Annual Technical Report 2002 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Serbia and Montenegro (SCIT/ATR/TM/2002/YU)
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I. Evolution of registration activities
NOTE: The two-letter country code YU should be used for Serbia and Montenegro, formerly Yugoslavia, until the ISO 3166/MA has taken a final decision and the Standards and Documentation Working Group of the Standing Committee on Information Technology reaches a decision concerning the revision of WIPO Standard ST.3 and the two-letter code to represent Serbia and Montenegro.
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In comparison with 2001, the total number of trademark applications filings in 2002 decreased by 14,7%, from 7,181 applications in 2001 to 6,125 in 2002. At the same time, the number of trademark applications filed under the Madrid Agreement decreased by 16,22%, from 5,319 applications in 2001 to 4,456 in 2002.
On the other hand, the Trademark Department granted 4,678 registrations in 2002 against 5,432 in 2001.
See Tables I and II of the attached document on Filed Trademark Applications and Registered Trademark Applications, respectively.
On December 31st, 2002, in Yugoslavia, there were 143,770 registered and valid trademarks, including 15,266 trademarks that entered in the national register and 128,504 trademarks registered through the Madrid Agreement.
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
The Federal Intellectual Property Office (henceforward “Office”), on the basis of Trademark Law, publishes its official gazette, the Intellectual Property Journal. The Intellectual Property Journal is published bi-monthly, 6 times a year in 300 copies.
The Intellectual Property Journal, in the part referring to trademarks, is prepared by means of computer. Information from the trademark data base are transferred to a text processor automatically, then minimal technical preparation follows and the text is sent to printing. The following information and bibliographical data concerning registered trademarks are published in the Intellectual Property Journal – registration number, application number, filing date, registration date, date of granted priority right, validity date, information on the holder of title, information on whether the sign has been registered. Trademarks are published in grayscale technique. In 2002, 889 registered trademarks were published.
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information
Nothing to report.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
In the Office, it is not possible to search manually the signs, because all searches are done by computer.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
A database consisting of applications and registered rights was developed and is kept on one server. The database consists of the following information: application number, filing date, registration number, registration date, date of the granted priority right, date of the expiration of validity, name of the holder of right and address, name of the previous holder of right and address (if any), information concerning the representative, title of the sign (textual and a short description, if possible), numbers of the designated classes of goods and services, information on the holder of license, franchise, or pledge, notification where other necessary or useful information can be found (after the termination of procedure), the list of goods and services, graphical appearance of the sign (if any).
The database on trademarks is kept on a IBM server having this configuration – Board with PENTIUM 3/1.13GHz, 256 MB RAM, 3x36.4GB hard discs, 3½ floppy drive, COMBO drive, 17 inches color monitor, S3 Savage 4 video adapter, raid disc 9,1 GB for backup. The operating system is Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. The database is processed in Microsoft Access 97. Among other software packages, we use Microsoft Word 97 for text processing and desk-top publishing for the publication in the Intellectual Property Journal and we keep connection with the database for all documents and certificate publication (mail merge) and we use Micrographical Picture Publisher 6 for scanning and processing of figurative trademarks.
The LAN consists of 12 PCs (the above mentioned computer works as a server with another 8xPentium, 2xPentium 2, 1xPentium 3 and 1xPentium 4 working stations, and one 486 PC).
For the time being, there is no possibility of on-line access to the database for experts outside the Office in order to perform searches.
VI. Administration of trademark services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering trademarks, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
In comparison to the previous year, the Office made its trademark databases (national base and ROMARIN base) available to the public for search in the Office library. The mentioned bases are updated weekly.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
During 2002, the Official Gazette of the Federal Intellectual Property Office of Yugoslavia, “Intellectual Property Journal” was delivered to the following countries:
AM, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CO, CU, CZ, DK, DZ, EG, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IN, IT, JA, LI, LT, LY, MK, NL, NO, PL. RO, RU, SE, SI, TR, UA, US.
The Office received gazettes from the following countries: AM, AT, BG, BR, BY, CH, CZ, DE, FR, GB, HR, HU, JP, LT, MK, NO, PL, RO, RU, SI, TJ, TR.
VIII. Matters concerning education and training including technical assistance to developing countries
The Intellectual Property Office of Serbia and Montenegro organised many lectures concerning trademark legal protection in chambers of commerce, fair exibitions and some large companies.