Annual Technical Report 2007 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Slovakia (SCIT/ATR/TM/2007/SK)
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
During 2007 the Office received 3,920 trademark applications, what represents a slight increase when compared with the previous year.
In 2007 when compared with the year 2006, the number of trademark applications from Slovak applicants increased by 2.2 % to 2,889.
In 2007, in the international procedure under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol to the Madrid Agreement 4,035 applications for trademarks were filed, representing a decrease by 7.9 % as compared in 2006.
The total number of registered trademarks increased by 4 % to 3,905.
The number of domestic registered trademarks was higher by 11.3 % (2,829), the number of trademarks registered for foreign applicants decreased by 11.3 % to 1,076.
On December 31, 2007, there were 44,789 valid trademarks registered in the Office register.
In comparison with the statistics of the years 2001 - 2007, there are following results in trademark area:
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to trademarks
URL to annual technical reports on trademarks:
http://www.wipo.int/scit/en/atrs/
http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=9&idd2=909
URL to the Annual Reports of the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic:
http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=11&idd2=92
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
Publishing, printing, copying techniques
Publication of trademarks
The Office publishes published trademarks applications and published registered/ renewed trademarks in the Official Gazette.
Official Gazette "Vestník ÚPV SR"
Trademark information forms part of the Official Gazette - " Vestník ÚPV SR", covering all industrial property rights in one publication. Paper form issued monthly is published in standard size A4, paperback and usually in cca 300 pages. In 2007 the Gazette had a circulation of 250 copies, of which 83 were distributed monthly by subscription. Other copies were sent free of charge to patent information centres and contact and information points of the IPO, to information and consulting sites INNOINFO, within the frame of industrial property information exchange to foreign offices and as the statutory copies according to the act as well. Electronic form of Official Gazette, available to the public in the Internet free of charge, contains searchable data, which are regularly updated.
The following numbers of trademarks were published in the Official Gazette in 2007:
3.816 published trademarks applications
4.132 registered trademarks
2.188 renewed trademarks
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of trademark information
The Gazette contains trademark announcements arranged in following main chapters:
- list of published trademark applications (numerical series)
- bibliographic data of published trademark applications including the list of goods and services (arranged according to the application numbers)
- list of published trademark applications converted from the Community trademark applications (numerical series)
- bibliographic data of published trademark applications converted from the Community trademark applications including the list of goods and services (arranged according to the application numbers)
- list of registered trademarks without change in comparison to applied sign (numerical series of applications with the number of registration )
- bibliographic data of registered trademarks without change in comparison to applied sign (arranged according to the registration numbers)
- list of registered trademarks with change in comparison to applied sign (numerical series of applications with the number of registration )
- bibliographic data of registered trademarks with change in comparison to applied sign (arranged according to the registration numbers)
- list of registered trademarks based on the trademark applications converted from the Community trademarks (numerical series of applications with the number of registration )
- bibliographic data of registered trademarks based on the trademark applications converted from the Community trademarks (arranged according to the registration numbers)
- list of renewed registrations of trademark (numerical series of applications with the number of registration )
- bibliographic data of renewed registrations of trademark (arranged according to the registration numbers)
- international registrations of trademarks
- bibliographic data of registered trademarks replaced by an international registration according to the article 4 bis of the Madrid Agreement and article 4 bis of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (arranged according to the international registration numbers)
- official decisions (refusal, etc.)
- lapse of trademark rights
- cancellation of the trademark registration
- partial cancellation of the trademark registration
- assignments of rights and other changes of owners
- partial assignments
- right of lien
- registration of licensing contracts in respect of trademarks
- termination of licensing contracts
- registration of sublicensing contracts in respect of trademarks
- termination of sublicensing contracts
- change of data concerning trademark owners
- change in the list of goods and services
- change of wording or reproductions of trademark
- corrections of names, addresses, dates and mistakes
Word processing and office automation
Word processing and office automation is ensured by application over the trademark database.
Techniques used for the generation of trademark information (printing, recording, photocomposing, etc.)
MS Office 2003, Photoshop 7.0.1 CZ, FineReader 8.0, Adobe Acrobat 8.Professional SK, Agfa FotoLook 3.6, Quark Xpress Passport 7.2, Corel Draw 11. SLEX99 - Lexicon of Slovak Language are used for the data processing; the photocomposing and printing is carried out by the Office.
The Desk-Top Publishing technology is used for data and image inputs processing for the Gazette and first pages of the trademark documents.
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
@SKIPO - Electronic Slovak Industrial Property Office Portal
http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=en&idd=99
@SKIPO is an integrated system of e-services that offers access to on-line databases, on-line services and @filling room. The purpose of the portal of the Office is to provide the public with all our e-services from one place and in transparent manner and gives the possibility to communicate electronically with the Office. The effort of the Office is to make available as much information in electronic form, which are placed on internal network now, as possible. All data from databases are provided free of charge.
ON-LINE DATABASES
http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=en&idd=2
IPO SR makes accessible various databases on its homepage. Most frequently used databases are
- "Data extracted from Registers" also called as "Webregisters", give public access to information from national registers of industrial property rights and are daily updated http://registre.indprop.gov.sk/registre/?lang=en
- "Trademark Classifications" contains Slovak version of 9th edition of Nice and 5th edition of Vienna Classification (fully searchable), links to other classifications systems for classifying trademarks used in the world and other useful information http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=sk?idd=13&idd2=1303
- "Official Gazette" enables looking on an single issue, searching in the selected issue and searching in all issues http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=en&idd=14.
In the part "Foreign on-line databases" are available links to most frequently used on-line databases http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=sk&idd=19.
ON-LINE ORDERS
http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=en&idd=1&idd2=
IPO SR makes available electronic order forms on Official Gazette, magazine Intellectual Property and E-zine, publications of the IPO SR and IPO CZ, Annual Reports, patent documents and searches (see the part "Products and services", chapter VI).
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)
Goods and services are classified in accordance with the actual version of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification). In the IPO SR exist an obligatory classifying system of goods and services by applicant according the said Classification. The last version of the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification) is used as the code system of figurative elements of trademarks, which are classified by Office's expert.
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
Classification symbols were checked by internal electronic classification system built in Office registry software.
Obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied
In accordance with the Act No.55/1997 amended by the Act No.577/2001 the applicant is obliged to indicate in the application the goods and services for which the trademark is filed, according to the International Classification (Nice Classification) accompanied with the appropriate number of this Classification. But there is no obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification.
Bibliographic data and processing
The WIPO Standard ST.60 is used for trademark bibliographic data coding in all relevant outcomes or records. All bibliographic data are being processed in electronic database form. The fully searchable data are updated and made available to the public daily in the Internet.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
File Building
Since the computerized search system for trademark information has been launched the trademark manual search files building and updating has been ceased.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
In 2007, within the frame of mutual exchange, the IPO SR received trademark gazettes from the following states and organizations: AT, BA, BG, BR, CH, CZ, DE, EE, FR, HR, HU, IT KG, LT, LV, MD, MK, PL, PT, RO, RU, SI, SM, UA, US, OHIM and WIPO.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
In-house systems (online/offline)
The online trademark database kept by the Industrial Property Office serves for national trademarks searches and also for trademark procedure. Select registry data are available to the public in the Internet.
It is possible to carry out searches according to bibliographic data in all the databases used for the trademarks.
International trademarks searches were performed in the Internet and in the Office management system "INVENTIO" for administration of international trademarks with designation for SK.
In the beginning of 2006, the Office implemented a new search system Acsepto. It enables performing the professional trademark searches for designations of products and services in databases of national, international and European trademarks as well as in other selected trademark databases.
CTM searches
In accordance with the EU Council Regulation No.40/1994 on the Community Trademark, the Office continued performing the searches about subjects of the Community trademark (CTM) applications also during the previous year. Based on OHIM requests the Office made searches in databases of national and international trademarks with designation for the Slovak Republic, the results of which were regularly sent back to OHIM.
Similarly as in case of the services provided to the public the search system Acsepto has been used also for CTM searches since the beginning of the year. It enables making searches of word, picture and combined trademarks within all designations applied for or protected in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
The Office executed in average 1.542 CTM application searches weekly, i.e.80.168 searches for designation of products and services per year.
CETMOS
The Office joined the project of cooperation between the Central and Eastern European countries offices – CETMOS (Central European Trade Mark Observation Service). Project of nine countries is about performing the trademark searches to the potential interested parties. The aim of the project is to provide the public with services of high quality and value that should be an alternative to the existing system CTM.
Intense preparations for putting the project in operation took place during September-November. The preparations were finalised by successful intensive testing operation in the second half of November. For more information see the part Services on the Office’s web site http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=28&idd2=2903
List of search CD-ROMs and databases used on local network through the UltraNet 2000system:
EUROM - Community trade mark
TRACES
NIVILO classifications
WIPO Official Gazette on CD-ROM
CD-ROM CASSIS containing registered and pending trademarks in US
IPLEX CD-ROM – full legislative texts (national original laws, multilateral and bilateral treaties)
translating dictionaries
External databases
Internet databases in particular:
ROMARIN
Madrid Express Database
OHIM – Community Trademarks Database
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
The Office automation management system contains national and international trademarks registry (data since 1990 - national trademarks and data since 1947 - international trademarks) using INVENTIO" software.
Administrative databases based on Lotus Domino and Fabasoft eGov Suite.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used
Equipment used:
LAN is built on base of the Cisco technology, Fast ETHERNET 1000/100/10 Mbit/s, WINDOWS 2003 Server; MS SQL Server 2005; workstations PC Pentium, Windows 2000, Windows XP.
Linux Red Hat Enterprise 4.0,
Informix Dynamic Server 10,
Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 4.0,
Ultranet - Ultra Console 2000
SAN HP MSA 1500 CS,
HP Storage Works MSL 5000 series library,
HP open view Storage Data Protector version A.05.50.
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
In 2007, the Office’s reading room has been visited by 1.383 users and 1.209 of it were from the public. In total there were provided 7.111borrowings of patent and other literature made available to the public and 25.621copies of patent documents for the manual and computer search purposes, as well as copies from technical periodicals and other associated and non-patent literature were made. In 2007 there were performed 154 patent searches, 2.658 trademark searches and 24 design searches based on 1.099 written and 69 personally requests.
The Office’s reading room including the search workstation opens daily from 8:00 to 15:00 except the Wednesday (9:00-16:00).
All online services and other basic information are available via Internet address of IPO SR: www.upv.sk.
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)
The Office library provides following services to the public:
- general information provided by Office's experts
- lending service (Official Gazettes, special monographs and reference literature) in the reading room
- interlibrary lending service
- international interlibrary lending service
- sale of special monographs and periodical publications ("Intellectual Property", Official Gazette "Vestník ÚPV SR" in paper) upon request or on the place
- reprographic services upon request or on the place
- on-line searches in Office's search system, self-service during a personal visit
- searches in International Trademarks Database ROMARIN
- searches upon request - orders in written and on-line form
- registry information provided in the reading room
- CD-ROM workstations available in the reading room
At present, traditional methods of searching trademarks (card catalogue) are not used.
Trademark information on the World Wide Web:
- general information
- information about Office activities (seminars, training courses, etc.)
- application guide and forms
- administrative fees
- relevant laws
- Annual Reports
- selected registry data
- Official Gazette
- order forms (searches, Official Gazette, special literature)
- Nice Classification (9-th edition)
- Vienna Classification (5-th edition)
- trademark classifications and related information
- annual technical reports on trademark information (2002-2007)
Patent Information Centres and Contact and Information Points
Since 2003 the Office has established 10 contact and information points, while four of them are the Patent Information Centres. They are located in state, regional and district libraries as well as in the Slovak National Library in Martin and Centre of Scientific and Technical Information in Bratislava. A list of centres and points is available on the Office's web site http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=10&idd2=. (For more information see the annual technical report on patent information.)
In co-operation with the European Patent Office, the Office secured participation of employees from three patent information centres in the PATLIB Conference held in Spanish Seville, where they were familiarised themselves with activities of similar PATLIB centres in the European countries and they acquired knowledge about the development of the patent information market. At the same time they got an opportunity to personally meet the professionals from the field of patent information.
In November in its premises the Office organized a two-day seminar "PATLIB centres in Slovakia accompanied by a specialised workshop. The objective of this seminar was to inform the seminar participants about changes taken in the Office during the year and about the new things prepared for the following year and to discuss about the current topics relating to availability and utilisation of industrial property information in Slovakia. The workshop focused on provision of services to the public while making use of the publicly available information sources, especially the internet databases operated by the Office or by foreign offices. The seminar was enhanced by active presentations about the PATLIB centres in the premises in the State Scientific Library in Košice and in Centre of Scientific and Technical Information in Bratislava.
Information and consulting sites for innovations
The mission of the thirteen "innoinfo" centres operating in the regions of Slovakia is to orientate especially the small and medium sized entrepreneurs in the field of innovations and industrial property. "Innoinfo" centres are established in business incubators, regional consultancy and information centres, regional chambers of the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry and at the Universities of technical orientation.
During the year 2007 the Office selected three university innoinfo centres out of the 13 innoinfo centres with the aim to take into consideration the specific needs and claims currently laid on the scientific-research activities of universities. The innoinfo centres in the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, Technical University in Košice and the University of Žilina in Žilina should be transformed to so-called centres of technology transfers and their task will secure complex in intellectual property administration at universities and their workplaces.
Information Centre
The Office started the full operation of the Information Centre in January 2007 that is devided in two stages (Front Office a Back Office). The main goal of the Centre is to receive and to deal with the problems of the Office´s clients and the public centrally. Within their professional consultancy activities, the Centre staff provides the public with the necessary IPR-related information, by telephone (+421 48 4300 131) or in writing - its e-mail is infocentrum@indprop.gov.sk. The Information Centre includes also "Helpdesk" providing information about electronic on-line filling.
Workplace of the IPO SR in Bratislava
Workplace of the Office, which was opened in 2004 in the building of the Ministry of Finance in Bratislava offered especially services concerning the searches in the fields of trademarks, designs and patents in the last year. In the workplace, there is a filing room and room for discussions and negotiations.
URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of trademark applications
The Office's on-line filing room enables filing of the European patent applications, international PCT patent applications and national patent applications in electronic form http://www.upv.sk/eskipo.php?lang=en&idd=15&idd2=. At the beginning of 2008 the Office made available the application for on-line filing of utility model applications.
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.
Webregisters
http://registre.indprop.gov.sk/registre/?lang=en
IPO SR makes accessible various databases on its homepage. Most frequently used databases are "Data extracted from Registers" also called as "Webregisters". Webregisters give public access to data extracted from trademark register, which is kept by the Office. Data concerning in particular pending trademark applications, all filed applications or registered trademarks in the register are daily updated.
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
Products and services
Comprehensive information concerning the products offered by the Office and other relevant information relating to accession and utilization of the products are on http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=27
- Official Gazette
- magazine Intellectual Property
- IPO SR and IPO CZ publications
- E-zine IPO SR
- on-line order forms
- price list
Basic information about following information services offered by the Office including the contact and the way of their utilization are on http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=28
- IPO SR reading room
- trademark databases, information and searches
- order of technical publications
- on-line order forms
- price list
Information services offered by the Office, see the part "Information services available to the public", chapter VI.
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
In 2007 followed the mutual exchange of trademark information in the form of official gazettes between the IPO SR and other offices also international organizations, including the OHIM and the WIPO.
Exchange of machine-readable information
In 2002 the IPO SR stopped the participation in the joint ESPACE TRACES CD-ROM project (Trademarks of BG, CZ, HU, PL, RO and SK).
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)
Training courses for national participants
THE COURSE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=31)
The Office’s Institute for Education was established in year 2000, when the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic granted the accreditation to the IPO SR for a period of five years. In January 2005 the Office has obtained a new five-year period accreditation. The lecturers are university teachers, experts from practice and the IPO SR experts. An overall number of training lessons extends to 342 hours, out of which 227 hours are lectures and the remaining training hours are devoted to hands-on practical exercising and training.
The Intellectual Property course consists of four separate parts: module A: Intellectual Property and Copyright Law Essentials; module B: Creativity - Management of Creativity, Marketing and Economics; module C: Information in the field of Industrial Property Protection; module D: Industrial Property Law. In 2006 the course was attended by 52 participants, out of which 20 employees of the IPO SR.
Supporting activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.):
CONFERENCE (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=31)
Almost 60 participants took part in the sixth year of the Conference Intellectual Property in Slovakia, held on the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, the main topic of which were the national IP protection in the context of international IP developments. On this occasion, an open door day of the IPO was held, during which the Office opened its non-public premises to people. Excursion was connected with presentation of the Office and provision of information and consultancy services.
LECTURES AND SEMINARS (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=31)
In July 2006 the IPO SR in co-operation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation organized an international seminar on the strategic use of IP for economic and social development in Bratislava. The objectives of the seminar were to deliberate on strategic approaches to making use of IP as an effective tool for development and to ensure their integration into national development strategies and plans, depending on specific requirements.
In November the IPO SR joined the EU initiative to devote one week to celebrate science, innovation and creativity – so-called "European Science Week". On the occasion, the IPO SR presented translation of the WIPO publication "Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents", held a meeting with the press representatives who had made extraordinary contribution to popularize the IP domain in Slovakia, and held II. Users’ Day on electronic filing of international and European applications (the I. Users’ Day was held in May).
In pursuance of specific requirements the Office provided for a variety of specialisation oriented groups the lectures, presentations and educational courses related to industrial property rights protection.
EXHIBITIONS (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=30&idd2=3006)
The IPO SR is continuously enhancing the public awareness on industrial property protection also by means of presentations of fairs and exhibitions. The IPO SR took part at 26th International Building Fair CONECO in Bratislava, at the 36th International Chemistry Fair INCHEBA in Bratislava, at the 13th International Mechanical Engineering Fair in Nitra, and the Exhibition of Innovations IENA 2006 in Nuremberg within a joint stand of the European Patent Offices: "Internationales Patent-Informationszentrum".
The public awareness on industrial protection is also enhanced by holding exhibitions in the internal premises of the IPO SR. Almost entire entrance premises of the IPO SR had been reconstructed to serve as an exhibition hall. In December the first exhibitor, the Slovak Technical Museum in Košice, installed an exposition called "the Personalities of Science and Technology in Slovakia". The exposition was prolonged due to success.
PUBLICATIONS (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=27&idd2=2703)
List of publications for sale in Slovak and Czek http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=27&idd2=2703
Last year the Office released several publications. Besides the Intellectual Property in Slovakia Conference workshop VI included an adapted translation of the WIPO publication "Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents" and information materials focused on a general mission of the Office, as well as new products and services provided by the IPO SR.
The trademark department processed the changes and prepared the translation of 2-volume 9th edition of the International Classification of Products and Services. Classification system is available in the Office, in the patent information centres, contact and information points of the IPO SR and "innoinfo" since January 2007.
Main patent and industrial property information magazines/journals published in the country or region of the Office
JOURNAL (http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=sk&idd=27)
Awareness of the public in the field of intellectual property is increased also by the professional magazine INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY magazine ("Duševné vlastníctvo") issued quarterly by the Office.
12 editions of the E-zine IPO SR e-mail magazine were released last year. The magazine in electronic form released regularly each month consists of permanent sections with information from the IPO SR, the world, monitoring of periodicals, selected information from the separate editions of the Intellectual Property Magazine and not missing was also the knowledge contest in the area of science and technology, receiving much acclaimed by E-zine readers.
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 trademarks
Information on legislation related to trademarks
- legislation in force http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=21
- related legislation http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=22
- multilateral treaties http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=24
- EU legislation http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=25
contain the Annual Report of the Office
The Annual Report of the Office
http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=9&idd2=92
if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR
Industrial property
http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=2
Web page contains basic information which are useful for the applicant by filing the application of particular type of industrial property right, such as application forms, legislation, instructions of the IPO SR, information for applicant, administrative fees, contact to expert assistance, etc.:
Patents http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=14
SPC http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=20
Utility models http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=15
Designs http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=16
Topographies http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=17
Trademarks http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=18
Geographical indications http://www.upv.sk/index2.php?lang=en&idd=19
contain trademark-related news regarding the Office
Trademark -related news regarding the Office
http://www.upv.sk/index.php?lang=en