Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2014 submitted by Norwegian Industrial Property Office
I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization
Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) is a government authority organized under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
Main office goals:
- Handle applications on industrial rights with correct quality and within due time
- Contribute to IP awareness and knowledge in Norway
Main priorities:
- Customer orientation, efficiency and competence.
Strategic technical focus:
- Established case handling efficience project (2015->) to improve internal process and Tools
- Continue to improve and maintain the SANT Automation System for IP Case Management and registry handling
- Upgrade infrastructure where further virtualization of servers and Oracle databases, EMC Documentum, Microsoft servers and Citrix clients are central (2015)
- Continue to improve PPH cooperation (2015->)
- Integration to national registries for citizen birth number and company ID (Master Customer database).
- Focus towards improvement in participation with Nordic Patent Institute (pending)
- Enhanced tech cooperation with WIPO to ensure 100% electronic exchange (2015 - 2017)
- Improvements in reporting to EPO - all PT applications/rights (2015), legal status (2016)
- Implement electronic gazette publication (2017)
- Improve online surveillance services, online search and create online payment for annuities (by 2016)
- Create national archive (separate) live from production according to national standard (By 2017)
- Create and host the national anti-piracy information site (by 2015)
- - Improve international sharing of patent documents IPDL/DAS (2016->)
New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
- The London treaty was adopted in revised patent act: All applications can be filed in English, including national applications, and where at least prior to grant, only the claims are demanded translated to Norwegian. Valid for all PT application types and national customers, too.
- Project for online payment solution for annuities started. Project aim to allow direct online payment or payment order generation of all annuties regardless of type of IP-application/right.
- This project is a continuation of the current on line search service and the newly created surveillance service, where customer can make a portfolio and are warned when annuitiy is due, and for other events, such as change in legal status and new records/events in application or IP-right.
- Project for new national archive (time capsule) for IP system started
- New office overall project management system introduced
Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
2013
- Completed modernization of IP automation system to MS.Net 4.n platform (From 86 to 32 workflows for everything)
2014:
- Board of appeals becomes a separate public institute with dislocated office, see link below.
- The modernization and porting of the IP case management system to MS.Net (4.n) completed, in the 10th year of full production for system. From 96 to 33 workflows for all IP-handling.
- System changes to support London Treaty (English language in PT-rights).
- System changes to support the new act for registration of Pledge documents on Patents completed.
- Agreements with contractor for time-capsule archive for IP case handling was signed
- Scan production line replaced by Abbyy-recognition server and adaptations.
- New e-mail integration to create documents directly in IP case management system created.
- EDB-spirit for auto creation of EP-patents for national validation improved and upgraded.
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 % 2014
Filings
- Direct National 1070 1079 978 1065 1057
- Direct foreign applicant 162 187 153 146 95
- DO/EO PCT national appl. 28 33 31 36 55
- DO/EO PCT foureing appl. 548 475 403 502 363
Total filings 1 808 1 774 1 565 1 749 1 570
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- Granted patents 1631 1617 1310 1421 1415
- Refused patent applications 15 16 12 14 21
- Shelved/withdrawn 4173 3339 2083 2539 2156
- Total decisions 5 819 4 972 4 125 3 974 3 610
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- Validated EP -patents 117 758 1 432 2 093 2 556
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- Patent application backlog 18 464 16 128 14 217
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- Reduction in national filing, but within normal year to year variation
- Firm increase in EP-patent for validation in Norway (>20% increase)
- Substantial increase in duration of national patents for 2014: 2 years longer duration comparted to 1999.
- At end of 2014 there was 21 218 patents in force.
- Time to grant increasing due within specific technical fields (manpower issue). Time in average considered too long.
- Measured high customer satisfaction for patent examiniation.
- 20% increase in usage of public search services.
IP automation system SANT measured availability to 99.5%
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
NIPO homepage: http://www.patentstyret.no/en/
Annual Report NIPO:
NIPO public IP services
- homepage with Norwegian and English interface: https://search.patentstyret.no/
- Access to advanced IP search (cross-domain), general guides, e-filing redirector, statistics, access to international DBs
- Surveillance services with alert functions, classification assistant and "name check" (App),
- Pending development for direct payment (renewal) and customer interactivity.
Other related:
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
Filing information at
National filing and correspondence reception portal http://www.altinn.no
- NIPO provides link to national e-filing portal only available for national citizens or companies. Extensive info given in Norwegian
- Electronic filing of all types of IP applications, correspondences and requests , plus all correspondence received by Customer electronically through national portal http://www.altinn.no.
- Request of commercial services by NIPO: IP search, -evaluation and -surveillance services
NIPO allows filing on paper format, or combination with memory stick or ROM.
PDF-forms is available online at http://www.patentstyret.no/en/For-Experts/Trademarks-Expert/Forms-in-PDF-format/
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
The full dossier of open for public IP applications and IP granted rights, including EP-patents valid in Norway, are available at
The dossier contains
- all bibliographic data, legal and processing status,
- all publications, and all incoming and outgoing correspondences. The dossier contains also links to info about appeals etc.
- Individual documents – correspondence and certificates - may be downloaded.
- A downloadable PDF-document with summary of bibliographic data, image(s), legal status etc, may be created on demand per application/right.
Surveillance service for changes in dossier (Change in status, change in selected values, and New documents) can be activated by any user
Classification1, preclassification2 (if applicable), reclassification3 activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information
From end of 2014 the office has the ability to classify only using CPC.
Steps:
- Initial coarse classification is needed to select the group of or the individual examiner for examination (push task to officer within area)
- where first four positions are used, and where group or individual examiner are selected by use of IPC-range (or CPC-range).
- Prior to OPI publication, a detailed classification is performed via a specially developed CPC-code assignment function/assistant integrated in IP automation system SANT.
- The user browse, search and click/select the valid classes and set property and order.
- Through updated concordance list, each publication receives automatically the correct corresponding IPC-code including nature of code.
- Reclassification needs are identified via report, based on changes in CPC/IPC codes performed by same classification function.
- The database definition tables is built according to WIPO standard.
Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
NIPO do not translate documents.
- The Officer in charge has the means to modify abstract and title. o *
- NIPO allows filing of base documents in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, or in English.
- Publication only performed either fully in Norwegian language, or fully in English with additonal list of claims in Norwegian.
- For EP validated in Norway, only front page and Norwegian clams published (reference to EPO-publication).
By the London Treaty all documents may be filed in English, and only Claims translated to Norwegian prior to grant. For these. and for all where Customer requests, all communication with client will be in English. Title is translated to Norwegian, and key words may be attached to enhance searching.
Other activities
NA
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)
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Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.
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Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases
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Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
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Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
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Other sources
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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
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Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
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Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
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Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
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Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
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Other matters
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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
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Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
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Office's initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)
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Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
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Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
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Other activities
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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
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Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information
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Assistance to developing countries
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Other activities
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VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS
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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.