Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2022 submitted by

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

URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

• Link to pages with information in English, Spanish, or French
• The URL will remain stable over time (at least three years, preferably more)
• Goes to the specific information requested, not to a general homepage
• If the URL goes to a long PDF document such as an annual report, please indicate which sections or pages contain relevant information.
• Provide additional instructions for using the URL if needed. For instance, if the page requires the user to login first, or if the requested information requires selecting certain options or filters on the page that can not be included in the URL. 

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

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization
2. New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
3. Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
4. Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
5. Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

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

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
2. Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
3. Classification¹, preclassification² (if applicable), reclassification³ activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information
4. Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
5. Other activities

III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. 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)
2. Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.
3. Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases
4. Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
5. Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
6. Other sources

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

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
2. Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
3. Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
4. Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
5. Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
6. Other matters

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

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries
2. Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
3. Office's initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)
4. Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
5. Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
6. Other activities

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

1. International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information
2. Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information
3. Assistance to developing countries
4. Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

Please include any other relevant information here.

1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.

2. Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner).  Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.

3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC).  The new symbols are available on patent databases.