Annual Technical Report 2002 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Norway (SCIT/ATR/ID/2002/NO)
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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
The national design applications are still normally filed in a standardized paper form. If filed by telefax, the original document must promptly follow in the mail.
Number of national applications filed in 2001: 749
Number of national applications filed in 2002: 814
The trend the last few years shows an even and modest increase in design applications. The Office examined 738 applications. The number of design applications granted was 548 (683 in 2001).
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of industrial design documents and of secondary sources of industrial design information, i.e., official gazettes
The design application journal and design register are manual. The Norwegian Patent Office publishes a design gazette every fortnight, Norsk mønstertidende (The Norwegian Industrial Design Gazette). The Gazette contains bibliographic data and images of the registered designs. It also contains announcements in respect of designs extended for a second or third period of protection and other proceedings under the Designs Act.
The bibliographic data of the Gazette is entered in a Microsoft Word file. The file is then imported into Adobe Page Maker, where it is merged with the design reproductions, which are being scanned. The pdf-file is published on the Internet. From January 1, 2002, the Design Gazette is available in electronic format only from the NPO’s web site www.patentstyret.no . We have no longer a subscription service and we do not send paper copies of the Gazette to patent offices, libraries or others.
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied
Norway is a member of the Locarno Classification Agreement, and the search files are
classified in accordance with the agreement. There is no Norwegian translation of the Locarno
Classification list of goods. A list of classes and subclasses with explanatory notes is translated
into Norwegian and published. The Norwegian Patent Office has also a journal containing the
applicants sorted alphabetically according to the origin of the applicants.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
The Norwegian Patent Office examines ex officio the applications regarding novelty. The
examination includes Norwegian design registrations and applications filed under the Designs
Act. All search files are in paper form, only. The search files are updated on a daily basis.
V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs
There is no computerized search system for industrial designs at present. In 1998 the
Norwegian Patent Office set up the SANT programme, a comprehensive project aimed at
establishing systems for the electronic handling of documents and procedure, also within
designs. It will also make information on industrial rights electronically accessible to our
customers.
VI. Administration of industrial design 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
The Norwegian Patent Office is situated in Oslo. The Office is open to the public, and is most
frequently used by agents/attorneys for information purposes. The official design register is
open to the public inspection Monday - Friday between 0900 and 1500. The Info Centre and library can answer questions and give general information concerning industrial property rights to the public. The search files and applications are available to the public, except the applications for which publication has been deferred. Customers may visit the Office to examine the search files, or they may send an inquiry to the Office. The NPO has a Search and Examination Service, which provides searches for a fee. In addition there is a documentation service where the public may obtain register transcripts from the official registers or copies of defined registrations for a small copy fee.
More specific information on the services is on the web site: www.patentstyret.no
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of industrial design documentation and information
The Norwegian Patent Office still receives official design gazettes from some national offices. No paper copies of the Norwegian Design Gazette are distributed to patent offices in other countries.
Samples from the other Nordic countries are circulated weekly among the executive officers in the Office. The Office does not forward any machine-readable information. The Office also exchanges our final decisions with respect to registration of design application with the other offices of the Nordic countries.
VIII. Matters concerning education and training including technical assistance to developing countries
The Norwegian Patent Office regularly has exhibits at fairs for industry, trade and agriculture in
order to promote the use of design information and industrial property rights. In 2002, we carried out 23 courses and seminars, comprising a total of 499 places. The cost of participating at our courses increased by 15% from the previous year, resulting in a 44% increase in turnover compared to 2001. We evaluate the quality of our courses continuously, and the overall result was a score of 4.7 on a scale of 1 to 6, where 6 is best. This is the same as for 2001, and only slightly below our goal of 4.9. Our new concept is "Onsdagsseminarer" ("Wednesday-seminars"). These seminars have been very popular and we have now increased the number of meetings to 9 in 2003. For the third year in a row, the NPO arranged a training programme on industrial property rights for representatives from developing countries. This year 20 participants attended a 7-day course, where patenting was the main theme. These courses are carried out in association with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).
Since 1999 the NPO has carried out regional information programmes concerning industrial property rights. Results show that the target group for these campaigns (primarily small companies) is a difficult group to reach and to influence in the short term. We are therefore now using more long-term methods. We work systematically to secure partners with similar aims. By entering into agreements with other public authorities, branch associations and private contractors, we aim to make better use of available resources. In 2002 we signed a cooperation agreement with the Norwegian Design Council and Abelia. The Commercial Services Department has worked particularly towards establishing contacts in research environments in Norway. We have succeeded in establishing contact with science parks, and have arranged several special courses for them, resulting in an increasing demand.
IX. Other relevant matters
In 1998 the Norwegian Patent Office set up the SANT programme, a comprehensive project
aimed at establishing systems for the electronic handling of documents and procedure. It will
also make information on industrial rights electronically accessible to our customers. The project aims to make the handling of documents and casework more efficient, and to simplify the exchange of information with other patent authorities.