Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2016 submitted by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office

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

Within the framework of international cooperation HIPO participated in the exercise of Member State’s rights and fulfilment of obligations arising from the membership of the European Patent Convention and the European Union, it was involved in international IP activities within the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and played an active role in regional and bilateral cooperation on intellectual property protection.

In 2016 the official activities of HIPO were characterized by user-friendly administration, as well as by further efforts to reduce and stabilise pendency times of the proceedings and to process the stock of pending cases. The Office performed its tasks in compliance with international and national regulations, and its professional activities were characterized by a strong strategic and quality-oriented vision.

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

HIPO considers it an important achievement that the Central-European regional international patent authority, namely the Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI), founded by the four Visegrad countries, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and the Slovak Republic, started its operation on 1 July 2016. The VPI which has its seat in Budapest enables inventors and entrepreneurs of the participating Visegrad States and of certain neighbouring countries to access the global patent system on more advantageous terms than before. Patent applicants and patent attorneys show considerable interest in the institution. During the first half year of its operation it received 70 requests for international search reports and 58 patent applications, and issued 14 search reports. 36% of the international patent applications originated from Hungary. In half of the applications the applicants were able to take advantage of the 40% reimbursement of search fees, significantly reducing thereby the costs of the patent granting procedure. 

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

The IT system has provided the necessary background for the Office’s official and service activity, and supported its tasks related to e-administration. The system supports 135 different services or service families altogether. Out of those, 69 service families provide direct support for the performance of the Office’s official and central tasks, and an additional 66 systems support the operational, service management, information security and ISO certification objectives of the previously mentioned functions. Clients can make use of the following services online: e-search, e-file inspection, e-filing, e-register, TM e-Filing, TMView, and DesignView.

The Office operates in accordance with the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management, the ISO/IEC 20000-1:2013 IT Services Management and the ISO/IEC 27001:2014 Information Security standards. The high quality of the Office’s work was confirmed by the annual ISO audits conducted since 2010 by an independent international certification body and by our international and domestic partners.

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

In the course of their economic, research and development activities organisations, enterprises and individuals established in Hungary have to take into account protections valid in Hungary. There were 23 782 valid patents at the end of 2016, which is a nearly 9% increase over the 2015 number. This increase was due primarily to the growth of valid European patents (14%). 

Number of valid protections in Hungary broken down by main titles of protection

 European patents may be obtained under the European Patent Convention (EPC) in 38 Contracting States. In 2016, the number of granted European patents increased sharply, by some 40% compared to 2015, and exceeded 95 thousand, as a result, among others, of a new performance evaluation system introduced in the European Patent Office (EPO). Due to this increase in granted patents, requests for validation showed an increase of 21%, reaching the number of 4342.

In the field of patents the number of patent applications filed via the national route[1] exceeded by 5% the number filed in 2015, and within this category, the activity of domestic applicants increased further by more than 8%. This increase can be attributed to activities related to EU tenders and domestically financed tenders.

1094 patent cases, filed via the national route, were concluded in 2016, and this number is similar to that of last year’s. Due to the efforts of HIPO, the stock of pending patent cases was further reduced: at the end of 2016 16% fewer patent cases, filed via the national route, were pending than a year earlier. The small number of granted patents (271) can be explained by the successful reduction of pending cases and by the unfavourable number of applications filed in previous years. From among all applications filed via the national route a quarter (25%) ended with the granting of patent protection.

Patent applications filed via the national route and official proceedings 

Annual report of the Office :  https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/mivel-fordulhatok-a-hivatalhoz/tajekoztatas/kiadvanyok/a-hivatal-eves-jelentesei-0

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

e-Filing: https://ugyintezes.sztnh.gov.hu/eBej2/step1/case1

Forms and fees: https://ugyintezes.sztnh.gov.hu/eBej2/sugo#5

How can I protect my intellectual property?: https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/hogyan-vedjem-a-szellemi-tulajdonomat/hogyan-vedjem-a-talalmanyomat

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

The e-dossier gives inspection and communication platform providing online administration.

 E-dossier: http://epub.hpo.hu/e-aktabetekintes/?lang=HU

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

The Adavanced level of IPC is used by HIPO and the CPC classification system as well.

Both IPC and CPC systems are used in the HU Administration System and sent to the EPO (Espacenet).

IPC: https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/nemzetkozi-szabadalmi-osztalyozas-nszo-international-patent-classification-ipc

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

Patent abstracts of Hungarian patent applications (that have no family members) are translated into English, and sent to the EPO (Espacenet).

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)

The IP-search is an electronic searchable database, available also on the website of the HIPO. All industrial property rights are accessible in this database. Full text of published patent applications and granted patent documents are also accessible in the IP-search in searchable format. http://epub.hpo.hu/e-kutatas/?lang=HU

Searchable granted HU patents are accessible in electronic format from 1896.

Searchable published patent applications are accessible in electronic format from 1992.

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

Gazette of Patents and Trademarks has been published electronically, and accessible on the website of the Office free of charge, in searchable pdf-format, published twice a month. https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/szakmai-oldalak/szabadalmi-kozlony-es-vedjegyertesito

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

The Unified Administrative System of the Office covers the bibliographic and image data, the documents and the official letters belonging to the different intellectual property rights (with the additional data that are not accessible for the public). The public electronic-databases GAZETTE, IP-SEARCH, E-REGISTER, E-DOSSIER are also used by the Examiners. The IP-SEARCH database has an internal version covering public and non-public data.

Searches are performed mainly in the EPOQUENET system. Examiners regularly use EP-REG, Espacenet and other web-based patent databases. Commercial databases are also used in special technical fields, such as Thomson Reuters, STN and Elsevier both for patent and non-patent information.

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

Intellectual property databases suc as IP-search, Gazette, e-Register and e-Dossier are accessible on the webpage of HIPO free of charge: https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/szakmai-oldalak

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

Legal status information (not certified) can be accessed in e-Ddossier: https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/szakmai-oldalak

Certified statements on the validity of protection can be available on payment of a fee.

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

The IT system has provided the necessary background for the Office’s official and service activity, and supported its tasks related to e-administration. The system supports 135 different services or service families altogether. Out of those, 69 service families provide direct support for the performance of the Office’s official and central tasks, and an additional 66 systems support the operational, service management, information security and ISO certification objectives of the previously mentioned functions. Clients can make use of the following services online: e-search, e-file inspection, e-filing, e-register, TM e-Filing, TMView, and DesignView.

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

• Linux server
• Netware server
• MS Windows server
• VMware ESX
• Oracle VM/RAC
• ASA VPN
• ZORP

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

The Unified Administrative System of the Office comprise the bibliographic and image data, the documents and the official letters that belong to the different intellectual property rights, namely patent, plant variety protection, SPC, utility model, trademark and industrial design.
The public electronic-databases GAZETTE, IP-SEARCH, E-REGISTER, E-DOSSIER are also used by the Examiners. The IP-SEARCH database has an internal version for internal use only with the additional data that are not accessible for the public.

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

The Unified Administrative System of the Office is used for file building covering all industrial property titles of protection. It is updated real-time and has a daily backup storage. All incoming documents are scanned since 2012.

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

The Unified Administrative System of the Office is used for file building, which covers all industrial property titles of protection. It has a real-time update system and has a daily backup storage. This system is the source of the public electronic-databases, such as GAZETTE, IP-SEARCH, E-REGISTER, E-DOSSIER.

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

See: Industrial Property Special Library: http://www.sztnh.gov.hu/en/services/industrial-property-special-library

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

The partners and customers of HIPO, who are interested in intellectual property, can choose from a variety of services or programs of customer service, information provision and education, eg.: AIDA, IP-Panorama, Start-up guide, Partner Search, Tenders, IP-Valuation, etc.: http://www.sztnh.gov.hu/hu/vallalkozoknak/hogyan-kezdjek-hozza

The website of the Office (www.sztnh.gov.hu) offers valuable information both for potential clients who are less well informed of intellectual property matters, and for professional users. In 2016 the website of HIPO was visited more than one million times by nearly 380 thousand individually identified users who downloaded more than 10 million pages. The website for raising IP awareness of the general public (www.szellemitulajdon.hu) had more than 60 thousand visitors. The National Board Against Counterfeiting has its separate website which was visited by 11 thousand persons.

The Gazette of Patents and Trade Marks was a widely consulted publication of ours; it is published electronically, in a PDF format on the website of the Office, authenticated by electronic signature and access is free of charge.

Clients can make use of the following services of the website online: e-search, e-file inspection, e-filing, e-register. In addition, they can use TM e-Filing which is also suitable for receiving national trade mark applications, TMView which serves trade mark search, and DesignView which is the data base containing designs protected in the European Union.

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

The Hungarian version of IPC is accessible on the home-page. http://classifications.mszh.hu/ipc/

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

The professional partners and customers of HIPO, who are interested in intellectual property protection, could choose from a variety of services and programs of awareness raising, information provision and education. By offering these services and programs HIPO aimed to make a contribution to the development of industrial property and copyright culture in Hungary.

The enhancement of knowledge on industrial property and copyright, as well as the improvement of awareness of intellectual property rights of small and medium-sized enterprises are objectives of high importance. For entrepreneurs it is essential that they be able to have personal consultation at information points or events close to them, in their regions, where they can be given information. In 2016 HIPO maintained information points in cooperation with 23 different organisations, with 16 chambers of commerce and industry in counties and towns, 6 regional innovation agencies and one professional organisation.  In addition, the Office cooperates with 6 PATLIB (Patent Library) centres linked to institutions of higher education in the countryside. 

Intellectual property protection information network

 A renewed tender opportunity, the so-called “Industrial Property” tender, announced for the first time almost two decades ago, provided financial support for the acquisition and renewal of industrial property protection of Hungarian intellectual creations in Hungary and abroad.

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

The intermediate and advanced level industrial property courses, the basic and intermediate level copyright courses as well as the special purpose courses organised by the Office were important fora for knowledge transfer and awareness raising in Hungary. Industrial property as a separate subject was taught in 9 institutions of higher education, and at 11 other universities intellectual property protection was taught linked with other subjects.

Special attention was paid to the subject of the European patent with unitary effect and of the Unitary Patent Court (UPC). Budapest is the seat of the Judge Training Centre of the UPC, the operation of which is ensured by HIPO in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice. Following the first two training modules in 2015, in September 2016 two trainings were held.  

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

Bibliographic data including CPC, abstracts and titles in English and published and granted patent documents are sent to the EPO databases.

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

Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH): http://www.sztnh.gov.hu/en/patent/global-pph

Visegrad Patent Institut: http://www.vpi.int/index.php/en/

Assistance to developing countries

Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

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.