Annual Technical Report 2004 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina (SCIT/ATR/PI/2004/BA)
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
The Institute for Standardization, Metrology and Patents was established in October 1992. Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the former Yugoslav Law on industrial property protection with some changes. This Law on patents and distinctive signs was published in the official Gazette on June 9, 1994.
On August 3, 2001 The Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the new Law for establishing our Institute. The name of Institute was changed. The new name is Institute for Standards, Metrology and Intellectual property of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Patent Department is the part of the Institute.
The new Law on industrial property protection was adopted on January 17, 2002 and was published in the official Gazette on February 19, 2002. This Law entered into force on February 27, 2002 and started to apply six months counted from that date. (December 2003)
The new patent law is harmonized with TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and the European Patent Convention.
In 2004, our office received 347 applications for invention, out of which 59 applications were from national applicants and 288 from foreign applicants.
22 patents were granted in 2004.
The numbers of patent applications for the period between 1993 and 2003 are shown in the following table (Attached document- pa and pct tables.doc)
In 1996 Bosnia and Herzegovina became a party to the PCT Convention.
The numbers of PCT patent applications in Bosnia and Herzegovina as designated state for the period between 1997 and 2004 are shown in the following table (Attached document- pa and pct tables.doc).
The Institute as Receiving office sent 30 PCT patent applications. The International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority for our patent applications is EPO.
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, distribution and use of primary and secondary sources of patent information
The Institute for Standards, Metrology and Intellectual property of Bosnia and Herzegovina issues the official Gazette »Glasnik«. The Gazette is issued four times a year, every three months. In this official Gazette bibliographical data, abstract and technical drawings (one characteristic drawing) for patent applications are published. Some other relevant information regarding industrial property protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina are also published in the official Gazette.
III. Matters concerning abstracting, classifying, reclassifying and indexing of technical information contained in patent documents
All patent documentation is classified according to the IPC classification (6 edition of IPC).
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
The patent documentation is of paper kind and is kept in the Patent Department. The documentation is updated continuously.
We do not make the search reports.
V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems
There are two patent experts. They have their own PC station and they are connected into a LAN. Everyday work is based on the following software: Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. The database of filed patent applications and the granted patents are developed within Microsoft Access.
VI. Administration of the industrial property office library 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)
In the Information Center of the Institute there are patent literature and all kinds of non-patent literature as well as Official Gazettes from many countries available to the public free of charge. In addition, all information regarding patent documentation, at present not available in the Information Center, can be obtained via the Institute.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information
The Institute has an agreement for exchange of patent documentation with some other Patent Offices.
The Institute receives the following CD-ROMs, which are available to the public in the Information Center:
1. ESPACE ACCESS CD-ROM, EP-A and WIPO
2. ESPACE WORLD CD-ROM, WO
3. ESPACE ACCESS-EUROPE CD-ROM (Patent bibliographic data from 6 patent offices, PIIE, NIPO/BIE, ECO/SPI, IGE/IPI, The Patent Office INPI)
4. ESPACE SI CD-ROM, Slovenian Patent Documents
5. GLOBALPAT CD-ROM (Text and drawings from patent first pages, US, WIPO, EPO, GB, DE, FR and CH)
6. JPO CD-ROM, Patent abstracts of Japan
7. WIPO HANDBOOK CD-ROM
8. WIPO IPC CD-ROM
CLASS (from the 6th edition of IPC)
CATCHWORD indexes and revision Concordance tables from the 2,3,4,5 and 6 edition of IPC.
The official gazette »Glasnik« issued by the Institute is regularly sent to the following countries: AT, AZ, CA, HR, EE, DE, HU, CZ, JP, NL, LV, AL, SK, SI and MK.
The Institute receives gazettes and annual reports from the following countries: HR, SI MK, LT, TJ, UA and NL.
VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries
The staff from the Institute have attended some training courses and participate in the seminars organized and paid by WIPO, EPO and other Patent Offices. Since we have a finance problem we are not able to send our patent examiners to attend necessary training which is not paid.
IX. Other relevant matters
The European Patent Office (EPO) has informed WIPO that, following the entry into force of agreements on cooperation in the field of patents between the European Patent Organisation and Bosnia and Herzegovina (on 1 December 2004), it is now possible, in respect of international applications filed on or after 1 December 2004, to extend such protection to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is recalled that Agreements between the European Patent Organisation and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) on the extension of the effects of European patent applications and patents entered into force on 1 December 2004, respectively. Under that agreement, it is possible to obtain patent protection in BA by requesting the extension of a European patent to BA. The extension procedure is also available, if the necessary requirements are met, via the PCT. Note that BA is not party to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and cannot be designated for a European patent (EP).
| 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. |