CWS.ATR.ID.2009.BG

Annual Technical Report 2009 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Bulgaria (CWS/ATR/ID/2009/BG)

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 expression "industrial designs" covers industrial designs and models. Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in this series of Annual Technical Reports.

I. Evolution of registration activities

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

295 applications for Industrial Designs were filled under the National route (280 in 2008), 292 of them were submitted by domestic applicants (270 in 2008) and 3 - from foreign applicants (10 in 2008).
35 applications were filled under The Hague Agreement (77 in 2008). 3 applications were filled by domestic applicants under the international route.
312 Industrial Designs were registered (362 in 2008). The domestic owners were 216 (290 in 2008) and the foreign owners were 48 (92 in 2008).

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

There is a slight increase in applications filled by domestic applicants under the National route. The comparison with the applications filled in the previous years shows a stable tendency for the total number of the applications for industrial designs to drop off.

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

http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=150

II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of industrial design documents and of secondary sources of industrial design information, i.e., official gazettes

Publishing, including printing, copying techniques and electronic printing

The information about applications and registered Industrial Designs is published monthly in the Official Bulletin of The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria (BPO).12 issues were published during the year. The Official Bulletin was published only on paper till N 4/2009 and from N 5/2009 is on electronic form (CDs)and it is available as pdf files via internet at the BPO’s website: www.bpo.bg.

Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information

Publications consist of bibliographic data, classification symbols and images of industrial designs applications and registrations. In the Official Bulletin were published the announcements of all entries in the State Industrial Design Register concerning the legal status: transfer of rights; change in name/address of owner; revocation of registration of Industrial design; invalidation of registration of Industrial design; termination of legal protection; renewal of the registration; licensing contracts;Industrial designs as a Pledge Objects; Industrial designs as a Security Objects;Industrial designs in Bankruptcy Proceedings

Mass storage media and microforms used

The dossiers on paper are stored in the Central Patent Library funds. The dossiers are stored according number of registration or according the application’s number (only for refused applications).

Databases and office automation

Registered designs are searchable in the BPO on-line database. It provides a range of search options including name of applicant or owner, Locarno classes, application filing date, registration date, application and registration number. For the publications in The Official Bulletin the data is extracted from the internal database IDIS.

URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online industrial design gazettes and to other sources of industrial design information, including download of bulk industrial design data

The Official Bulletin URL:
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=269
The public database URL:
http://www1.bpo.bg:8080/bpo_online/rd?login_now=1&page=split&searchMode=on&ord=0&dir=A&subCmd=IDesign

III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied

Classification and reclassification activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification (please indicate whether industrial designs are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)

Since January 1, 2009 the 9-th edition of the Locarno Classification is used. All registered designs were reclassified according to the 9-th edition.

Bibliographic data and processing

BPO maintains on-line searchable bibliographic data for Industrial Designs via internet tool “BPO On-line”.

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building

The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria maintains an Automation Database - IDIS, ID State Register and two paper files (archives):
-Dossiers of Registered Industrial Designs arranged by number of registration;
- Dossiers of the refused Industrial Designs applications arranged by application’s number.
A paper card file includes the bibliographic data and the graphical presentation of all expired registered industrial designs. The file is arranged according to the classes and subclasses of the Locarno Classification.

Updating

The updating of the files is regular depending on the number of registrations and refusals.

Storage, including mass storage media

BPO maintains all data concerning applications and registered industrial design on paper carrier (dossier).

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

WIPO "INTERNATIONAL DESIGNS BULLETIN" (WO);
OAMI- ONLINE- DATABASES;
Official bulletins with information about Industrial Designs are received from 12 foreign offices and are available in Central Patent Library.

V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs

In-house systems (online/offline)

The Office maintains the in-house search database of national applications and registered industrial designs - IDIS. The database is not accessible to the public but its structure corresponds to the public database.
BPO_online - web-based service for public access to information of the published industrial design in BPO.

External databases

OHIM database on CD-ROM which is loading every month in the database of national Industrial Designs;
BPO On-line - web-based service for public access to information of the applications and registered Industrial Designs in BPO.
WIPO database

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

In the field of industrial designs BPO uses Industrial Design Information System (IDIS) as an administrative management system.

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

Filing system of the IDIS automation system is based on:
Hardware: Server PSERV HP K360
Operation system: HP-UX 11.0 .
Instance: Oracle8i Enterprise Edition Release 8.1.5.0.0
Workstations: Intel Pentium based PCs;
Software:
Workstations: Windows XP as OS, MS Office as documents management, etc.;
Carriers used: CDs, DVDs.

VI. Administration of industrial design information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering designs, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)

Planning, administration, automation, security

Paid information services on request available to the public through the Patent Office are as follows:
Searches related to the legal status
Numerical search
Searches on firm names
All the searches are carried in house and in the available collections of national industrial designs. The security is based on the different kind of access.
The industrial designs information is accessible on the World Wide Web of BPO office by On-line search system for industrial designs - "BPO ON-LINE".
The Central Patent Library provides for public access to the Official Bulletins from 12 foreign countries, to the CD collections and Internet databases containing industrial designs information.

Collection management, preservation

Weekly backing up of data changes.

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

Main number of searches in Central Patent library were provided on-line using the databases: BPO- on-line - designs; NIPIES.bpo.bg; Hague express – WIPO; RCD- (OHIM). The industrial design collections and the Internet access are available in the public reading room of the Office´s library. The public reading room staff carries out personal assistance and consultations. During the year under revue 231 searches in the field of Industrial Designs were provided to the public.
A wide range of information is available at the BPO’s website - basic information on Industrial Designs, filing and registration instructions, fee information and full texts of National and International legal documents. All application forms are printable.

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

Information:
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=360
Fees:
http://www1.bpo.bg/images/stories/tariff/tariff_of_fees_may_07.pdf

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

The Office web site: http://www1.bpo.bg/
Classification of Industrial Designs
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=211&Itemid=368

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of industrial design documentation and information

International or regional cooperation in the exchange of industrial design information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes

Free access to the Official Bulletin from N 1/2009 onwards is available on the Office´s web site:
http://www1.bpo.bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=269

Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape

There is no international or regional cooperation in the exchange of machine-readable information on industrial designs. The exchange of statistical data proceeds with OHIM and WIPO by mail post.

VIII. Matters concerning education and training, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)

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

Activities in the frame of Technical cooperation agreement between OHIM and BPO - 2009: Organization of exhibitions in four Bulgarian cities promoting CTM (Community Trademark) and RCD (Registered Community Design) systems; Organization and providing of “Day of CTM and RCD” during the “Week of the Patent Office in the Universities”; Organization of a workshop on CTM and RCD;Read a round of particular lectures on CTM and RCD in other events, organized by Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, as seminars, workshops, conferences and lectures at universities; Creation and publication of a Collection including articles, studies, analyses and summary of OHIM’s practice and of the practice of the Court of First Instance and the European court of justice in CTM and RCD matters; Creation and publication of Guidance for officials of the customs and the police concerning the CTM and RCD systems; Participation in Plovdiv International Fair; Establishment of “CTM & RCD Help desk”.

Training courses for national and foreign participants

Training courses in the field of industrial design for IP representatives (attorneys).

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 industrial designs

http://www1.bpo.bg:8080/bpo_online/rd?login_now=1&page=split&searchMode=on&ord=0&dir=A&subCmd=IDesign

contain the Annual Report of the Office