Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2024 submitted by Norwegian Industrial Property Office

Please provide links to your website where the requested information can be found in English, French, or Spanish.  Alternately, you may provide text responses instead of URLs if desired.  If the information is not available on your website in an ATR language, then please provide text.

URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of Trademark information activities and expected time frames for their realization:

• The Digital Strategy 2020 - 2025 evaluation and activity for renewal of strategy according to the WIPO Recommendations (Final by 2025)
• Else; see strategy and annual report.

New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plan mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, task:

• Generative AI infrastructure and Rag/Fine tuning projects (End by 2025)
• ComperaA: Goods and services comparison and mark up functdionality improved, with AI under test. (To be completed in 2025)
• New OP-case workflow (Oppositon type cases; migration from Documentum to MS workflow)

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

• Continued harmonization of practises with EUIPO (CP14 closed, and CP15 started)
• ECP Working group meeting on Classification.
• Team organization of Digitalization Dept. (Continuous)
• Generative KI project started with focus on Tradmark processing and letter content harmonization
• Cloud infrastructure (Azure)
• Legal Status extract and database for Trademark
• Digital Gazette for Trademark
• Open data API for Trademark
• Altinn 3 migration (National platform for secure electronic filing and correspondences)

Statistisk: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to prevous year, trends oare ares experiencing rapid changes: 

Trends

• A small decrease in national applicatoins.
• Continued reduction in international designations to Norway.
• The number of decisions is approximate at same good level, and the backlog is smallest in 10 years
• The time for processing national application was also reduced from 4,3h to 3,8h. in average.
• Average time from filing to decision for national applicatoin is now 2.2 months (2,6 montsh in 2023)

Other matters and useful links (URLs) Annual Reports of the office, news page, statistics, etc: 

• Annual report: (Annual reports are only in Norwegian)
• Office strategy 
• Patent statistics from NIPO
• About NIPO

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) – URLs
  • Overview of digital services
• Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
  • Search.patentstyret.no

• Matters concerning classifying        
  
  • Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied
    • Acsepto v11: Wienna coding of images, word and verbal coding, image indexing, and search features thereof.
    • NICE, HDB (EUIPO), National preaccepted terms, 
• Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)
  • NIPO allows filing of 3D, feeling- , hologram- and multimedia marks. The non traditional marks are published in the gazette. 
  • NIPO recommends 2D images filed along 3Ds and multipemdia. 

III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Main types of publications in the field of trademark information, outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URLs)
  • The publication is perfomed through gazette and online dossier, wich is complete for all trademarks in force
  • The dossier inludes hallmarks
• Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online – URL), etc.
  • Trademark Gazette is from 2024 and onwards only in digital format with optional PDF-rendition for download.
    • Dual language, except som register fields due to regulations
    • Weekly official publications, but all events are avabile in real time (coming possible gazette content)
    • Not availble on paper. Earlier gazettes only availble in Norwegian and only in weekly PDF.
  • The solution is cross domain database based on Legal Status event extract in real time, including event specific data.
• Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
  • Acsepto v11 for Trademark, classification, coding and search, including image search
  • Pending project: ComparA classification comparison assistant (cross languages)
• Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
  • Full bibliographic dossier for all filed applications and rights with all incoming and outgoing correspondence, including all decisions that are related to the application or right (se link above) Free of charge
  • Image search, access to preapproved terms of classification, free of charge
  • Renewal service with selectable online or payment transfer
• Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
  • From march 2024 onwards Legal Status events are produced according to standard, but in local JSON format
  • Pending action to open the trademarklegal status event record database as Open Data by 2025
• Other sources
  • Planned integration to GDD and GBD by 2025
  • Full member of TMView and Designview: weekly update
  • CTI integration for TMVeiw and Designview is  under planning (

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office:  general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements

  • All infrastructure off prem (data center) 100% except for network capabilities and work stations.
    200+ local servers (virtual included). Redundancy, off site backup. Secure home office availability.

  • Some main technologies: VMWare, MS.Net, Oracle, Documentum, MS.Azure, Citrix Workspace

  • Standard workstation is laptop, docking, 49" widescreen monitor. Providing up to dual monitor home office.

• Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
  • Off site colocation server racks.
  • Some main technologies: VMWare, MS.Net, Oracle, Documentum, MS.Azure, Citrix Workspace, Elasitc Search
• Internal databases:  coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources
  • Trademark register and dossier coverage: Complete for all trademarks in force, complete register of applicaiton since approximately 1985.
• Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file:  file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
  • Search file based on structured data and full text indexes (Elastic Search), and Oracle databases,
  • Acsepto (by Coexya) for tradmeark with image coding and search, jpeg and png-file formats
  • Acsepto additional 3D file, video and sound support
• Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
  • Ptolemy, SDU ++ (by Coexya, France)
  • Acsepto (Coexya) for Trademark
  • Unit4 ERP
  • Plus integrations
• Other matters

  • Digital service portfolio (By NIPO developers):

    • Register search on updated copy database, with user selected alerts
    • Legal status event export (march 2024 onwards)
    • Digital gazette publication (march 2024 onwards)
    • Open data management (2024: pending test)
    • Customer portfolio /dossiers with self service (require secure authentication)
    • Altinn filing services  Filing, forms, correspondence, roles, user inbox (Migration to Altinn III continues)
    • Altinn Customer message inbox (all incoming and outgoing forms) (Migration started)
    • Real time statistics
    • ComperA (Comparison of appliead goods and services versus findings from search)
    • Product finder (TM)
    • Guided application filing (for non-professionals)
    • Online payment (annual fees, renewal, partial renewals) calculation, due dates, CC or bank transfer.
    • The harmonized DB of preaccepted goods and services (EUIPO) 

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

GJENSTÅR! ALT

• Office’s library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
  • Online search and dossier, customer desk services, call center: Winner of best public office call center in Norway 2024 (5th in row)
• Publications related to different business procedures and trademark information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
  • Web page with training content and guides.
• Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
  • Cooperation with several Universities (programs, educations)
• Education and training:  training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
  • On site training courses for agents and professionals (fee of charge)
  • Extensive program of lecures (online) and training sessions during industry exibitions (free of charge)
  • Active stands during exhibitions
  • Active contributer to others program within industry
• Other activities
  • Cooperation on information and activites with Customs on anti-counterfeit action
  • Large focus on Social Media platforms

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

• International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)
  • Full member of TMView (EUIPO)
  • Pending project for full register in Global Brand Database (By 2025)
  • Various exports of data for IP community (expecting soon to be replaced by open data)
• Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to trademark information
  • Active in the Madrid Working Group
  • Broad and active participation in CWS and CWS task forces, active in WIPO Conversations
  • Supporter og ICT Road Map Meeting
  • Supporter of WIPO initiatives for ICT Strategey Best Practise and extended ICT focus under the WIPO umbrella 
  • Initiatives for a Nordic ICT forum for cooperation
  • Various projects with EUIPO on TMView and Designview
  • Active members in many EPO projects
  • Observator in several projects for distributed register, digital wallets, digital national currencies
• Assistance to developing countries
  • Support of pending WIPO programs. Not any direct activity within 2024

VII. ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WIPO STANDARDS CONCERNING TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Note: For each Standard listed below, please enter one of the following values: 

• "Implemented";
• "On implementation phase";
• "Planning to implement";  and
• "No plan to implement"

WIPO Standard ST.3: Two-letter codes for the representation of states, other entities and organizations

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.13: Numbering of applications for IPRs

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.60: Bibliographic data relating to marks

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.61: The exchange of trademark legal status data 

Implemented

All mapped events is publised according to ST.61 to a record database, base for the trademark gazette.
Plan to give API access to full collecdtion of events by 2025.
Identified some points of non-compliance and some points of improvement in event resoulution.

WIPO Standard ST.63: Content and layout of trademark gazettes

Implemented

Currently INID codes not provided due to dual language interface (INID under evaluation)

WIPO Standard ST.66: Processing of trademark information using XML

No plan to implement

WIPO Standard ST.67: Electronic management of the figurative elements of trademarks

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.68: Electronic management of sound marks

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.90: Recommendation for processing and communicating Intellectual Property data using Web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)

Planning to implement

WIPO Standard ST.91: Recommendations on digital three-dimensional (3D) models and 3D images

Implemented

WIPO Standard ST.96: Processing of Industrial Property information using XML

Planning to implement

Export to ST.96 v Recods is planned. Currently planned open data with ST.97 v5 register data on test for Open Data

Other WIPO Standards Related to Trademarks

Note: Please list any other WIPO Standards related to trademarks (not mentioned above) that your Office or Organization has implemented, is currently in the process of implementing, or plans to implement in the future.  For each Standard, please indicate the implementation status with an option: Implemented, On implementation Phase or Planning to Implement.

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VIII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS 

https://www.patentstyret.no/en