CWS.ATR.PI.2011.HR

Annual Technical Report 2011 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Croatia (CWS/ATR/PI/2011/HR)

Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which are likely to remain stable over time (three years or more) are provided, or home (main) page URLs are provided with a short explanation of how to access the corresponding information.

The term "patent" covers utility models and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in their Annual Technical Reports on Industrial Design Information Activities.

I. Evolution of patent activities

Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants with respect to the previous year

Patent applications in 2011

National patent, applications
251 in 2011 -10% compared to 2010

International patent applications entering the national phase
10 in 2011 -29% compared to 2010

Foreign applications filed directly to SIPO
21 in 2011 0% compared to 2010

Patent applications filed by resident applicants
230 in 2011 -11% compared to 2010

Extended European patent applications (designation fee paid)
525 in 2011 +24% compared to 2010

International applications filed at SIPO as a RO
45 in 2011 +15% compared to 2010

Granted national patents
184 in 2011 +124% compared to 2010

Granted European patents with HR as designated state
734 in 2011 +73% compared to 2010

Consensual patents, registrations
87 in 2011 -33% compared to 2010

Number of valid national patents
3219 in 2011 +49% compared to 2010

Number of valid consensual patents
368 in 2011 -7% compared to 2010

Valid patents in 2011 by field of technology

28% organic chemistry
22% preparation for medical, dental or toilet purposes
7,5% transportation

Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year

In 2011, a total of 251 patent applications were filed with the Office, which represents a further decrease in the number of applications compared to the previous year for approximately 10%, and is the lowest annual number of patent applications ever filed with the Office.

During 2011, a total of 230 applications by resident applicants were filed, representing a decrease in the number of applications in relation to the previous 2010 by approximately 10%.

The number of resident legal persons (companies) that filed a patent application in 2011 is nearly identical to the number from 2010, while the number of natural persons as applicants decreased by approximately 11%. However, resident applicants are predominantly natural persons, which make a high 85% out of the total number of resident applicants.

As in the previous year, non-resident applicants filed a total of 21 applications, wherein the number of non-domestic legal persons as applicants (companies) continued the decreasing trend, started when the Republic of Croatia firstly acceded to the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Patents (Cooperation and Extension Agreement) and then to the European Patent Organization. In 2011, the number of non-domestic legal persons as applicants was almost exactly identical to the number of non-domestic natural persons as applicants.

Equally so, the number of international PCT applications that entered into the national phase of procedure in the Republic of Croatia was lower in 2011 as compared to the previous year, with only 10 applications filed.

The number of requests for the extension of European patent applications to the Republic of Croatia on the basis of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Patents (Cooperation and Extension Agreement) between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the European Patent Organization, in force from 2004 to 2008, published in the EPO Bulletin during 2011, was 525, which is 31% more compared to the last-year’s 401 request.

In 2011, the number of requests for entry of the extended European patents according to the same Agreement was 375, which is almost identical to the number of such requests in the previous year, when there were 376. The number of requests for entry of European patents on the basis of the European Patent Convention has risen as expected, reaching 364 requests, which is an increase of 372% compared to 77 such requests in the previous year.

In 2011, 45 international applications according to the PCT were filed with the Office as a receiving office, making an increase of 15% compared to the previous year.

According to technical field, the majority of applications of resident applicants filed in 2011 were in the following IPC classes: E01-E06 (fixed constructions) 11%, A61 (preparations for medical, dental or toilet purposes) 10%, G01-G12 (measuring) 9.6%, B60-B68 (transportation) 7%, A41-A47 (personal or domestic articles or appliances) 8.2% and F01-F04 (machines or engines) 7.8%.

According to technical field, the majority of applications of non-resident applicants directly filed with the Office in 2011 were in the following IPC classes: C07 (organic chemistry), E01 - E06 (fixed constructions) and F01 - F04 (machines or engines), 14% of applications from each class.

The largest number of patent applications by non-residents filed directly with the Office, considering the total number of patent applications, was filed by applicants from the countries of the EU (4%).

During 2011, a total of 1005 patents entered into the register, out of which 271 (27%) patents granted via the national route and 734 (73%) European patents with effect in the Republic of Croatia. The total annual number of patents entered into the register is by approximately 60% higher compared to the previous year. The number of patents granted via the national route increased by 28% and the number of European patents by 72%.

Considering the structure of the holders of European patents entered into the register of rights, non-resident legal persons make as much as 95%, while there is not a single resident legal or natural person among the holders.

At the end of 2011, a total of 3219 patents were valid in the Republic of Croatia, out of which 368 consensual patents. Compared to the previous year, the total number of patent rights is higher by approximately 25%.

As per technical field, the majority of the valid patents are in IPC classes C07 (organic chemistry) 28%, A61 (preparations for medical, dental or toilet purposes) 22% and B60-B68 (transportation) 7.5%.

In 2011 the number of requests for declaration of invalidity of a patent remained low in proportion to the number of granted patents (3 requests).

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to patents

http://www.dziv.hr/en/about-sipo/ip-statistics

Monthly official Gazette published on web pages of SIPO Croatia provides statistics:

http://www.dziv.hr/en/the-croatian-intellectual-property-gazette/archives

II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, distribution and use of primary and secondary sources of patent information

Publishing, printing, copying (main types of publications of the Office in the field of patent information, etc.)

Since May 2009 the Office no longer publishes the Gazette on paper but only electronically. Current issue and archive of all issues since May 2009 are available free of charge at the Office's web site. Upon order and against payment Office provides issues of the Gazette on digital carrier.
Official Gazette contains the following published information on patents: Patent Applications, Request for the Grant of a Patent on the Basis of the Implementation of the Substantive Examination Procedure of Patent Applications, Request for the Grant of a Patent on the Basis of the submitted Results of the Substantive Examination Procedure of Patent Applications, Request for the Grant of a Patent without the Substantive Examination of Patent Applications (Consensual Patents), Patents Granted, Consensual Patents Granted, Record of Changes to the Register of Patent Applications, Record of Changes to the respective Register, Lapse for Patents/Consensual Patents, Declaration of Nullity for Patents, Corrections of Data to Published Patent Applications, Requests for the Extension of European Patent Applications, Revoked Requests for Extension of the European Patent Applications, Extended European Patents, Lapse for European Patents, Corrections of Data to Published European Patents.

http://www.dziv.hr/en/e-services/the-croatian-intellectual/

Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of patent information

Office notices are published in the Official Gazette, as well as on the Office’s web site.
In the Official Gazette (HGIV – Hrvatski glasnik intelektualnog vlasništva) SIPO publishes announcements of issued patent documents (bibliographic data and abstracts), and published European patent applications with extended to Croatia (bibliographic data).
The Annual Report of SIPO with statistics is bilingual and available on the Office’s web site.

Mass storage media used (paper, microforms, optical storage, etc.)

The bibliographic data are stored in Ingres 9.3.1 database and patent documents are stored in a LINUX network file directory.
The Office maintains a complete history of its patent files in paper form and all information for patent applied from 2000 to date in electronic form.

Word processing and office automation

All staff use MS-Word 2003 for word-processing that is operating in a Windows XP Professional environment. Each staff member has its own personal workstation at which different software tools (applications) are available. Most common office tools are available to each staff member, whereas specialised software tools are available depending of the type of work and responsibilities.

Outgoing letters and SIPO’s gazette are fully automated and generated in MS Word. It is also possible to generate numerous automated reports in MS Excel or MS Word.

(New) techniques used for the generation of patent information (printing, recording, photocomposing, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), etc.)

The bibliographic data are stored in the SIPO’s database via the application “Patent’s Register” (which is developed in INGRES OpenROAD application development tool). All patent documents and relevant images are stored on network discs in a doc and a pdf format (which are LINUX file directories).
Output documents and SIPO’s gazette are produced from automated MS Word templates.
Most of the outgoing letters (communications with the applicants) are MS Word templates that consist of the standardized text. Data, which are changeable and depend on the application/publication number, are retrieved from the SIPO’s database via ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity).

All data published in SIPO's Gazette are formatted and followed by the INID codes according to the WIPO standards.

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online publication of patent documents and gazettes, and to other primary and secondary sources of patent information, including patent publication servers and download of bulk patent data

Current issue of the Office Gazette and archive of all issues since May 2009 are available at:

http://www.dziv.hr/en/e-services/the-croatian-intellectual/

Free of charge searchable data base containing published information on patents applied for or granted is available at:

http://www.dziv.hr/en/e-services/on-line-database-search/patents/

A range of search options is available, including: Publication Number; Title; Publication Date; IPC; Inventor; Applicant; Applicant(State); Title In English; Filing Date; Date And Number Of Earlier Application from the former FPO); Priority Number By State, Application Number And Application Date; International Filing Date; International Application Number; International Publication Date; International Publication Number; Attorney (Representative, Agent); Abstract.

III. Matters concerning abstracting, classifying, reclassifying and indexing of technical information contained in patent documents

Abstracting, reviewing, translating

Titles of all national applications are translated into English language and used for on-line database, offered by SIPO.

Classification¹, preclassification² (if applicable), and reclassification³ activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC), other classification (please indicate whether or not patent documents are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)

Published patent applications and granted patents are classified by the Office according to the latest version of IPC.

The indexing schemes are not used by the examiners when classifying patent documents

The reclassification has been done regularly following the changes in the IPC. Last reclassification has been carried out according to the latest IPC Validity file (201101).

Coordinate indexing (domestic deep indexing systems, keyword indexing)

N/A

Hybrid system indexing

N/A

Bibliographic data and full-text processing

SIPO maintains on-line database containing bibliographic data and abstracts of all published patents in Croatian language. So far, there were no actions toward full-text processing.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

Croatian search documents are sent to the EPO to be included into the EPO data systems. Examiners search national Register for national patent documentation. Outside customers can use Espacenet.

Updating

The search file is continuously developing and updating. Updates are sent monthly to the EPO.

Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file

EPO’s Epoque-system is the main source of foreign documentation.
Furthermore, the Office receives certain foreign patent documents on CD and DVD. Official bulletins of foreign offices are mostly available in electronic format and used as such if required.

V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems

In-house systems (online/offline)

Patent search system is executed by electronic means. The database includes all national patent applications and granted patents, PCT, granted EP patents, and that is the only in-house system for searching.

External databases

The EPO develops and manages the patent search system Espacenet (http://worldwide.espacenet.com/). This system, which is public and available free of charge on the internet, contains some 70 million patent documents from 90 countries. SIPO makes hr.espacenet (http://hr.espacenet.com/) version available through its website and manages the Croatian texts. On the start page, the Croatian help texts have been further simplified and extended. A manual for performing searches in hr.espacenet was published in brochure form in 2008.

Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)

All applications are developed in INGRES OpenROAD. SIPO uses an INGRES database. An application “Patent’s Register” is used for filing all bibliographic data concerning the particular patent application or granted patent. All patent changes (change of ownership, change of name, address, etc.) are recorded and are maintained by patent Register user interface.

Since year 2000 SIPO has developed its own document management system in electronic form that covers office needs (all incoming and outgoing documents have been scanned in Adobe Acrobat).

MS Word is used for automatic generation of output documents. MS Excel is used for (automatic) generation of specific reports, which are used, for annual SIPO’s report, WIPO annual statistics and for other purposes (improving patent processes).

Published patent data (applications/grants) can be searched at the SIPO’s Internet site http://www.dziv.hr/en/e-services/on-line-database-search/patents/ through the SIPO's web-server application (MS Windows 2003 server and mySQL database).

Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used

- 10Mbit/s leased line used for Internet connection, CISCO Network Equipment (LAN based on Fast Ethernet - 1000/100/10 Mbit/s).

- MICROSOFT environment:
- Servers: Fujitsu Siemens-Primergy RX 300/ OS - Win SERVER 2003 St. Ed. ; IBM System x 3650 / OS - Win SERVER 2008 ; Fujitsu RX300 S5 / OS Win SERVER 2008 R2 Enterprise.
- Workstations: Desktop-PC Pentium IV with WIN XP PROF., Notebooks – OS – MS WIN 7.
- MS Exchange 2010 Server Enterprise, ISA 2004 (proxy).

- Linux (Red Hat 5 Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform) - two cluster application: database and file sharing. Two server nodes ( type of cluster is fail over ) on Fujitsu Siemens-Primergy RX 600 Servers.
- SAN (storage area network) connected with fiber channel switches to server nodes and backup device. SAN is consists of two FiberCAT CX500 (EMC ) devices. Each of them has two-service processor and 10 disks in RAID-5 system (9 x 146 Gb FC disks + 1 x 146 Gb FC hotspare disk).
- Backup software is Backbone NetVault 7.1. Backup device is a MTC – 9084-221 FC (tape library) with two LTO 2 tape drives and 21 slot tape robot connected to fiber channel switch. Also the library offers a mail slot for exchanging offsite/onsite tapes. Total capacity installed on MTC library is 4 Tb of uncompressed data.

VI. Administration of the industrial property office library, and information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, for assisting clients on searching procedures, for obtaining official publications and registry extracts)

Planning, administration, automation, security, buildings

The SIPO library operates within the IP Information Centre (INCENTIV). The collections contain over 1050 books, 70 Croatian and foreign periodicals available to the readers, all specialized in IP. The library is open to the public Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, except Thursday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. A multifunctional public reading room is an integral part of the INCENTIV.

Collection management, preservation

Office's IP Information Centre (INCENTIV) is charged with the task of maintaining the library. The books and periodicals are catalogued in the internal database which is listed in the intranet of the Office (available for the staff only).

Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and patent information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)

Office's Intellectual Property Information Centre (INCENTIV) - a member of the EPO Patlib centers network - provides a range of patent information services. This includes free of charge customer support such as:
• information concerning patent applications filing,
• general legal matters regarding patents,
• details of registration procedures,
• telephone queries,
• procedural information etc.

Customer support is available by phone, e-mail (info@dziv.hr) or personal visit. In the library reading room customers can search public (free of charge) patent databases, whereby support by INCENTIV staff is available. Registry extracts, as well as copies of the file contents, are available upon written request and payable in advance


Commercial patent information search services (upon charge) by Office specialists are also available upon order. Office’s IP Information centre offers to the customer patent search services such as novelty search, FTO (freedom to operate) search, infringement search, technology and competition watch.
As a part of the joint pilot project of the national IP offices members of the EPO the IP Prediagnostic service (sort of IP audit) for SMEs,is offered to a limited number of SMEs.
SIPO operates public patent database hr.espacenet (as a national portal to the EPO's Espacenet service) at its web-site. General information on IP and related services are available at:
INCENTIV - Intellectual Property Information Centre
Phone: +385 1 610 98 25; fax: +385 1 611 20 17;
e-mail: info@dziv.hr

http://www.dziv.hr/en/sipo-information-services/information-centre/

The Office's website provides a wide range of information on IP, including basic information on IP rights, filing and registration instructions, fee information and full texts of legal documents. Access to the free of charge public database of the IP registrations at the Office is also available. There is also FAQ section which is regularly updated.
The Office provides a wide range of brochures and guides free of charge. They can be downloaded in PDF format from the Office's web site, picked up in the Information centre or sent upon request.

URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of patent applications

Electronic filing of patent applications is available on the:

http://www.dziv.hr/hr/e-usluge/e-prijava/ (in Croatian)

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide information on business procedures such as: filing, publication, examination and grant procedures related to patents; opposition and appeal procedures related to patents; etc.

http://www.dziv.hr/en/intellectual-property-protection/patents/the-application-process/ (in English)


http://www.dziv.hr/hr/intelektualno-vlasnistvo/patenti/ (in Croatian)

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., patent search service(s) and patent databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them

Commercial Search Services:
http://www.dziv.hr/en/sipo-information-services/search-services/


On line database search:
http://www.dziv.hr/en/e-services/on-line-database-search/patents/

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

International or regional cooperation in the exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., bibliographic data, abstract and/or full text information

The Office sends bibliographic and legal status information of patent applications and patents to the EPO monthly.

Medium used for exchange of priority documents

Priority documents can be exchanged only in paper form.

Medium allowed for filing applications

Applications can be filed in paper and in e-form.

VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)

Training courses for national and foreign participants, use of audiovisual means

Through the dedicated Section for Education and Development of IP Use (IP Academy), the Office provides a range of internal and external training activities, organized in collaboration with national and international organizations.

Main training events organised in 2011:
- The series of seminars Intellectual property for scientists.
- The series of seminars for the members of Enterprise Europe Network.
- Fourth WIPO Summer School on Intellectual Property in Croatia, in collaboration with WIPO and University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, 30. 05. - 10. 06. 2011. (for academic institutions, R&D, young professionals)

SIPO also held several presentations on patent protection for domestic applicants, inventors, academic institutions and industry outside the Office premises.

The complete list of trainings and seminars for external users organised and delivered by SIPO in 2011 is as follows:


- Seminar Intellectual property – visit to State Intellectual property Office, for the students of Law Faculty, University of Zagreb, 17. 01. 2011.
- Seminar IP & Medicine, for the foreign students of the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 11. 02. 2011.
- Presentation Advantages of the use of patent information in research and development, XXII Croatian Meeting of Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Zagreb, 13. - 16. 02. 2011.
- Workshop Retrieval and use of IP information, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, 21. 02. 2011.
- Presentation Intellectual property – why to protect and how to use?, Economic Forum of Histria 2011, Pula, 27. 04. 2011., Histrian Development Agency
- Seminar Industrial property and protection of inventions, for entrepreneurs, students and faculty staff, Transfer Technology Office, University of Split, 19. 05. 2011. Seminar has been held in the framework of collaboration of State Intellectual Property Office with members of Enterprise Europe Network.
- Seminar Intellectual property in small and medium size enterprises, for entrepreneurs, BICRO, Zagreb, 24. 05. 2011. Seminar has been held in the framework of collaboration of State Intellectual Property Office with members of Enterprise Europe Network.
- WIPO Croatia Summer School, Dubrovnik, 30. 05.-10. 06. 2011., collaboration of WIPO, State Intellectual Property Office and University of Dubrovnik.
- Six seminars Intellectual property for scientists, Institute Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, 28. 06., 06. 07., 13. 07., 30. 09., 07. 10. i 19. 10. 2011.
- Seminar OS24-2011 External corporate communication for IP Offices: patents and society, EPO and State Intellectual Property Office, Zagreb, 29 06 – 01 07 2011.
- Seminar Basics of intellectual property for scientists, for students and staff of the University of Osijek, Tera tehnopolis, 27. 09. 2011. Seminar has been held in the framework of collaboration of State Intellectual Property Office with members of Enterprise Europe Network.
- Workshop Searching in registered IP data base and its role in the scientific research. Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 29. 09. 2011.

- Presentation Wind energy technology monitoring in patent documents, SEM2011, Towards sustainable technologies, Zagreb 26.-28.10.2011.
- Workshop Patent information and searching of patent databases, for entrepreneurs, BICRO, Zagreb, 14. 12. 2011. Seminar has been held in the framework of collaboration of State Intellectual Property Office with members of Enterprise Europe Network.
- Seminar Basics of intellectual property for small and medium size entrepreneurs, Tera tehnopolis, Osijek, 16. 12. 2011. Seminar has been held in the framework of collaboration of State Intellectual Property Office with members of Enterprise Europe Network.

Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)

Trainings organised in 2011:
• Patent procedures, Training for the employees of IP Office of the Republic of Montenegro, SIPO Zagreb, 02.-06.05. 2011.

Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)

SIPO organizes different promotional activities according to the annual plans. Among others, it provides lectures and workshops at universities and national fairs to increase general IP knowledge in order to facilitate an efficient use of industrial property rights in the practical business, and to inform future decision makers about the instruments of intellectual property. SIPO also organizes information stands at major fairs and exhibitions of innovations. In cooperation with different partners it also organizes public exhibitions aimed at promoting inventiveness and creativity.


Exhibitions in 2011:

AGRO ARCA 2011 – Exhibition of innovations, new ideas, products and technology, Slatina, 6 to 8 May.2011

ARCA 2011 – Exhibition of innovations, Zagreb, 12 to 15 October 2011.

CROPAK2011 – Trends in packaging industry, Zagreb, 5 to 6 May 2011.

SASO2011 – International fair, Split, 19 to 23 October 2011.

Studies to identify trends in new technology, e.g., by the use of patent statistics and preparation of monographs

N/A

Assistance furnished by offices to facilitate the changing over of receiving offices to electronic data carriers for the exchange of patent documents (see also fourth sub-item of item VI, above)

N/A

IX. Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:

provide information on legislation related to patents

http://www.dziv.hr/en/ip-legislation/national-legislation/patents/

contain the Annual Report of the Office

http://www.dziv.hr/en/about-sipo/annual-report/archive/

contain patent-related news regarding the Office

http://www.dziv.hr/en/news/

X. Other relevant matters