Annual Technical Report on Design Information Activities in 2013 submitted by Canada (CWS/ATR/ID/2013/CA)
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. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to the previous year
Industrial Design Applications
Year Residents Non-residents Total % change
2009 825 3,444 4,269
2010 868 4,274 5,142 20
2011 790 4,437 5,227 1.65
2012 847 4,514 5,362 2.51
2013 846 4,500 5,346 - 0.3
Industrial Design Registrations
Year Residents Non-residents Total % change
2009 654 4,420 5,074 -14.2
2010 845 4,330 5,175 2
2011 720 4,010 4,730 -8.59
2012 582 3,593 4,175 -13.29
2013 577 3,208 3,785 -10.30
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
Find the Annual Report of the Office at the following link:
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr00094.html
II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
The Industrial Design Division within the Copyright and Industrial Design Branch of CIPO manages the industrial design product line. The primary function is the registration of exclusive industrial design rights and the maintenance of the Canadian Register of Industrial Designs. The Division also provides certified documents for use in civil proceedings and criminal investigations, furnishes information to the public by making the registers accessible, answers detailed questions, distributes information materials, advises on appropriate legislative change, and manages new and revised regulations.
CIPO has consolidated the public access areas (search rooms) of the various IP products (patents, trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs, integrated circuit topographies) into a single Client Service Centre. This Client Service Centre houses both the manual search collections as well as access to the automated search systems. The Client Service Centre is available to the public during normal office hours, 8:30-17:00 at its Headquarters located in Gatineau, Quebec.
Information Officers are available in the Client Service Centre to assist the public in all aspects of their IP requirements.
Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
In July 2007, an electronic industrial design filing component was added to our Industrial Design management tool, DesignPlus, to allow clients to file their applications electronically over the internet. For all client front-ends, the information is checked for completeness, the information is transferred to the Office via the Internet and the information is automatically loaded into Designplus.
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
The Industrial Design Division maintains a complete historical register in electronic form for designs registered since 1861, as well as on microfiche and CD-ROM. Archival material is disposed of in accordance with National Library and National Archives requirements.
Classification and reclassification activities; classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification
Since 2008 CIPO's Industrial Design Division is actively participating, with both member and observer countries, in the LOCARNO pilot working group. This Group has the mandate of proposing enhancements to the existing international industrial design classification system. The Group is working to improve searching within the classification system and to produce more effective search results.
The Canadian Classification Manual can be found under the Industrial Design Database link of the CIPO website:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/id/dsplySrch.do?lang=eng
III. SOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE
Main types of publications in the field of industrial design information, outline of the content (industrial design applications, design patents, registrations, etc.) and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)
The Industrial Design Act and Regulations do not prescribe publishing newly registered industrial designs in gazette form but do prescribe the keeping of the Register of Industrial Designs. Registered Industrial Designs are disseminated through a database via CIPO's website (cipo.ic.gc.ca/iddatabase). As of November 2007 this database includes the entire collection of industrial designs registered in Canada since December 1861.
Industrial data is also available through bulk export for those that wish to load data directly into their own databases. Since December 2012 this data is now available in the WIPO ST.86 standard.
Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.
Announcements pertaining to Industrial Design Practice and Policy as well as other information about the Industrial Design Office are communicated via the Canadian Intellectual Property Office website at: www.cipo.ic.gc.ca . When a new announcement is published, it is noted under the "What's New" section of the CIPO site and is also included under the link to Industrial Design.
Additionally, the Industrial Design Office sends the information via e-mail to clients that have subscribed to receive the Canadian Industrial Design News.
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
In June 2002 the industrial design processes were automated with the implementation of DesignPlus. Today the system contains bibliographic design data dating back to 1861, including pending and registered designs. DesignPlus is used within the office to manage the overall industrial design process, including classification, search, examination, assignments and maintenance. The system supports such specific office processes as preparing correspondence and updating information.
All industrial design employees have access to the system via an internal, Local Area Network (LAN).
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services available to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)
CIPO uses a web based search system "DesignFinder" for Industrial design searches. The Canadian Industrial Design data is available on this database for external client use.
The Industrial Design online searchable database is available to the public on the internet via CIPO website and includes Industrial Design registrations since inception (December 1861).
Public access to the search functionality of the Industrial Design Database DesignPlus is also available in the Client Service Center.
The Canadian Industrial Design main page can be found at the following link:
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr00004.html
The Guide to Industrial Designs and the Industrial Design Office Practices manual can be found under the Industrial Design link of the CIPO website:
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02300.html
You can access the Canadian Industrial Design database at the following link:
www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/iddatabase
Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)
The following links provide information on legislation related to industrial designs:
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/I-9
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cr/SOR-99-460
IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE
Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements
The DesignPlus System is a client/server system with the client component developed using Oracle Web Forms 11g and the Oracle 10g database residing on a UNIX (IBM AIX) server. A NFS disk area on the main server is used to hold the design images. This allows client workstations to access the designs within the client interface, while storing all design images under the control of the main server. Windows file servers are used for electronic mail and for sharing common files.
DesignPlus, the automated processing system of the Industrial Design Office, includes pending and registered information regarding Industrial Design applications and registrations. It is the main internal tool for maintaining industrial design application and registration information. It is from this system that the electronic internet database information is supplied.
CIPO's Industrial Design Office uses MS-Word 2010 as its word processing package operating in a Windows 7 Professional environment.
All outputs of industrial design information are generated through a combination of MS-Word and Oracle reports produced from DesignPlus.
Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office
SERVER IBM AIX
• Operating System AIX
• 935 GB HardDisk, 8GB RAM
• Oracle RDMS V 10.2.0.3
• Microfocus server express 5.0
• TCP/IP
• Image Converter: Alchemy 1.13
• Electronic Forms Generator: JF Central 5.4.1
CLIENT WORKSTATION
• Pentium based (min 3.2 GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB disk)
• 2 SVGA monitors 22" LCD
• MS-Windows 7 Professional
• MS-Word 2010
• ViewNow NFS (Network File System)
• Ascent Capture
• Some workstations with Bar-code readers and/or scanners
PRINTERS
• Lexmark T644 network printers
NETWORK
• TCP/IP
• 1 GB between server and switches
• 100 MB between switches and workstations
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file
The archival of industrial design documents is available electronically in 'DesignPlus' as well as on paper, microfiche and CD-ROMs.
Bibliographic data and processing for search purposes:
Designs are searchable by class and are organized according to the Canadian Industrial Design Classification Standard.
Translating:
Since April 1st 2008 registered Industrial Design titles are translated into French or English depending on the language of the application.
File building:
The Canadian industrial design prior art search file comprises approximately 143467 registered designs.
All registered designs are stored electronically in 'DesignPlus'. Access to these registered designs is available for public search via the CIPO's web site (Industrial Design Database).
The Industrial Design Division maintains a searchable record of registered industrial designs as follows:
On-Line Electronic search file:
All designs registered in the 'DesignPlus' system, this search file includes the application as registered (owner name/address, title, description, agent and/or representative for service in Canada), drawings, and bibliographic data (filing date, priority date, registration date, classification). Registrations are searchable by registration number, title, agent name, owner name, and by class.
Microfiche / CD-rom search file:
For designs registered prior to June 2002, this search file includes microfiche and CD copies of the registration certificate, the application as registered, assignments and maintenance documents. It is maintained in numerical order by registration number.
Paper correspondence file:
This search file includes a complete file document history including prosecution and correspondence. These files are maintained in numerical order by application number.
Index cards:
For designs registered prior to June 2002, an alphabetical index card system arranged by owner, assignee and licensee is maintained as a means of obtaining the registration number of a particular design.
Updating:
The Canadian industrial design prior art search file is updated on a daily basis.
The online searchable database available on CIPO's website is updated weekly (every Thursday night).
Storage:
Industrial design documents are currently stored electronically in 'DesignPlus', as well as on paper, microfiche, and CD-ROM.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file:
CIPO maintains a collection of WIPO International Design Bulletins and United States patent gazettes.
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
DesignPlus is integrated with an EIS (Executive Information System). This EIS system provides detailed and comprehensive reports used for tracking and monitoring industrial design processes. Information on the production volumes and turnaround times can be obtained from the EIS system.
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION
The Information Branch of CIPO is responsible for coordinating and carrying out activities related to promoting the benefits of intellectual property and disseminating the associated technological and business information to Canadians. Like other product lines of CIPO, the Industrial Design Division provides input on publications (paper or web) destined for clients pertaining to industrial design.
Office's library (if deals with industrial design information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries
Registered Industrial Designs are disseminated through a database via CIPO's website (www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/iddatabase). As of November 2007 this database includes the entire collection of industrial designs registered in Canada since December 1861.
Industrial data is also available through bulk export for those that wish to load data directly into their own databases. Since December 2012 this data is now available in the WIPO ST.86 standard.
Publications related to different business procedures and industrial design information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
The following link is the Office's website for electronic filing of industrial design applications: www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/id
Find 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. at the following link: www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/id
Education and training: training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
The Industrial Design Office provides information to visiting delegates from developing countries during the WIPO/CIPO Workshops hosted by CIPO every spring.
VI.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INFORMATION
CIPO is presently providing industrial design data to an external database search provider (Questel).