Annual Technical Report 2011 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Russian Federation (CWS/ATR/TM/2011/RU)
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.
I. Evolution of registration activities
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to the previous year
The main trends in the development of activities in the field of trademark information were defined by the Comprehensive Plan for Development of the Rospatent System up to 2015, the Rospatent Computerization Plan for 2011, and the Plan of Measures by the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) for the enhancement and development of its activities for 2011.
The main trends in the Plans include:
the creation of conditions to assist natural persons and legal entities in the fullest possible implementation of their rights to protection of the results of intellectual activity and means of individualization, and their enforcement;
a reduction in the time taken to examine applications, bearing in mind the forecast growth in the volume of applications received;
the provision of high-quality examination and protection titles issued;
increasing the effectiveness of information technology resources within the Rospatent system;
establishment of a State patent collection and provision of access thereto;
training specialists in the use and protection of intellectual property;
implementation of monitoring in the sphere of the use and legal protection of scientific research, and design and technology work for civilian purposes, financed by the Federal Budget;
implementation of international cooperation.
Depending on the type of measure, the anticipated deadlines for implementation are planned between 2010 and 2015.
In 2011, measures were carried out to monitor the work of TM-ADMIN software at the stage of consideration of a claimed designation in terms of substance, analysis and eliminating gaps in the work of the software, and to improve the software with consideration of the needs of examination. The technical tasks to develop the TM-ADMIN system in 2012 were approved by the working group from the Prosecution of National Applications for Trademarks and Appellations of Origin section. The required steps were taken to transfer examiners and applications from the Examination of National Trademark Applications section to the TM-ADMIN system.
Work continued in 2011 on the development of the Madrid accounting system, with the aim of improving cooperation with the International Bureau of WIPO and migrating to paperless prosecution without any drop in the quality of work.
In 2011, an idea was developed to include the TM-ADMIN software system as part of the integration of the Fees accounting system and the Electronic State Registers (EGR). A work plan has been agreed and preparation completed for this purpose.
The following registers continued to be updated in 2011, with entries signed by the inputter using an electronic, digital signature: the electronic State Register of Russian Federation (RF) Trademarks and Service Marks, the State Register of RF Appellations of Origin, and the electronic list of trademarks that are well known in the Russian Federation (hereinafter EGR). As at December 31, 2011, 61,349 new registrations had been entered into EGR and 83,665 registrations had been transferred from the paper State Register.
In 2011, operation continued of the Unified Automated System for the Accounting of Fees, introducing the use of electronic payment documents received from the Russian Treasury, and the possibility of recording fees for legally significant acts regarding applications for trademarks and appellations of origin. Improvements to the Fees accounting system are planned in 2012, in connection with the introduction of amendments to the Regulations on Fees and the ending of requests for copies of payment documents from applicants.
Work to integrate the electronic document flow system for trademarks, TM-ADMIN, into the Unified System for the Accounting of Fees was carried out in 2011.
All examiners performing examinations of claimed designations in 2011 were connected to the electronic document flow system for trademarks and service marks, TM-ADMIN. The overall number of system users now exceeds 280. Work to improve the performance and productivity of the system was completed, including business process re-engineering.
In December 2011, the new version of the automated system for electronic filing of applications for trademark registration and electronic services for applicants (KPS RTZ) was launched in the industrial environment, extending the functional possibilities of the system. The most significant functions are:
- filing of applications for non-traditional trademarks;
- comprehensive quality control of application materials prior to filing them;
- filing of applications by a third party acting as the Applicant’s Representative;
- downloading data from an external XML file to on-screen forms;
- introducing a new workstation as a Manager for the organization;
- migrating to use of the improved electronic, digital signature.
As at December 31, 2011, 1,878 applications had been filed via KPS RTZ.
In 2011 an automated system for paperless prosecution was introduced for the Chamber of Patent Disputes (PPS). The introduction of the system provides the possibility of paperless prosecution during the consideration of objections and appeals filed with PPS. Information on the decisions of the PPS automated paperless prosecution system is posted on the FIPS website in the Decisions of the Chamber of Patent Disputes section.
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
From Table 1, below, it is clear that the overall number of trademark registration applications filed in the Russian Federation in 2011 rose in comparison to 2010. The overall increase in application numbers was 5.04 per cent, mainly due to a 9.75 per cent rise in applications received from foreign applicants, while the number of applications filed under the procedures of the Madrid Agreement or Protocol thereto also rose, by 12.55 per cent.
Regarding the registration of trademarks, an increase of 2.2 per cent has been observed. This is negligible given the trend noted with regard to applications from foreign applicants, which have increased by 30.41 per cent, with a particularly significant increase regarding applications under the procedures of the Madrid Agreement or Protocol thereto (which have more than doubled), whereas there has been a noticeable drop of 18.92 per cent in applications from Russian applicants.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to trademarks
The following pages of the Office’s websites contain:
• the Office Annual Report – Rospatent Annual Reports section:
http://www.rupto.ru/about/sod/otchety.html;
• Links section:
http://www.rupto.ru/ssilki/ssilki.htm;
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/link_resources/;
• Rospatent News: http://www.rupto.ru/news/news.htm;
FIPS News: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/news/;
• Information notices in the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin section:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/brands_and_points/.
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
Publishing, printing, copying techniques
All information on trademarks, service marks, appellations of origin and certificates for the right to use an appellation of origin were published in the Rospatent Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette on electronic carrier with search system.
Rospatent publications on trademarks are presented in Table 2.
The Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette on electronic carrier with search system and corresponding paper Gazette are distributed on subscription. The two most recent Gazettes are available on the Rospatent website.
The International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification) (ICGS) in Russian, English and French, tenth edition, on paper.
The International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification) in Russian, sixth edition, on paper.
The Lexical and Semantic Identifier of Goods and Services (LEXINTU) in Russian, third edition, on paper.
The Lexicographical Information Gazette of Goods and Services, LEXINFORM, in Russian, on paper (two issues per year).
The publication LEXINFORM contains new names for goods and services, as well as names that are not included in ICGS, but are recommended by WIPO for information. The LEXINFORM information block is arranged in tables according to ICGS classes with an indication of the subgroup of the good or service.
In 2011, LEXINFORM Gazettes No. 5 and No. 6 were published.
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of trademark information
The forms of notifications on trademarks published in the Rospatent Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazettes are listed below:
- extension of the term of validity of a trademark registration;
- change in the denomination, first name, surname or patronymic of a rights owner and/or place of business or residence;
- change of correspondence address;
- reduction of the list of goods and/or services for which a trademark is registered, for the information of the rights owner;
- change to the individual elements of a trademark, which do not alter its essential features;
- State registration of an agreement on alienation of the exclusive right in a trademark for all goods and/or services;
- State registration of an agreement on alienation of the exclusive right in a trademark for part of the goods and/or services;
- registration of a licensing agreement;
- changes (additions) to a licensing agreement;
- termination (premature) of a licensing agreement;
- registration of a sub-licensing agreement;
- changes (additions) to a sub-licensing agreement;
- termination (premature) of a sub-licensing agreement;
- registration of a commercial concession agreement;
- changes (additions) to a commercial concession agreement;
- termination (premature) of a commercial concession agreement;
- registration of a commercial sub-concession agreement;
- termination (premature) of a commercial sub-concession agreement;
- changes (additions) to a commercial sub-concession agreement;
- replacement of a national registration with an international registration;
- replacement of a national registration with an international registration for individual classes;
- recognition as completely invalid of the grant of legal protection for a trademark;
- recognition as partially invalid of the grant of legal protection for a trademark;
- premature termination of legal protection of a trademark, partially;
- premature termination of legal protection of a trademark, fully;
- cancellation of a decision to terminate legal protection of a trademark;
- recognition as invalid of a registration number;
- issue of a duplicate trademark certificate;
- division of an individual trademark registration;
- change to the list of persons having the right to use a collective mark;
- State registration of the transfer of the exclusive right in a trademark without agreement;
- State registration of a pledge (subsequent pledge) agreement;
- State registration of changes entered into a registered agreement;
- State registration of termination of a registered agreement;
- other changes relating to a trademark registration;
- correction of obvious and technical errors in Gazette publications.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online trademark gazettes and to other sources of trademark information, including download of bulk trademark data
The web page addresses of the Office’s websites providing information concerning Office publications:
• the Administrative Regulations for performance by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks of State functions relating to the keeping of registers of registered intellectual property subject matter, publication of information on registered intellectual property subject matter, applications filed and patents and certificates granted therefor, on the validity, termination and renewal of validity of legal protection in relation to intellectual property subject matter, the transfer of rights in protectable subject matter, and the official registration of intellectual property subject matter: http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/prikaz/minobrnauka/346_07/Po_vedeniyu_reestrov_zaregistrirovannih_obektov.htm#1;
• Regulations on official publications of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks in the Patent Information Products section:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/publishing_activities/publication_act;
• Prospectus of publications and databases in the Patent Information Products section:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/publishing_activities/ http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/electron_bulletins/inventions_utility_models/.
The addresses of web pages of the Office’s site providing access to online publications:
• Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin in the Electronic Gazettes section:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/electron_bulletins/brands_and_points/;
• in the Information Resources section, International Classification for Goods and Services:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/international_classification/trade_marks/ subsection;
and Open Registers of Russian Patent Documents:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/Registers/ subsection.
From the above page, a user may refer to the following resources by means of the appropriate link:
Register of Trademarks and Service Marks of the Russian Federation
Register of Appellations of Origin of the Russian Federation
Register of Trademarks Well Known in the Russian Federation
Register of International Trademarks
Register of Russian Federation Trademark and Service Mark Registration Applications
Register of Applications for the Registration of Appellations of Origin of the Russian Federation
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information
Classification and reclassification activities; Classification systems used, e.g., International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classification (please indicate whether goods and services for the registration of marks and whether the figurative elements of marks are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification(s) is (are) used)
The functions of examination and the granting of Russian Federation certificates for trademarks are performed in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (ICGS), established by the Nice Agreement. The figurative elements of trademarks are classified by the Office according to a classification based on the International (Vienna) Classification of Figurative Elements of Marks.
In 2011, Rospatent continued work to prepare the tenth edition of ICGS (ICGS-10) with preliminary working materials and the decisions of the Committee of Experts of the International Bureau of WIPO, including the clarification of the Russian translations of a number of formulations for terms, and the identification and removal of terms that had previously been incorrectly translated.
Materials were translated and their conceptualization was revised with consideration of the specific linguistic features of the terms. In particular, possible versions for translation into Russian were provided for individual goods and services (with English and/or French names), where needed.
LEXINTU is designed for work to prepare a list of goods and services for trademarks/service marks. The structure of LEXINTU presents a categorization hierarchy of marks for goods/services within classes, forming groups of goods/services by type. This allows a selection of goods/services within a class to be presented in a more detailed, structured manner.
In 2011, as part of the preparation of the tenth edition of ICGS, the terms in LEXINTU were revised and also translated, and amendments and corrections were made to the groups arranged by type for the four-language version of LEXINTU (in Russian, French, English and Spanish). This is intended, in the long term, for the automation of searches for goods/services presented in trademark registration applications.
The recommendations of WIPO Standard ST.66 are used to index bibliographic data.
Following the amendments to the sixth edition of the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks that were approved by the WIPO Committee of Experts in 2011, work began in FIPS Rospatent on translating the amendments into Russian and preparing the Russian version of the seventh edition of the Classification.
In 2008, the additional, automatic reclassification of figurative elements of trademarks was carried out in accordance with the most recent edition of the International (Vienna) Classification of Figurative Elements of Trademarks, thereby providing the possibility of searching and viewing search results in two different classifications for the purposes of examination. Work on the automated classifications, according to the sixth edition of the International (Vienna) Classification, for applications received, was completed in 2009.
The Trademarks and Registration Division participates in the regulatory and method-related settlement of issues in the consideration of applications for registration of non-traditional trademarks and the publication of corresponding information. Moreover, information received through Rospatent’s involvement in the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications is widely used.
Use of electronic classification systems to check the classification symbols furnished by an applicant and which are contained in the lists of goods and/or services
The accuracy of the classification of goods and services indicated in a trademark registration application is verified against the electronic version of the tenth edition of ICGS. Based on the results of scientific research determining the need to form a base of names of goods and services, the following lexical and semantic information materials have been developed and put together as completed systems:
LEXINTU (a lexical and semantic identifier of names of goods and services)
LEXINFORM (lexicographical information gazette of goods and services)
The LEXINTU and LEXINFORM periodicals provide examiners with the timely receipt of information on all lexical changes to the names of goods and services, which assists in the objective evaluation of the similarity of goods and services during the examination of a specific trademark.
A four-language version of LEXINTU has also been created (in Russian, French, English and Spanish), which is intended for inclusion in the automated information-search system for trademark examination.
Continuous monitoring of the emergence on the market of new goods and services allows the search base to be updated for operational purposes, taking into account all linguistic changes in the names of goods and services.
Obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied
For the uniform evaluation of the scope of the rights of registered trademarks when describing goods/services, applicants are advised to avoid using undefined or general expressions, and to make use of the terminology in the version of ICGS in force.
For the correct classification of each specific good or service, applicants are advised to use the actual lists of goods and services, and the explanations for each class respectively. This is because the class headings generally only show the fields to which the goods and services may relate in principle, and do not contain the names of actual goods or services.
However, applicants are not obliged to restrict themselves to the terms indicated in ICGS or LEXINTU alone.
Bibliographic data and processing
It is planned to migrate in 2012 to a new version of the system offering paperless management of prosecutions, the electronic provision of State services (integrated into the State Services Portal), and also integration into EGR.
The Agreements automated system is designed to support the prosecution of agreements to transfer rights in intellectual property subject matter, providing for the entire cycle of work for registration: categorizing incoming correspondence, storing the current status of applications, revisers’ corrections, preparing and dispatching outgoing correspondence, bookkeeping, integration with other systems, and the entry of information on agreements in the EGR for trademarks.
In 2012, a system to support the process for introducing amendments to registered trademarks and appellations of origin will be completed – the automated system for Trademark Registration Prosecution. It is planned to provide the possibility of automatic consideration of applications to extend the validity period for exclusive rights in a trademark, that have been filed through the State Services Portal.
There are also plans in 2012 to migrate to the new version of the Madrid automated system, which will provide paperless processing and electronic State services for international applications and international registrations, as well as support for the entire cycle of work for registration: classification of incoming correspondence on international applications and registrations, storing the current status of international applications and registrations, bookkeeping, and integration with other systems.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
For searches of verbal and figurative elements of trademarks, an automated search subsystem is used, RF TZ. A search takes place in three stages (i.e. offline): preparation of the trademark search model and search instruction; launch of the search instructions on the server; and review of the search results by an examiner.
In Rospatent, a database of published trademarks is used – Trademarks of Russia – on CD-ROM optical disks with MIMOSA V6 information-search system.
In 2007, work was completed on the development of new software for working with the tenth edition of ICGS, which is integrated into the automated trademark search system, TM-EXAM-SEARCH (TMES) – part of TM-ADMIN, the electronic trademark document flow system. The software allows lists of goods and services to be processed in two ways: collectively and individually. This links goods and services in trademark applications/registrations with ICGS terminology, thereby subsequently allowing a search of ICGS to produce the most accurate results possible.
At the end of 2011, the search array used to search for trademarks with similar verbal and figurative elements contained all marks that had been registered or filed for registration under national or international procedures in the Russian Federation (920,357 marks), as well as all the applications and registrations for all appellations of origin received by Rospatent.
The search databases are supplemented, renewed and updated with all marks received by Rospatent.
The verbal elements of each designation are indexed for the occurrence of marks that have phonetic, semantic and visual similarities. On the basis of the reviewed RF TZ automated system database, information is provided for both examination and external users.
Formalized linguistic descriptions of figurative elements for all figurative marks received by Rospatent are in SILOIZ, in a form that allows automated searching for similar figurative elements of marks. On the basis of the reviewed SILOIZ database, information is provided for both examination and external users.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
In-house systems (online/offline)
Using the RF TZ automated system, which was introduced to FIPS Rospatent in 1989 and is updated on a continual basis, to search for similar verbal elements of marks, examiners are presented with the results of automated searches for analysis and selecting linked trademarks when producing examination reports.
The SILOIZ system of linguistic descriptions of figurative elements, introduced to FIPS Rospatent in 2006, is designed to search for similarities in the figurative elements of marks from their verbal descriptions, as well as the previous Russian translation of the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Trademarks (Vienna Classification, sixth edition). With its assistance, in 2011, the entire array of figurative marks registered under national and international registration procedures and valid in the Russian Federation was automatically reclassified.
Thus, for the examination of trademarks’ similarities in the figurative elements of marks using their verbal descriptions, an additional possibility was provided to search both the codes of the sixth edition of the Vienna Classification, and the SILOIZ system of linguistic descriptions of figurative elements.
As part of the TM-ADMIN system, examiners are presented with access to electronic application documents, including primary application materials, documents concerning correspondence about an application and structured data.
The Rospatent in-house trademark databases are:
- a database of Russian trademarks (contains information on 375,000 Russian trademark certificates from 1925 to 2011 inclusive, updated daily);
- a database of international trademarks with the indication Russia for subscribers to the trademarks database (contains information on 224,000 international trademarks with the indication Russia from 1980 to 2011, updated weekly);
- a database of appellations of origin for subscribers to the trademarks database (contains information on 122 appellations of origin and 267 certificates for the right to use them from 1992 to 2011, updated daily);
- a database of trademarks well known in Russia (contains information on 109 well-known marks from 2001 to 2011, updated daily);
- a database of applications for trademarks filed between 2005 and 2011 for FIPS examiners only (contains information on 277,000 applications, updated daily);
- the ICGS database.
In 2011, internal and external users made more than 4,469,000 requests through the information-search system available on the FIPS website; 14 per cent of the overall number of requests related to the databases of trademarks and appellations of origin.
In 2011, internal and external users of the registers on the Rospatent website made more than 17,001,000 requests; 61 per cent of the overall number of requests related to the registers of trademarks and appellations of origin.
External databases
External databases are also used during examination:
• Madrid Express (http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/search/madrid/search-struct.jsp);
• Romarin (http://www.wipo.int/romarin/).
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
Descriptions of State services offered by Rospatent in the field of trademark information are available on the State Services Portal (PGU):
• keeping registers of intellectual property subject matters and publishing information thereon;
• organizing the consideration of applications for State registration of trademarks, service marks, requests for recognition of a trademark or designation used as a trademark but not in receipt of legal protection in the Russian Federation, trademarks well known in the Russian Federation, and the registration and grant of Russian Federation certificates;
• organizing the consideration of applications for appellations of origin, and the registration and grant of Russian Federation certificates;
• recognition of an invalid grant or premature termination of the validity of legal protection for a trademark, service mark or appellation of origin, recognition of invalidity and premature termination of patents for inventions, industrial designs, patents (certificates) for utility models, and certificates for the right to use an appellation of origin;
• extending the term of and restoring patents;
• considering communications from Russian Federation citizens;
• registering agreements on the granting of rights in inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, protectable computer programs, databases and topographies of integrated circuits; commercial concession agreements on the use of intellectual property subject matter that is protected in conformity with the patent legislation of the Russian Federation;
• registering deals on the transfer abroad of single technologies.
All services offer the required forms for applications, and information on how to access services. It is possible to file applications for the grant of a Russian Federation (RF) patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design, as well as for State registration of a trademark or appellation of origin, and for recognition of a trademark as well known in the Russian Federation through the State Services Portal. Web services for interagency cooperation with the Federal Executive Authorities using the Interagency E-Cooperation System (SMEV) have been developed and integrated into SMEV. Automated user workstations have been developed for the purposes of cooperation.
In 2012, there are plans to migrate from the automated Messages system, which monitors the execution of management instructions and consideration of communications from the public, to SEDKP FIPS, an electronic document flow system.
At the Office, the following document prosecution systems are used for information on trademarks:
• RF TZ automated system for prosecuting applications for trademarks and appellations of origin;
• the Agreements integrated and automated system for prosecuting agreements on forms of intellectual property subject matter that come under the Office’s mandate, including trademarks;
• the Amendments to Trademark Registrations automated system for the prosecution of requests received following registration of a trademark (e.g. extension, change of owner or termination of validity);
• the Prosecution of International Registrations automated system;
• TM-ADMIN, the electronic document flow system for registering and handling documents, including scanning, recognition and data entry procedures, document consideration processes, and preparing and sending outgoing correspondence;
• a set of programs for registering trademarks (KPS RTZ), designed for the electronic filing of trademark applications, creating an applicants’ area, and maintaining the processes for exchanging electronic documents between applicants and the Office, including primary application materials. It functions using a means of cryptography and electronic, digital signatures, and is integrated into the hardware and software environment of the automated system for paperless prosecution of trademark applications, TM-ADMIN;
• the Madrid 2007 automated system, for prosecuting international trademark registrations;
• the system for international trademark registration, based on MECA technology and using WIPO Standard ST.66, and which assists in the electronic exchange of data and sending decisions on preliminary and final refusal to WIPO electronically;
• the Electronic State register of RF Trademarks and Service Marks, the State Register of RF Appellations of Origin, and the electronic list of trademarks well known in the Russian Federation (EGR). Each entry in EGR is signed with the electronic, digital signature of the inputter, which allows the signatory to be identified and his/her authority to be verified at the time of signing;
• the integrated Fees accounting system, establishing the use of electronic payment documents received from the Russian Treasury, and allowing the recording of fees for legally significant acts relating to applications for trademarks and appellations of origin.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used
Equipment used:
PrimePower 1500 server
(OM – 32GB, processors –10, external memory – 14 TB)
HP DL380 server – 24 units
(OM – 4GB, processors - 2, external memory – 200 GB)
HP DL580 server – 8 units
(OM – 16GB, processors - 4, external memory - 600 GB)
HP P4, Fujitsu-Siemens workstations - 640 units
Software:
Solaris, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP,
Windows 2003 Server operating systems.
Carriers used:
SDLT and Ultrium magnetic tapes.
VI. Administration of trademark information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering trademarks, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
Planning, administration, automation, security
The Central Patent Collection (TSPF) contains national and foreign patent documents on all forms of intellectual property subject matter, including trademarks, and provides abstract, bibliographic, reference, search and other information.
The All-Russian Patent Technology Library of the Federal Institute for Industrial Property (FIPS VPTB) provides open, unlimited access to TSPF and serves all categories of users, including examiners, from Russia and from neighboring and other foreign countries.
The Library premises are equipped with an alarm system and an automatic fire-fighting system.
Collection management, preservation
National and foreign patent gazettes, and gazettes from international organizations, as both special editions and ordinary industrial property gazettes with sections dedicated to trademarks, are added to the collection through international exchange or the downloading of data from office websites.
The VPTB trademarks collection, on both paper carrier and optical disks, includes:
- Rospatent Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazettes;
- patent gazettes from foreign countries and international organizations, both special gazettes and ordinary gazettes on industrial property with sections dedicated to trademarks;
- databases containing information on trademarks of foreign countries and international organizations.
The collections, on both paper and electronic carriers, are organized along geographical-systematic-numerical lines.
In 2011, the issue of trademark gazettes from all countries came to approximately 22,000 items on paper carrier, while users viewed approximately 17,200 items on optical disks.
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and trademark information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
In 2011, users were presented with the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette on CD/DVD on subscription, with a frequency of 24 issues per year. Alongside the Official Gazette on disks, the paper Gazette was published.
For new subscribers, and also for the purposes of keeping patent collections up to date, the series of the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette published in previous years (2008-2010) were offered on CD/DVD.
In addition, in 2011 users were offered sets of information on trademarks for 2005 to 2010 on one DVD for each year, as well as a retrospective array of information on trademarks for 1991 to 2004 on one DVD.
Users were also offered the publication International Classification of Goods and Services (ninth edition) (ICGS-9) on CD and paper carrier, and the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification, sixth edition) on paper.
In 2011, the third edition of reference publication the Lexical and Semantic Identifier of Goods and Services (LEXINTU) was distributed in Russian on paper. It supplements the periodical Lexicographical Information Gazette of Goods and Services.
All products on optical disks were distributed along with MIMOSA information-search system software, which provides searching of bibliographic data, ICGS indexes, the verbal elements of marks and also combinations thereof.
An analog of the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette was published on the FIPS Internet site, and registers continued to be kept of Russian trademarks and service marks, appellations of origin, trademarks well known in Russia, applications for Russian trademarks and service marks, and international trademarks with the indication Russia and an indication of their legal status.
Aside from that, users are provided with free access to information on applications to register Russian Federation trademarks and service marks received after January 1, 2005.
On the basis of official information relating to trademarks, thematic databases are prepared for users on special request.
Third party users are given the possibility of ordering searches for trademark similarities in the automated verbal search system RF TZ if they provide verbal designations, while searches for similarities in the figurative elements of trademarks, using the SILOIZ system of linguistic descriptions of figurative elements, can be ordered on provision by users of figurative elements.
In 2011, third party users carried out searches:
of the verbal elements of marks 9,879 searches
of figurative elements 1,169 searches.
In accordance with existing standards, such work is performed for a range of organizations free of charge.
In 2011 the Rospatent website provided online access to:
- registers of Russian trademarks;
- registers of appellations of origin;
- registers of trademarks well known in Russia;
- registers of trademark applications filed from 2005 to 2011;
- registers of applications to register appellations of origin filed from 2005 to 2011;
- registers of international trademarks with the indication Russia from 1980 to 2011;
- the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazettes published in the last month.
Rospatent registers of Russian patent documents contain the following databases:
- a database of Russian trademarks (contains information on 375,000 Russian trademark certificates from 1925 to 2011 inclusive, updated daily);
- a database of appellations of origin (contains information on 122 appellations of origin and 267 certificates for the right to use them from 1992 to 2011 inclusive, updated daily);
- a database of trademarks well known in Russia (contains information on 109 marks from 2001 to 2011, updated daily);
- a database of international trademarks with the indication Russia (contains information on 224,000 international trademarks with the indication Russia from 1980 to 2011, updated daily);
- a database of trademark applications (contains information on 277,000 applications from 2005 to 2011, updated daily);
- a database of applications to register appellations of origin (contains information on 214 marks from 2005 to 2011, updated daily).
On the FIPS website users are provided with access to:
- the information-search system;
- registers of Russian trademarks;
- registers of appellations of origin;
- registers of trademarks well known in Russia;
- registers of applications for trademarks filed from 2005 to 2011;
- registers of applications to register appellations of origin;
- registers of international trademarks with the indication Russia from 1980 to 2011;
- Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazettes published in the last month.
On the Rospatent and FIPS website access is provided to:
- a database of trademark applications filed from 2005 to 2011 containing information on the prosecution of applications filed from 2008 to 2011, updated daily;
- a database of applications to register appellations of origin filed from 2005 to 2011 containing information on the prosecution of applications filed from 2008 to 2011, updated daily.
Users’ work with the information-search system
Examiners are able to work with all databases: trademarks, appellations of origin, trademarks well known in Russia, trademark applications, and international trademarks with the indication Russia.
Third party users are provided free of charge with:
- a database containing documents published in the two most recent Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Gazettes;
- the ICGS database.
Third party users’ access to all databases, aside from the applications database, is on a contractual basis.
A number of organizations are provided with free access to the trademarks, appellations of origin, trademarks well known in Russia, and international trademarks databases, specifically:
- 20 organizations of the Federal Customs Service;
- 84 organizations of the Federal Service of Court Bailiffs;
- 169 organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
- 10 organizations of the Federal Anti-monopoly Service.
On the FIPS website, users can access information about the legal status of trademarks that is updated daily.
Moreover, in the open registers of trademark registration applications, information on the stage of prosecution of applications is provided, which is updated daily. Data on statuses are mainly created on the basis of the RF TZ automated prosecution system data.
Information on the legal status of trademarks is published in the Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazette (on CD/DVD), in the paper Gazette, and on the Rospatent website:
- information on the State registration of trademarks;
- information on amendments introduced into the entries of the State Register of Russian Federation Trademarks (Notifications section of the Gazette).
Internet publications of the All-Russian Patent Technology Library Division are presented on the FIPS website in the State Patent Collection and VPTB Information Products sections: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/fonds/.
In the Rospatent and Regions section of the Rospatent site the following Internet publications are published:
• method-related materials and reviews on protection and enforcement of the results of intellectual activity to assist small and medium-sized enterprises:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/regions/mp;
• recommendations on the list of essential methodology, legal and patent literature and documentation for the provision of documents for the patent subdivisions and services of the State science and education sector and organizations forming the national nanotechnology network:
http://www.rupto.ru/rosp_reg/sod/Pat_podrazd_i_sluzhbam/links/Rekomendacii/Rekomendacii.html.
In the Normative Documents section, method-related recommendations are posted on various examination and prosecution issues:
• Recommendations for the implementation of provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, relating to a patent owner’s consent to registration of a similar trademark, approved by Rospatent Decree No. 190 of December 30, 2009:
http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/metod_rek/rec_gk4.pdf;
• Method-related recommendations on determining the similarity of goods and services when examining applications for the State registration of trademarks and service marks, approved by Rospatent Decree No. 198 of December 31, 2009:
http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/metod_rek/met_rec_tm.pdf;
• Recommendations on individual matters concerning examination of designations representing labels and polygraphic packaging, approved by Rospatent Decree No. 170 of November 30, 2009: http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/metod_rek/rec_poligraf.pdf;
• Method-related recommendations on verification of claimed designations for identity and similarity, approved by Rospatent Decree No. 197 of December 31, 2009:
http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/metod_rek/metod_rec_tojd.pdf.
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 trademarks; opposition and appeal procedures related to trademarks; etc.
The web page addresses of Office websites providing information on filing applications:
• Rules for compiling, filing and considering trademark and service mark registration applications:
http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/pravila/Pravila_podachi_zajavki_na_reg_TZ.htmlhttp://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/prikaz/minobrnauka/326/Pritm_zajavok_na_poleznuy_model.html - 1;
• Administrative regulations for the performance by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks of State functions relating to the organization of the receipt of applications for registration and grant of the right to use an appellation of origin or an application for the grant of a right to use an already registered appellation of origin, consideration and examination thereof, and grant in accordance with established procedure of Russian Federation certificates: http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/prikaz/minobrnauka/328/Priem_zajavok_na_naimenov_mesta_proish.html#1 ;
• Model Applications and Declarations and Examples of Completed Forms heading, in the Тrademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/brands_and_points/obr_zz section;
• In the Electronic Services for Applicants section, Electronic Filing of Applications for Trademark and Service Mark Registration heading:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/el_zayav/;
• Fees section:
http://www.rupto.ru/poshl/poshl.htm;
Patent and Other Fees subsection:
http://www.rupto.ru/poshl/sod/pat_p/pat_poshl.html;
Acts relating to the State registration of trademarks and service marks, and the State registration and grant of an exclusive right in an appellation of origin:
http://www.rupto.ru/norm_doc/sod/post_prav/pril_pol_poshl_941.html#2.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., trademark search service(s) and trademark databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them
The web page addresses of the Office site providing descriptions of information products and services available from the Office:
• information on subscribing to patent information products – in the Patent Information Products section, Catalog of publications and databases: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/publishing_activities/;
How to Access Publications and Databases subsection: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/publishing_activities/porayad_pr/;
• the conditions of access to information about trademarks on the FIPS website – in the Information Resources section, Services: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/article_6/;
Databases:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/inform_retrieval_system/article_2/;
and Open Registers: http://www1.fips.ru/wps/portal/Registers/ subsections;
Тrademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin in the Electronic Gazettes section:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/electron_bulletins/brands_and_points/;
• information on how to access and use resources – in the Information-Search System section, Support:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/inform_retrieval_system/article_4/;
and Instructions:
http://www1.fips.ru/wps/wcm/connect/content_ru/ru/inform_resources/inform_retrieval_system/article_1a/ subsections.
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
International or regional cooperation in the exchange of trademark information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes
As part of international exchange in 2011, 51 annual sets of Rospatent Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin Official Gazettes on optical disks were sent to 45 other countries and four organizations.
The VPTB Division received information on trademarks, in the form of both special Gazettes and sections from ordinary Gazettes on industrial property, from 50 countries and three international organizations.
In 2011, 2,449 copies of Gazettes featuring trademarks were received from WIPO, the United States of America, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Germany and other countries on all kinds of carriers: 160 copies on paper carrier (24 stand alone Gazettes and 136 sections); 352 on optical disks (218 stand alone Gazettes and 134 sections); 2,437 copies downloaded from the Internet (1,925 stand alone Gazettes and 512 sections).
In 2011, approximately 400 complimentary optical disks of national trademarks were given to various RF higher education institutions.
Exchange of machine-readable information
In accordance with the current Memorandum of Understanding between Rospatent and the International Bureau of WIPO, concerning the transfer of documents using telecommunications in conformity with the Madrid system, signed on February 1, 2011, in Geneva, between Rospatent and WIPO, the following data are exchanged electronically:
1. To Rospatent: information on international registrations and amendments thereto.
2. From Rospatent: information on international applications and international registration decisions.
The contents of published data on registered trademarks and amendments to registrations are determined by the Regulations on official publications of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks.
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.)
Training and professional development for FIPS employees are organized under the Common Training System (ESO), according to the principle of steady application of internal and external training methods from the time of hiring.
With the aim of ensuring one common approach to examination, eight sessions on contemporary questions of law enforcement practice were held for the heads of the structural subdivisions, staff examiners, scientific staff and other leading specialists at FIPS.
In connection with the migration to the new interagency cooperation system for providing State services, 14 training seminars were held, which were attended by approximately 120 persons: Rospatent managers and managerial staff, the heads of staff and leading specialists of the structural subdivisions of FIPS, and the staff responsible for implementing electronic interagency cooperation in the provision of State services.
As part of the exchange of experience with patent offices in other countries, four training seminars on familiarity with the law enforcement practices of other patent offices (the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), EPO and EAPO) were held at Rospatent for staff examiners and administrative and managerial staff from FIPS. The seminars were attended by 170 specialists.
In 2011, six conferences and seminars focusing on the problems of registering trademarks were held in different regions of the Russian Federation.
Information on the key major events that took place in Moscow in 2011 is found below.
April 6. A scientific and practical conference and roundtable on contemporary questions of protection and the examination of applications for intellectual property subject matter was held in Sokol’niki as part of the 14th Moscow International Exhibition of Inventions and Innovation Technologies, Archimedes-2011. Rospatent and FIPS were the event organizers. Presentations were given by 16 leading specialists from Rospatent and FIPS, and 155 persons participated in the work of the conference.
Rospatent, the Government of Nizhegorodskiy Region and Nizhegorodskiy Science Information Center (a State Educational Institute for Continuing Professional Education) jointly organized and held an All-Russian seminar meeting on questions of legal protection for trademarks and appellations of origin on October 6 and 7, 2011, in Nizhniy Novgorod. More than 100 persons from 20 regions of the Russian Federation participated in the seminar meeting and four FIPS employees presented reports.
October 26 and 27. The 15th traditional scientific and practical conference of Rospatent: the National Innovation System and the Significance of Legal Protection of Intellectual Property for its Development. The conference involved two plenary sessions and five working sections, and 40 reports were presented. In total, 277 persons took part in the conference, including 13 from foreign countries. The number of Russian regions represented was 33.
Training courses for national and foreign participants
Throughout the Russian Federation in 2011, employees of the trademarks and registration division took part in a range of seminars and conferences at work that involved reports concerning trademarks, including those organized and/or held with the support of WIPO.
The modern possibilities offered by automated information technologies, accessible to all categories of users, place new tasks before information centers throughout the world – not simply to provide a user with primary initial information, but also to carry out particularly comprehensive processing of this information beforehand and, consequently, to provide users with a more “intelligent” service.
This idea was discussed, not for the first time, at the annual PATLIB international conference, and has already been implemented in practice in the majority of sufficiently large information centers that possess patent collections.
Since 2008, representatives of FIPS VPTB have participated in the work of PATLIB, and have analyzed their capabilities to provide “intelligent services” to different categories of users, taking into account the experience of foreign colleagues.
In 2011, trademark issues were considered at two international regional seminars organized and hosted jointly by Rospatent and WIPO in the towns of Kaliningrad and Sochi. The seminars focused on providing legal protection for trademarks, and the effective use of the Madrid system for the international registration of marks. Reports were presented by four FIPS employees and two WIPO employees.
The problems of protecting trademarks were also discussed at two international regional seminars organized and hosted jointly by Rospatent and USPTO in the towns of Nizhniy Novgorod and Tver’. One FIPS employee and one employee from USPTO presented corresponding reports.
At Rospatent, on December 7, 2011, a roundtable – “Well-known Trademarks: problems, trends and decisions” – at which one Rospatent employee spoke, was held jointly with the International Trademark Association (INTA), the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) and international legal firm Baker & McKenzie.
Rospatent participated as an observer in the sixth session of the Committee of Experts of the Vienna Union, held in Geneva, from October 19 to 21, 2011. At the time of writing, the seventh edition of the Vienna Classification – adopted during the sixth session – is being translated into Russian, and its publication in Russian is planned for 2012.
In 2011, under a number of Agreements, work began on the analysis and comparison of Rospatent databases of trade names and services, with the following databases of trade names and services:
- ICGS-10 in English, French, Spanish and Russian (partial);
- the USPTO database, in English;
- the database of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) of the European Union, in all the languages of the European Union;
- the Trilateral database of the Trilateral Offices in English, French and Spanish;
- the GS Manager database (Goods and Services Manager), in English, French, Spanish and Russian (partial).
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
Rospatent has no special program to help developing countries. Assistance is provided in response to individual requests from the Offices of developing countries.
IX. Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
X. Other relevant matters