO by developing countries. In 2020, Rospatent received no such applications and no search reports were prepared.

Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

Section "International Cooperation" on the website of the Office:

"https://rospatent.gov.ru/ru/international-cooperation"

"https://rospatent.gov.ru/en/activities/international_cooperation".

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.