Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2018 submitted by 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

In 2018, developing electronic interaction services, optimizing technological office work processes, and enhancing the transparency of Rospatent and FIPS were the main areas of work.

In 2018, the resources for electronic filing of applications for inventions and utility models were upgraded. Since October, 2018, the Registrar has provided users of the AWS (Automated Work Station) service an additional opportunity to submit applications for registration of inventions and utility models, along with the option to submit applications for registration of trademarks and service marks.

Implementation of a range of measures aimed at increasing applicants’ interest in the electronic provision of government services enabled the share of electronic applications to increase. In particular, in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 27.93 per cent was recorded in the electronic filing of applications for utility models, which was 12.4 per cent higher than in the same period of 2017.

The plans for the FIPS Advanced Technologies Center include the establishment of a network of regional centers of competence in cooperation with the Association of Clusters and Technoparks (ACT). The activities of this network of regional centers of competence will be developed in the following areas:

• conducting analytical studies of sector-specific focus based on patent analysis and other technological and business-consulting tools;
• evaluation of investment projects, and identification of promising areas of investment;
• scouting global technologies;
• promoting technology transfer;
• technological and price audit, and assessment of the organization’s intangible assets;
• market research of promising markets for Russian goods, determining licensing arrangements and royalty rates for different countries;
• developing marketing strategies;
• statistical studies (benchmarking) of market prices;
• financial consulting (import/export);
• developing options and legal support for transactions, and legal advice;
• comprehensive training of specialists at regional companies and government organizations in the field of intellectual property management;
• auditing portfolios of intellectual property subject matter (patents);
• auditing the intellectual property management processes of companies and organizations;
• developing strategies for the protection of intellectual property;
• analyzing patent integrity, and conducting patent investigations under GOST (State System for Standardization);
• filing Russian and foreign applications for registration of intellectual property.

Seven regional centers of competence will be established at the Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) operating in the regions.

On the site of Rospatent, the goals, objectives and plans of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property are published in the section "Plans":  http://www.rupto.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 order to optimize technological processes in maintaining electronic workflow on applications for inventions and utility models, in 2018 it has been made possible to provide the following:

• automatic registration and processing of electronic applications for inventions and utility models received from the electronic service, AWS Registrar, as well as maintaining legally significant correspondence relating to applications filed through the Personal Account of the AWS Registrar service;
• automatic processing of incoming correspondence signed electronically, received from the personal accounts of the FIPS website;
• phasing out printing of a second copy of outgoing correspondence relating to applications under expert review, for subsequent addition of the copies of outgoing correspondence to the paperwork of applications for inventions and utility models;
• based on the wishes of experts in electronic workflow on applications for inventions and utility models, opportunities to work with electronic documents have increased, the windows for viewing documents have been enlarged, and it is now possible to annotate pages while viewing, etc.

In order to enable electronic prosecution during the provision of State services, the following work was undertaken at the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as FIPS) in 2018:

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

-  a system for official Internet publication of information on intellectual property subject matter from the EGR 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 2018, 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 2018, the State Register of Russian Federation Inventions (EGR IZ) and the State Register of Russian Federation Utility Models (EGR PM) records continued to be completed. As of the end of 2018, the registers contained:

- EGR IZ: 348,909 patents;

- EGR PM: 100,771 patents.

In order to ensure the completeness of foreign documentation submitted and uploaded onto the PatSearch system, incoming documentation is constantly monitored. As gaps are detected in the arrays of documentation, a request is sent promptly to the relevant foreign patent office; receipt of data is constantly being monitored.

    During  2018, work was carried out on populating data; after formal verification fitness for purpose, completeness, and compliance with specifications on the website, some errors were identified. After verifying downloaded data during  2018, errors were detected in the arrays of Australia, China, Republic of Korea, Japan, France, WIPO and EPO ( 237748 documents). All errors were corrected by re-uploading the data. As part of the previously signed agreements with foreign offices on data exchange and other written agreements, work is ongoing to ensure the quality and completeness of the upload onto the system.    In compliance with the aims, settled in the “Strategy for the Development of an Information Society in Russian Federation for 2017–2030” the access to national patent documentation from the State patent collection is provided through the National Electronic Library (NEL). Soviet and Russian patent documents for inventions and utility models for the period of 1924-2018  in the amount of more than 2,4 mln were uploaded to NEL. This is equivalent to 52% of the full document collection of NEL (http://нэб.рф).

The project implemented by FIPS in cooperation with Russian State Library and Corporation “ELAR” allowed to open for users new access channel to patent information not only for performing patent searches but also for the purposes of science and education.

In the All-Russian Patent Technology Library Division section of the FIPS website the work on updating and supplementing with materials was being performed:

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

Internet Navigator for Patent Information resources was restructured. The new sections Patent Attorney Abroad and Young Inventors Assistance were created.

Guide to VPTB Collections and Internet Resources, Recommendations on the List of Essential Methodology, Legal and Patent Literature and Documentation for the Provision of Documents for the Patent Subdivisions and Services of the State Science and Education Sector and Organizations forming the national nanotechnology network and Patent legal literature electronic catalogue (at December, 31 2018 contains 111,520  publications) were updated quarterly.

The lists of recommendatory bibliography for regions in three fields of studies were made available on the site on a monthly basis. 36 lists in total were prepared in 2018.

Along with the introduction of actual information the material was updated in the following sections – Thematic meetings, Bibliographical indexes and lists, Search systems and databases etc. The translations of the EPO publications ‘Patent Information News’ into Russian were prepared and published (No. 1-4/2018).

The content and structure of the Rospatent website (www.rupto.ru), representing the activities of Rospatent within the scope of its competence, reflected the most important issues in relation to the functioning of the intellectual property protection system in Russia. New sections of the website have been developed and launched: Regional Brands and Appellations of Origin, Multimedia, Public Initiatives, Consultations on Current User Issues, Public Council Commissions, Results of Cooperation and Interaction of Rospatent with the Regions of the Russian Federation, Draft Guidelines and Recommendations on the Implementation of Administrative Procedures and Actions within the Framework of the Provision of Government Services.

In accordance with the principles of transparency, the following sections have been upgraded: Rospatent in the Open Government System, Structure and Management, Plans, Open Data, Public Council, Quality Council, Rospatent Board, Rospatent Council for Legal Protection of Design, Scientific and Technical Council, Patent Law Subject Matter, Rospatent and the Regions, International Cooperation, The Hague System, WIPO Standards, and Cooperation with the Interstate Council on the Legal Protection and Protection of Intellectual Property. The Government Services, Documents and Forms, and other sections have been updated. In the Open Data section, 23 metafile sets and open data passports have been updated in machine-readable format. New open data sets have been added: educational programs of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education, Russian State Academy of Intellectual Property (FGBOU VO RGAIS), paid educational services of FGBOU VO RGAIS, and registration trends for the results of intellectual activity for military, special, and dual use, the rights to which belong to the Russian Federation. An evaluation form has been added for sets of open data with development potential: Register of Trademark Applications.      

In March, 2018, the new upgraded website of the Federal Institute for Industrial Property (www.fips.ru) was launched. The website has been made more contemporary, interactive and functional, while access to the most sought-after services and patent information resources has been made more convenient. A number of new services have appeared: searching from the home page of patent information from open registers, filtering news, tagging materials, survey forms, a multimedia section, and interaction with social networks. There is the option to file applications for appellations of origin (AO) and previously registered appellations of origin (RAO), and to maintain correspondence on electronic applications submitted for AO/RAO through the Electronic Application Filing service, as well as the option to file applications for inventions and utility models through the AWS Registrar service using a qualified electronic signature.

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

In 2018, the number of requests for the provision of government services (hereinafter referred to as ‘requests’) submitted electronically to Rospatent increased compared to 2017. The fastest growth was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018, at 38 per cent (26.7 per cent in the same quarter of 2017).

This was achieved through the implementation of a series of measures, a list of which is presented below.

The list of measures aimed at increasing applicants’ interest in applying electronically for the provision of government services is as follows:

1. Amendments to regulatory acts.

By decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No.1151 of 23 September 2017, at the suggestion of Rospatent, the discount to the amount of duty for completing legally significant actions in the provision of government services shall be increased to 30 per cent, and such discount shall be extended to all types of actions that were initiated electronically.  

1. Development and implementation of new electronic interaction services.

In 2018, a new version of the AWS (Automated Work Station) Registrar service was commissioned, which provided the option to file applications for invention and utility models electronically.

1. Expanding the functionality of electronic interaction services.

In 2018, automatic processing was introduced of correspondence signed electronically on applications previously filed through the Personal Account, eliminating potential errors and delays in registering documents ‘manually’, and also including applications for inventions and utility models. 

1. Providing the option of submitting applications using the Unified Portal of Government and Municipal Services (Functions) (hereinafter referred to as EPGU).

 In 2018, the option was provided to submit applications to EPGU for 25 Rospatent government services.

During the year under review, a number of meetings were held with the Ministries of Communications and Economic Development to resolve the issues of making provision for the specific features of Rospatent services on EPGU. For 2019, there are plans to enhance the functionality of EPGU and subsequently to update the application forms for Rospatent services on EPGU.

1. 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.
2. Posting of educational video materials and programs on the FIPS website.

Videos have been posted in the Electronic Interaction with Applicants section. The number of views of the video on preparing an application for an invention totalled 2,444.

1. The FIPS technical support service is conducting a review of requests from users of electronic services.
2. 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.

At present, up-to-date information on all 26 State services offered by Rospatent are posted in the Federal Register of State and Municipal Services (Functions), and on the Unified Portal of State Services (hereinafter, ‘EPGU’). For 25 State services, it is possible to submit a request (applications, etc.) electronically via EPGU for the provision of a State service.

Interaction with federal executive authorities is provided using the inter-agency electronic interaction system. The SMEV web-service was developed and registered in a productive SMEV environment, in compliance with methodological guidelines for the development of electronic services and use of electronic signature technology in the inter-agency electronic interaction version 3.0 on July 28, 2017. The type of information that ensures the transfer of information about registered objects of intellectual property.

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 2017-2018 are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

As can be seen from Table 1, in 2018 compared to 2017 there was an increase in the number of applications filed (by 4.12%), as well as an increase in the number of issued patents (by 4.44%).

The invention patents granted in 2018 were distributed according to the IPC sections as follows:

Table 2

                              The largest number of patents for inventions granted in 2018 was to Russian applicants for Section A of the International Patent Classification (IPC) – HUMAN NECESSITIES, the section B was in the first place for foreign applicants - PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING.

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 2018 comprised only 1 per cent of the overall number of patents granted for inventions.

Utility models

Тable 3

In 2018 there was a decrease in the number of applications filed for utility models. The number of applications filed fell by 8.42%, while the decrease was observed both  by applications of domestic applicants (by 8.77%) and by foreign applicants (by 1.22%). The total number of patents granted increased (by 12.46%).

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

Тable 4

The leading IPC Section in 2018 remained Section B – Performing Operations and Transporting – while second place was taken by Section A – Human Necessities. As in 2017, Section D – Textiles and Paper – continued to be the least in demand, with the lowest number of certificates granted.

Over 17,216 applications for inventions and utility models were filed electronically during 2017; for inventions- 15,073 (over 39,71 per cent of the total number of invention applications), and for utility models- 2 143 (21,99 per cent of the total number of utility-model applications).

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: http://www.rupto.ru/docs;

Office Annual Report- Rospatent Annual Reports section: http://www.rupto.ru/about/reports;

Statistical information- Statistical Data section: http://www.rupto.ru/about/stat;

Monitoring of the quantitative and qualitative indicators for the main activities of FIPS in 2018 is provided on the FIPS website in the FIPS Main Activities section:

http://new.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/index.php;

Rospatent News: http://www.rupto.ru/ru/news;

FIPS News: http://new.fips.ru/news/;

State services: https://rupto.ru/ru/stateservices;  

Links section: https://rupto.ru/ru/sourses/links;

The Abstract Bulletin of Intellectual Property (foreign publications) is presented on the FIPS website in All-Russian Patent Technology Library Division section – Patent information products section: http://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/referativnyy-byulleten-po-intellektualnoy-sobstvennosti-zarubezhnye-publikatsii.php.

In 2018 the Bulletin was distributed by subscription. Its contents are presented on the website.

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 (GPF) 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 ‘Personal Office’ 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:

http://www.rupto.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:

http://www.rupto.ru/ru/stateservices/gosudarstvennaya-registraciya-poleznoy-modeli-i-vydacha-patenta-na-poleznuyu-model-ego-dublikata;

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

http://www.rupto.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:

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

section "Forms of documents":

http://www.rupto.ru/ru/documentforms;

Specimen Applications and Requests, and Completed Examples section heading:

http://new.fips.ru/documents/formy-dokumentov/index.php#1;

Filing Applications section:

http://new.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:

http://new.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/lichnyy-kabinet-dlya-perepiski-po-zayavkam/index.php

• Fees section: http://www.rupto.ru/ru/activities/dues;
• Fee calculator: http://new.fips.ru/podacha-zayavki/kalkulyator-poshlin/index.php
• Patent Law subject matter section: http://www.rupto.ru/ru/objects-of-patent-rights;
• For Beginners section: http://new.fips.ru/to-applicants/dlya-novichkov/;
• Frequently Asked Questions section: http://new.fips.ru/faq/

Details of seminars and other similar events held in 2018 can be found  in Part 5(d,e).

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

Access is provided on the Rospatent and FIPS websites to the following resources:

- A database of invention applications filed between 2007 and 2018 (containing a brief summary of the prosecution for 497 thousand of applications, and updated daily).

- A database of applications for utility models filed between 2007 and 2018 (containing a brief summary of the prosecution for 146 thousand of applications, and updated daily).

As part of the automated electronic prosecution information system for examining inventions, access is provided to primary materials for applications for inventions and utility models, versions of the application components (invention claims, descriptions), bibliographic data and versions of documents sent to applicants, images of incoming correspondence, and outgoing correspondence, signed electronically.

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 of the International Patent Classification (IPC) in 2018, 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.

Within of the IPC revision framework conducted by WIPO in 2018 comments and proposals on the following projects had been prepared by Rospatent:

F067 (B29C 47/00), F050 (G01R 31/02), F090 (F24F), M622 (G05D 11/00), F059 (D06F 39/00).

Because of financial restrictions the reclassification process from IPC.2017 to IPC.2018 was not carried out.

During the 2018 FIPS examiners in parallel to the IPC assigned the СPC symbols on all current patent documents both inventions and utility models.

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

As usual in 2018 Rospatent took part in the work of Working groups and the Committee of Experts of WIPO on the IPC revision.

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 2018, 4,040 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 2018, 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.

VPTB performs translation from foreign languages and prepares summaries of foreign legal and patent literature. In 2018, the titles of articles and books were translated into Russian and prepared summaries of 4000 publications of interest to specialists in legal protection of intellectual property. 

The results of this work are entered into an electronic catalog of legal and patent literature: ‘Legal Protection of Intellectual Property: National and Foreign Publications’. The electronic version of the catalog, containing details of publications dating from 1992 to the present day, is available on the FIPS website in the section ‘VPTB Division’, and is accessible to remote users online. This catalog comprised 172,182 (on the FIPS website - 111520) documents as of December 31, 2018.

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.

In 2018 with the aim of providing users with the information about interesting and timely publications from issues in foreign languages that enter the patent and law literature collection the Abstract Bulletin of Intellectual Property (foreign publications) containing abstracts in Russian language was prepared. In 2018 the Bulletin was distributed by subscription. Its contents are presented on the FIPS website.

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 2018, 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 trademarks, service marks and appellations of origin in the official bulletins immediately after making entries in the State Register of Inventions and the State Register of Utility Models is introduced.

All Inventions and Utility Models Official Gazette for 2005-2018 available at:

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/#page=bulletin&type=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:

http://new.fips.ru/upload/iblock/7fd/Pologenie_105.pdf;

• Official Publications section:

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/;

• Catalog of Publications and Databases in the Patent Information Products section:

http://new.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 Useful Models:

http://new.fips.ru/documents/npa-rf/prikazy-rospatenta/Pologenie_IZ.pdf

• Inventions and Utility ModelsOfficial Gazette:

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/#page=search&type=IZPM&number=0;

• International Classifications: 

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/#page=classification&type=IZPM;

• Open Registers of Russian Patent Documents:

http://new.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 arrays 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, as well as a DWPI array. 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 Japan and Korea applications’ file wrappers, examiners can access the AIPN and K-PION databases, respectively. Examiners also have access to information regarding Indian traditional knowledge, contained in TKDL database, in accordance with the agreement between CSIR and Rospatent.

When necessary, examiners perform searches in commercial databases. Elsevier’s REAXYS and EMBASE search systems were available to examiners in appropriate fields at their workplaces. Also examiners could perform searches in the STN databases. In 2018, about 1100 searches in STN were carried out.

In addition, examiners may perform searches in any source freely available on the Internet.

Commercially acquired non-patent literature electronic resources are available for examiners of the Office through the interlibrary loan service and the documents electronic delivery system.

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

VPTB users have access to Rospatent’s automated information search system PatSearch, the Eurasian Patent Office’s EAPATIS search systems, the European Patent Office’s Global Patent Index, Questel company’s database Questel Orbit, National Electronic Library (NEB), the Digital Dissertation Library of the Russian State Library, Web of science and KluwerIPLaw search platforms etc.

In 2018, 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 for RF patents published in previous years (2015-2017) 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 2017, on DVD / USB Flash Drive (a total of 120 disks and 2 USB flash drives ), as well as the Retrospective set of descriptions of inventions for 2017 by FTP (File Transfer Protocol );

- An information-search system for invention descriptions for RF patents in Russian and English, from 1994 to 2018, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Title pages of utility model descriptions for RF documents providing protection, from 1994 to 2018, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Descriptions of utility models for RF documents providing protection from 1994 to 2017 on DVD (19 disks).

In addition, the Report of Rospatent for 2017 was published on CD.

Also, users on the site were offered free access to the International Patent Classification (2018 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 2018, 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.

Also on the Internet, users are granted free access to information on applications for the grant of Russian Federation invention and utility model patents. Information on the prosecution of applications is available for applications received after January 1, 2007.

In 2018, the FIPS website provided access to:

1) the information-search system (IPS) for domestic patent documentation;

2) the Open Registers information resource, an information reference source which can be used by any person to search for information concerning a patent granted, or the stage of prosecution for applications filed at Rospatent. Reference information is structured by patent number, or application registration number by: 

- registers of Russian patent documents relating to inventions and utility models;

- registers containing information on the prosecution of applications filed in 2007-2018 for the grant of invention and utility model patents;

3) the Rospatent’s Official Gazettes “Inventions. Utility Models”.

Rospatent Internet resources are compiled in the following databases:

- a full-text database of Russian inventions (contains information on 775,000 invention patents from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a retrospective database of Russian patent documents in facsimile form (contains information on 1,431,000 patent documents for inventions from 1924 to 1993 inclusive);

- an abstracts database for Russian inventions (contains information on 775,000 patents for inventions from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a database of published applications for inventions (contains information on 524,000 applications for inventions from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- an abstracts database for Russian inventions in English (contains information on 683,000 invention patents from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a full-text database of Russian utility models (contains information on 186,000 Russian utility model certificates and patents from 1996 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- an abstracts database for Russian utility models (contains information on 186,000 Russian utility model certificates and patents from 1996 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a future-oriented inventions database (contains information on 2,338 patents for inventions that are recognized by FIPS as promising, updated once per quarter);

- a database of invention applications filed from 2007 to 2018 (contains information on the prosecution of 497,000 applications, updated daily);

- a database of utility model applications filed from 2007 to 2018 (contains information on the prosecution of 146,000 applications, updated daily).

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.

In 2018, as part of the cooperation agreements between Rospatent and relevant organizations, access was granted:

in relation to full-text inventions and utility models databases, to:

•  153 organizations, as part of the Rospatent Program of Cooperation with regions of the Russian Federation
• ­ 36 organizations participating in the implementation of the State project to develop nanotechnologies
• ­ 170 Technology and Innovation Support Centres
• ­ 2 organizations of State Corporation Rostekh

in relation to all FIPS databases, to:

• ­ 105 organizations of the Federal Service of Court Bailiffs
• ­ 238 organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• ­ 98 organizations of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service
• ­ 16 organizations of the Ministry of Defense
• ­ 96 organizations of the taxation service
• ­ 60 users of the Court for Intellectual Property Rights
• ­ 2 users of the RosOboronPostavka
• ­ 2 organizations of the Federal Customs Service
• 12 users of the Roskhomnadzor.

External users are provided free of charge with the following databases:

in relation to inventions:

• ­ - abstracts databases in Russian and English,
• ­ - a database of published invention applications,
• ­ - a future-oriented inventions database,
• ­ - a full-text database containing information on RF invention patents No.2503161, published in the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette;
• ­ - the IPC database

in relation to utility models:

- a database containing information on RF utility model patents No.136275, published in the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette;

- an abstracts database;

-  the IPC database.

In 2018, internal and external users made more than 3 473,000 requests to the IPC, of which:

 Approximately 120,000 by internal database users;

more than 3,353,000 by external database users.

Users’ Work with Registers of Russian Patent Documents

Users of registers are provided with free access to all patent documents of Rospatent’s Internet resources.

In 2018, internal and external users of registers made more than 109,808,000 requests.

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

http://new.fips.ru/vse-uslugi/patentno-informatsionnye-produkty/;

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

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/;

Open Registers: http://new.fips.ru/registers-web/;

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

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/#page=bulletin&type=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:

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/instr_search_2018.pdf;

Support:

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/podderzhka-polzovateley-informatsionno-poiskovoy-sistemy.php.

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

VPTB users have access to Rospatent’s automated information search system PatSearch, the Eurasian Patent Office’s EAPATIS search systems, the European Patent Office’s Global Patent Index, Questel company’s database Questel Orbit, National Electronic Library (NEB), the Digital Dissertation Library of the Russian State Library, Web of science and KluwerIPLaw search platforms etc.

In 2018, 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 for RF patents published in previous years (2015-2017) 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 2017, on DVD / USB Flash Drive (a total of 120 disks and 2 USB flash drives ), as well as the Retrospective set of descriptions of inventions for 2017 by FTP (File Transfer Protocol );

- An information-search system for invention descriptions for RF patents in Russian and English, from 1994 to 2018, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Title pages of utility model descriptions for RF documents providing protection, from 1994 to 2018, on DVD and via FTP - quarterly and cumulative;

- Descriptions of utility models for RF documents providing protection from 1994 to 2017 on DVD (19 disks).

In addition, the Report of Rospatent for 2017 was published on CD.

Also, users on the site were offered free access to the International Patent Classification (2018 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 2018, 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.

Also on the Internet, users are granted free access to information on applications for the grant of Russian Federation invention and utility model patents. Information on the prosecution of applications is available for applications received after January 1, 2007.

In 2018, the FIPS website provided access to:

1) the information-search system (IPS) for domestic patent documentation;

2) the Open Registers information resource, an information reference source which can be used by any person to search for information concerning a patent granted, or the stage of prosecution for applications filed at Rospatent. Reference information is structured by patent number, or application registration number by: 

- registers of Russian patent documents relating to inventions and utility models;

- registers containing information on the prosecution of applications filed in 2007-2018 for the grant of invention and utility model patents;

3) the Rospatent’s Official Gazettes “Inventions. Utility Models”.

Rospatent Internet resources are compiled in the following databases:

- a full-text database of Russian inventions (contains information on 775,000 invention patents from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a retrospective database of Russian patent documents in facsimile form (contains information on 1,431,000 patent documents for inventions from 1924 to 1993 inclusive);

- an abstracts database for Russian inventions (contains information on 775,000 patents for inventions from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a database of published applications for inventions (contains information on 524,000 applications for inventions from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- an abstracts database for Russian inventions in English (contains information on 683,000 invention patents from 1994 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a full-text database of Russian utility models (contains information on 186,000 Russian utility model certificates and patents from 1996 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- an abstracts database for Russian utility models (contains information on 186,000 Russian utility model certificates and patents from 1996 to 2018 inclusive, updated daily);

- a future-oriented inventions database (contains information on 2,338 patents for inventions that are recognized by FIPS as promising, updated once per quarter);

- a database of invention applications filed from 2007 to 2018 (contains information on the prosecution of 497,000 applications, updated daily);

- a database of utility model applications filed from 2007 to 2018 (contains information on the prosecution of 146,000 applications, updated daily).

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.

In 2018, as part of the cooperation agreements between Rospatent and relevant organizations, access was granted:

in relation to full-text inventions and utility models databases, to:

•  153 organizations, as part of the Rospatent Program of Cooperation with regions of the Russian Federation
• ­ 36 organizations participating in the implementation of the State project to develop nanotechnologies
• ­ 170 Technology and Innovation Support Centres
• ­ 2 organizations of State Corporation Rostekh

in relation to all FIPS databases, to:

• ­ 105 organizations of the Federal Service of Court Bailiffs
• ­ 238 organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• ­ 98 organizations of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service
• ­ 16 organizations of the Ministry of Defense
• ­ 96 organizations of the taxation service
• ­ 60 users of the Court for Intellectual Property Rights
• ­ 2 users of the RosOboronPostavka
• ­ 2 organizations of the Federal Customs Service
• 12 users of the Roskhomnadzor.

External users are provided free of charge with the following databases:

in relation to inventions:

• ­ - abstracts databases in Russian and English,
• ­ - a database of published invention applications,
• ­ - a future-oriented inventions database,
• ­ - a full-text database containing information on RF invention patents No.2503161, published in the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette;
• ­ - the IPC database

in relation to utility models:

- a database containing information on RF utility model patents No.136275, published in the Inventions and Utility Models Gazette;

- an abstracts database;

-  the IPC database.

In 2018, internal and external users made more than 3 473,000 requests to the IPC, of which:

 Approximately 120,000 by internal database users;

more than 3,353,000 by external database users.

Users’ Work with Registers of Russian Patent Documents

Users of registers are provided with free access to all patent documents of Rospatent’s Internet resources.

In 2018, internal and external users of registers made more than 109,808,000 requests.

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

http://new.fips.ru/vse-uslugi/patentno-informatsionnye-produkty/;

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

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/;

Open Registers: http://new.fips.ru/registers-web/;

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

http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/ofic_pub_ru/#page=bulletin&type=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:

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/instr_search_2018.pdf;

Support:

http://new.fips.ru/elektronnye-servisy/informatsionno-poiskovaya-sistema/podderzhka-polzovateley-informatsionno-poiskovoy-sistemy.php.

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

In order to improve the accessibility of State services provided by Rospatent, a hardware and software system was put into commercial operation which enables remote examination of claims and objections in the Chamber for Patent Disputes for inhabitants of the regions. Participation in the hearing is provided through a browser, and no additional software installation is required for external participants. Implementation of the system received a favourable response among patent attorneys.

In 2018, Rospatent examiners used the Information-Search System, PatSearch, for invention and utility model examinations. The PatSearch system is a professional search system for patent office examiners to perform searches when examining inventions and utility models. As a result, a wide range of functions and services has been introduced into the system.

Below is a list of the main functions of the system:

- Search in selected arrays

- Index browsing when preparing a request

- Sample analysis (statistics on search results)

- Document viewer (with highlighting of search terms)

- Two-window document viewing

- Print documents

- Export documents

- Consideration of IPC reform and subsequent reclassification

- Search based on the IPC and SPS, as well as the Thomson Reuters (Derwent) classification.

- Multilingual machine translation (including  translation of a selection of the document or the whole document, and separate translation of query)

- Analysis of search results (including cluster analysis and construction of semantic networks)

- Espacenet search

- E-Library search

- Amino acid and nucleotide sequence search in the European data bank, EMBL.

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

Extensive use has been made of the opportunity to document search histories, including an indication of search arrays, search query transcripts, and the number of documents located and viewed, as well as a list of documents included in the examiner’s final selection.

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, Fujitsu-Siemens workstations – 1,115 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

In 2018, the main search tool was Rospatent’s in-house search system, PatSearch, which is available at each examiner’s workstation. The search array of PatSearch includes patent documentation from Russia, the USSR, CIS countries, countries included in PCT minimum documentation, and DWPI array. In total, PatSearch includes more than 70 million original patent documents. Full texts of patent documents not available in PatSearch may be viewed via direct link to Espacenet.

The PatSearch system supports non-patent literature searching in external sources: genetic sequences searching in the European Bioinformatics Institute databases and non-patent literature searching in Elsevier’s SCOPUS database and in the Electronic Scientific Library of the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (eLIBRARY.RU).

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

The main source of information for the principal functions of Rospatent is the State Patent Collection (GPF).

The main source for establishing the State Patent Collection (GPF), including its electronic PatSearch system content, is the international exchange of patent documentation. At present, international exchange continues to exist and evolve in a new format using new information technology based on PatSearch requirements and ensures the GPF is updated free of charge.

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 2018, information was uploaded onto the PatSearch system from all arrays of patent documentation from PCT minimum countries. 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. 

The total number of patent documents in the original language is 60 million. The system provides viewing of complete descriptions of documents not yet uploaded to the system, but located under the DWPI index, through built-in online access to the arrays of the EPO. Non-patent literature may be searched through built-in access to the external Russian digital library, E-library and the world's largest database of non-patent literature SCOPUS.

System search arrays

DWPI array

Descriptions of USSR inventions from 1924 to 1993

Descriptions of RF inventions from 1994 to date

Claims of RF utility models from 1994 (No. 1) to date

Claims of Russian invention applications

Unpublished Russian invention applications

Abstracts of patent documents from the world’s leading countries in English (DWPI)

Descriptions of inventions from PCT minimum countries, including:

PCT applications

EPO

United States of America

Japan

Germany

United Kingdom

Canada

France

Austria

Australia

Switzerland

Republic of Korea

China

ARIPO

OAPI

Descriptions of inventions from CIS countries with abstracts in Russian (CISPATENT)

A total is of more than 147 million patent documents.

VPTB users also enjoy access to the GPI EPO system, databases QUESTEL and EAPATIS, and electronic non-patent literature resources: the Digital Dissertation Library of the Russian State Library (DDL RSL) and the National Electronic Library (NEL), Scopus references database and Elsevier’s ScienceDirect full-text database, Web of Science and KluwerIPLaw search platforms.

The GPF is one of the most accessible and highest-quality patent collections in the world. The patent documentation of GPF is provided on all carrier types – optical disks, local networks, paper, and micro-carriers.

A significant part of the GPF is available on optical disks (78,000 optical disks as at December 31, 2018). The collection is formed, mainly, from traditional international exchange of patent documentation with foreign patent offices. 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 is made available to all categories of users in the VPTB display class.

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 VPTB display class.

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 subsystems for statistics allow the creation of over 300 different forms of reports on the activities of the Office’s 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

In order to reduce staff shortages, adoption of remote working with access to FIPS automated systems is ongoing in expert departments.

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 All-Russian Patent Technology Library (VPTB) is the establishment of the State Patent Collection (GPF), 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, VPTB fulfills the functions of a public library and the library of the Office at the same time. The main source for the GPF is international exchange, which ensures updating of patent documentation and Official Gazettes of foreign offices, while national and foreign scientific and technical, and legal and patent, literature is updated through subscription and obtaining books and periodicals.

As at December 31, 2018, the GPF comprised 135,866,875 documents overall. 

In order to assist VPTB readers, 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.

VPTB 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 VPTB patent collection is managed according to type of industrial property and information carrier.

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

A total of 189.900 persons consulted GPF in 2018. Since 2018 usage statistics are included for VPTB information products on the FIPS site: 105.134 appeals in 2018.

In 2018, users (including examiners) were issued with over 31.4 million exemplars of patent documents: over 30.4 million exemplars on optical disks and from remote databases; over 1.0 million exemplars on paper, and 5,800 exemplars on micro-carrier.

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

Overall, during the course of the year, over 1,800 patent information services were provided at the request of remote users.

FIPS examiners consider the collection of applications and contracts for intellectual activities results and individualization tools especially important for their work. The collection includes applications for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, computer programs, databases, integrated circuits topologies, trademarks and service marks, appellations of origin, as well as contracts for inventions, utility models, industrial designs and appellations of origin. As of December 2018, this collection of applications and contracts constituted 1,540,440 copies on paper, microcarrier and in electronic form.

The Russian patent office does not have a regional network of patent libraries, although in 2018, 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 VPTB offers a unique collection of legal and patent, and dictionary and reference literature (PPL collection), which is an important constituent part of the GPF 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 collection 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 92,900 publications, with the oldest publications dating from 1810. 

Aside from the above-mentioned information sources, all categories of users are provided with access to Kluwer IP Law (Kluwer Law and Business 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 (NEB).

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, Elsevier’s Embase and Reaxys, the Digital Dissertation Library of the Russian State Library, Elesevier’s Scopus references database and ScienceDirect full-text database, the National Electronic Library (NEB), Web of Science and KluwerIPLaw search platforms etc.

An electronic catalog, Legal Protection of Intellectual Property: Domestic and Foreign Publications, has been created based on an analysis of publications entering into the PPL collection, bibliographies, publications posted on the Internet, and other sources. The catalog is a comprehensive information resource of patent and legal information and is a search-reference tool for the PPL collection. The catalog is a comprehensive information resource of patent and legal information and is a search-reference tool for the PPL collection. The catalog contains bibliographical descriptions in the original language, and Russian translations of titles and/or abstracts, and as of December, 31 2018, there were approximately 172,2 thousand bibliographic records. The catalog also contains 8,905 links to full-text documents posted on patent owners’ websites.

The VPTB Division 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 2018, the VPTB Division section was updated and supplemented with materials. The following are updated quarterly: Guide to the VPTB Collection and Internet Resources, Internet Navigator for Patent Information Resources, Recommendations on the List of Essential Methodology, Legal and Patent Literature and Documentation for the Provision of Documents for the Patent Subdivisions and Services of the State Science and Education Sector and Organizations of the National Nanotechnology Network, and translations into Russian of the EPO publication «Patent Information News». 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.

Overall in 2018 more than 105,134 users consulted the information available in the VPTB Division section of the FIPS website and 1,375,615 pages were viewed by them.

In 2018, in order to improve the methodological support of the provision of government services,  new guidelines were adopted: On the implementation of administrative procedures and actions within the framework of the provision of government services for State registration of inventions, and grant of patents for inventions, and duplicates thereof https://rupto.ru/ru/documents/ruc-iz/download; On the implementation of administrative procedures and actions within the framework of the provision of government services for State registration of utility models, and grant of patents for utility models, and duplicates thereof https://rupto.ru/ru/documents/ruc-pm/download.  

Practical guides on protecting and using inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and appellations of origin may be downloaded in the e-Brochures section.

http://www.rupto.ru/ru/sourses/publications

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.

Information on the systems for granting legal protection abroad is available in the Foreign Patenting section: http://www.rupto.ru/ohrana_zarubezh, as well as in the International Cooperation section: http://www.rupto.ru/ru/international-cooperation.

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 Technology Library Division are available on the FIPS website in the State Patent Collection and VPTB Information Products sections at:

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

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)

For the translation of foreign documents examiners were provided with the PROMT Automated Translation System PTS12, which is available in the internal search system PatSearch, as well as at workplaces from the server for working with texts in the Internet, Word, Excel, etc.

In the reporting year the PROMT PTS12 was updated, additionally the computers were replaced at examiners workplaces, so an inventory of the PROMT client-side connection on the examiners computers was carried out.

Work of improving the quality of translation was continued. The number of translation profiles and the number of user dictionaries was increased, taking into account the IPC Scheme, dictionaries on narrower examiner topics were added. It helps to ensure the System is configured for more accurate translation of texts on various subjects.

Consultations and training courses for examiners on the optimal using of the PROMT System updated functions, as well as on working with other translation tools (Google translator, Multitran dictionary, etc.) were carried out regularly.

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 VPTB Division holds a range of different events in cooperation with universities, research centers, Technology and Innovation Support Centers, etc., including:

In 2018 30 thematic meetings were held with the participation of Rospatent and FIPS administration and leading specialists for applicants, rights owners, patent attorneys, IP specialists, business community representatives and other stakeholders. 12 of these meetings were dedicated to “Training to work with inventions, utility models, trademarks, appellations of origin, industrial designs, computer programs and databases e-filing services”. Others were dedicated to:

“The FIPS site information resources”; “Law enforcement practice, new approaches to application examining and granting patents for inventions: questions and answers”; “Actual issues of legal protection for appellations of origin”; “Accelerated examination procedure according FIPS tariffs”; “State registration of computer programs and databases”; “Patent search using EPO’s Espacenet database”; “New «Technology Brokers» training program”; “Accession of the Russian Federation to the Hague industrial designs registration system. National seminar”; “Patent search using WIPO’s Patentscope database”; “Digital platforms: approaches, issues and solutions for patent industry”; “PatScape patent data search service search opportunities”; “Discussing the draft Guidelines for computer programs and databases registration and the draft Guidelines for integrated circuit topologies registration”; “Composing and filing applications for state registration of appellation of origin. Claimed designation examination special traits”; “Discussing the draft Guidelines for registration of trademark, service mark and the draft Guidelines for registration of industrial design”; “Modern patent analytics tools and methods”; “New opportunities for inventions and utility models e-filing via the FIPS site”; “Practical issues of a trademark exclusive rights use notice composing and consideration”; “Practical issues of trademark examining”; “Discussing the draft Guidelines for administrative procedures and activities within the framework of delivering state service of state registration of appellation of origin and granting exclusive rights for such designation, as well as for granting exclusive rights for an appellation of origin registered earlier and for granting certificate of exclusive rights for an appellation of origin and of its copy”.

1833 persons from Moscow, Moscow region and 45 other cities took part in the aforementioned events, including 466 via videoconferences organized by 9 entities of TISC status.

In 2018 FIPS VPTB implemented the following educational projects for youth (information on them is available on FIPS site):

“To Scientific Youth – About IP” – for students, bachelors, postgraduate students, candidates for a master’s degree and young researchers of Russian higher education institutions. The program includes an excursion in the Museum of Rospatent and throughout VPTB, meeting with FIPS administration and a round table on IP with the participation of FIPS examiners. 15 meetings were held for 450 persons.

“Inventors NEXT” – for students of secondary special schools of Moscow in collaboration with the City Methodical Center of Moscow Department of Education and Russian State Academy of Intellectual Property (RSAIP). The program includes an excursion in the Museum of Rospatent and throughout VPTB, a seminar on IP basics with the participation of VPTB specialists and RSAIP students. 13 meetings were held for 650 persons.

“Quantorians – The Young Inventors” – for mentors and pupils of the Quantorium children’s technology parks federal network within the framework of the previously signed collaboration agreement. 4 webinars and 1 offline seminar with the participation of VPTB specialists and FIPS examiners were held for 1,400 persons from 63 federal subjects.

The joint project with the Sirius Educational Center (Sochi) – for pupils of the Center. The seminars program includes an interactive lecture on IP and patenting basics and a patent search workshop with the participation of FIPS examiners and RSAIP educators. Over 6 offline seminars were held for 360 persons at the Center’s site.

“Innovative Library as a Youth Center” – for remote users in Russian federal subjects. It is implemented in the form of webinars at the site of Russian State Library for Youth. 4 webinars were held (videos of them are freely available online): “Innovative Library as a Scientific Youth Center”, “IP. The Basic Concepts”, “TISCs as a Resource for Youth Scientific and Technological Development”, “Trademarks as a Tool for Youth Entrepreneurship Development”. They were viewed 1065 times in total in 2018.

Educational seminars on IP for youth and academics within the framework of Russian and international forums, conferences, project and technology schools with the participation of VPTB specialists and FIPS examiners. In 2018 seminars and workshops were held at third-party sites within the framework of 30 events including:

• “Ilyin Readings” Conference School (Federal Biomedical Agency, Moscow);
• XXI Moscow International Salon of Inventions and Innovative Technologies “Archimedes 2018” (Moscow);
• 45th International Youth Scientific Conference “Gagarin Readings” (Moscow, Moscow Aviation Institute);
• MY.TECH Technology Festival (Saint Petersburg);
• The Fourth International Professionals Forum “Book. Culture. Education. Innovations” (“Crimea 2018”, Sudak, Crimea);
• Volga Federal Okrug’s “iVolga” Youth Forum (Samara oblast);
• UniQuant Researchers and Inventors School (Gurzuf, Crimea);
• Ecodemia All-Russia Volunteer Camp (Irkutsk oblast);
• “Army 2018” International Military Technical Forum (“Patriot” Park, Moscow oblast);
• TISCs VI Congress (Saint Petersburg);
• All-Russia Scientific and Practical Conference “Electronic Resources and Technologies of Libraries, Museums, Archives: Modern Decisions, Innovations, Opportunities” (videoconference, Krasnoyarsk);
• The 3rd Biblioforum “Information Technology in Medical Libraries” (Moscow);
• “Patent School” international conference (“Skolkovo”, Moscow oblast);
• III All-Russian Rally of Young Inventors “Smart Alarm Clock” within the framework of “School Patent – Step to the Future!” international children’s project (Kazan);
• “Teaching IP” subregional seminar (Moscow);
• 22nd International Conference and Exhibition “LIBCOM 2018” (Suzdal);
• TISCs national seminar (FIPS, Moscow);
• XII Scientific and Practical Conference “History of Science and Technology. Museum Work” (Moscow);
• “Key Trends in Composites: Science and Technology” international forum (Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow);
• International engineering teams competition organized by New Forms of Education Development Foundation (Saint Petersburg);
• Business schools exhibitions within the framework of the “Step to the Future” program organized by Russian Youth Polytechnic Society in Togliatti, Krasnodar, Barnaul and Chelyabinsk.

In 2018 FIPS VPTB organized, held and/or took part in over 100 educational events with over 7,000 of participants from 14 Russian federal subjects of 7 Federal Okrugs in total, as well as with remote viewers from 65 Russian federal subjects.

VPTB assists with the updating, on a non-remunerated basis, of patent collections of patent documentation on optical disks in the regional organizations of the Russian Federation most actively involved in innovation processes. In 2017 2018, 21 12 disks with foreign patent periodicals were sent to the regions of Russia.

In 2018 FIPS project office developed the «Patent analytics» chapter for the ITMO University’s tutorial on managing intellectual property. Basing on the tutorial, ITMO University’s master’s degree program and supplementary professional education program will be formed. Block of educational programs connected with patent analytics will be read by FIPS project office specialists.

Within the framework of Rospatent’s XXII International Scientific and Practical Conference the «Training investors to assess innovation projects» business game for students was organized.

Project office held the «Modern patent analytics methods and instruments» thematic meeting for outer specialists. Project office’s practice of executing large projects of technological consulting on the base of patent analytics was presented during the meeting.

Also in the course of 2018 educating master classes were held in Rushydro, Rostelecom, Roscosmos companies and in Higher School of Economics.

In 2018 project office launched a program for creating a net of regional franchising patent analytics centers. In 2018 the first franchising center of project office of Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) in Yekaterinburg based on Tsarskaya Privilegia company was opened. The center completed two studies under the auspices of FIPS project office (Russian Export Center and Saint Petersburg Vodokanal). The patent landscape for Russian Export Center is freely available on the Internet.

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

Training of civil servants of Rospatent

The organization of additional professional education of federal civil servants of Rospatent in 2018 was conducted in accordance with the List of priority areas of professional development of civil servants, such as:

• modern technologies in public administration;
• socioeconomic development of the Russian Federation;
• effectiveness of control and supervisory activities;
• use of digital technologies in the socioeconomic sphere and public administration;
• regulatory and legislative activities.

In 2018, five civil servants of Rospatent completed a master's degree program on 04.04.01 “Jurisprudence”, a training profile “Legal Protection of Intellectual Property”. Of these, 3 graduates were trained in full-time education and 2 graduates in part-time education.

Advanced training of FIPS specialists

Organization of training and professional development of FIPS employees is carried out within the framework of the Unified Training System (UTS) on the principle of continuity, starting from the moment of employment. The provision of conditions for continuous professional development of employees is stipulated by the FIPS Charter.

The primary objective in 2018 was to continue the work on organizing classes for various categories of FIPS employees in connection with the issuance of new regulatory and legal acts regulating the rules and procedure for the provision of public services.

This was achieved through training employees according to the plans of professional training directly in FIPS subdivisions and centralized classes.

In accordance with the consolidated plans for internal training of employees approved by the Director of FIPS, in 2018, 18 centralized training sessions were held, in which 366 FIPS specialists took part. Also directly in the divisions of FIPS 368 sessions were organized. In 2018, the main focus of the classes was on studying the new provisions of regulatory acts relating to the provision of public services, changes to the Regulation on patent and other fees.

The system of expert staff continued to be trained in the use of computer databases selected for conducting information searches during the examination process, and the automated systems used in the work.

Advanced training of FIPS novice experts is held on a regular basis in the field of examination of inventions and utility models, as well as trademarks. Training is carried out with granting an appropriate certificate.

Organization of additional professional education of specialists of organizations in FIPS

In order to saturate the domestic economy with specialists with a high level of professional competence in the field of intellectual property, the management of Rospatent and FIPS decided to intensify educational activities of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property, given the high professional level of FIPS expert staff.

The implementation of additional professional programs is carried out on the basis of the license series 77Л 01 No. 0008944 (reg. No. 038110), given on December 19, 2016 by the Moscow Department of Education; educational activities have been carried out since 2017.

During the specified time, 20 advanced training programs and 1 professional retraining program were developed and approved at the STC sections aimed at improving the level of professional competence of IP employees.

Leading state intellectual property experts of FIPS, as well as well-known external practitioners are involved in teaching.

In order to coordinate the educational activities of FIPS, a Research and Education Center has been established.

In 2018, training was carried out on the basis of 1 professional retraining program “Legal protection of the results of intellectual activity and management of their rights” (in cooperation with AO SUEK), 22 diplomas on professional retraining were granted; under 21 professional development programs, 343 certificates of professional development, 42 certificates were issued. Total number of students in 2018: 421 people.

Cooperation with corporate customers - the institutions of Russian Railways, Gazprom, SUEK, Transneft and others is continued. In particular, in December 2018, offsite training was conducted for employees of Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy (Novy Urengoy, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District).

As part of the interstate cooperation of patent offices in November 2018, 3 representatives of the Patent Office of the Republic of Tajikistan were trained to study the experience of the Russian Federation. Also in November-December 2018, 20 specialists of the Eurasian Patent Office (citizens of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) were trained under the program “Patent Search” (24 academic hours.)

The main trend of further development of educational process in FIPS is the development of distance learning.

In December 2018, the educational process of the “Introduction to technology transfer” program was launched in the distance form, in 2019 it is planned to expand the list of such programs.

FIPS actively cooperates with the educational center “Sirius”, Rosatom, the regions of Russia in conducting training seminars and workshops, as well as being the base for conducting practical training for RGAIS students and other leading universities in Russia.

In 2018, Rospatent was involved in organizing and holding five Russian exhibitions and two international exhibitions of inventions and innovations in six regions of the Russian Federation. Overall, more than 4,000 people from various regions of the Russian Federation attended the conferences, seminars and round tables held during 2018.

In 2018, the following international and scientifically-practical conferences of Rospatent were organized and held in Moscow:

1. April 16–17 - I International Conference “Digital Transformation: Intellectual Property and Blockchain Technologies”;
2. April 27 - Scientific and Practical Conference of Rospatent “Innovation Potential of Russia”;
3. April 6 - International Scientific and Practical Conference “Actual Issues of Inventive and Patent-Licensing Activities”;
4. September 19–20 – XXII International Conference of Rospatent “Intellectual Property in Innovative Economy”.

In 2018, in the regions of Russia, with participation of FIPS specialists, 4 regional scientific and practical conferences of Rospatent on the topic “Actual issues of legal protection and use of the results of intellectual activity” were organized and held.

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

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

http://new.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 2018.:

http://new.fips.ru/about/vptb-otdelenie-vserossiyskaya-patentno-tekhnicheskaya-biblioteka/tematicheskie-vstrechi/tematicheskie-vstrechi-provedennye-v-2018-g.php

 - conferences and seminars in the regions of the Russian Federation in 2018:

http://new.fips.ru/about/deyatelnost/konferentsii-seminary/plany-provedeniya/2018.php

- a training video, Preparing an application for registration of an invention:

https://youtu.be/_dFAA_OoaXI 

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 VPTB Division of FIPS 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 2018 VPTB of FIPS has received:

- 5,811,330 copies of full descriptions of foreign patent documents electronically (of which 543,327 documents were received on optical disk, and 5,268,003 were downloaded from foreign patent office websites or Internet resources) from 18 countries and 3 organizations; 14 annual sets of invention descriptions on optical disks.

- 1,633 copies of Gazettes containing information on inventions were received in all formats from 43 countries: 63 paper copies; 149 copies on optical disks; and 1,421 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 VPTB and the information and education services of the WIPO information division, as a WIPO Depository Library, VPTB has since 2009 received one copy, in English and Russian, of every new WIPO publication free of charge.

In 2018, Rospatent, acting as a Receiving Office, transferred 939 registered copies of international applications and 695 certified copies of priority applications to WIPO electronically by means of PCT-EDI, without sending paper copies. 

In 2018, 3,924 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 54 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 order to keep the State patent collection up to date, the VPTB Division of FIPS 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 2018 VPTB of FIPS has received:

- 5,811,330 copies of full descriptions of foreign patent documents electronically (of which 543,327 documents were received on optical disk, and 5,268,003 were downloaded from foreign patent office websites or Internet resources) from 18 countries and 3 organizations; 14 annual sets of invention descriptions on optical disks.

- 1,633 copies of Gazettes containing information on inventions were received in all formats from 43 countries: 63 paper copies; 149 copies on optical disks; and 1,421 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 VPTB and the information and education services of the WIPO information division, as a WIPO Depository Library, VPTB has since 2009 received one copy, in English and Russian, of every new WIPO publication free of charge.

In 2018, Rospatent, acting as a Receiving Office, transferred 939 registered copies of international applications and 695 certified copies of priority applications to WIPO electronically by means of PCT-EDI, without sending paper copies. 

In 2018, 3,924 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 54 of the international preliminary examination reports to WIPO electronically by means of ePCT.

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 2018, 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:

http://www.rupto.ru/ru/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.