Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2020 submitted by Poland

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization

The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland aims at the development of patent information activities within cooperation with PATLIB centres, the European Patent Office, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the European Commission.  Within the above mentioned cooperation, the Office implements new services as well as adapts and improves the existing services and tools.  Main policies and plans of the Office include among others activities aimed at supporting innovativeness of SMEs, commercialisation of intellectual property and development of entrepreneurship. 

In the first quarter of 2020, the PPO launched a new electronic services platform (PUEUP), and electronic services under this project were expanded in the third quarter of that year. The main goal of the project was to provide customers with new platforms for the provision of electronic services. The whole system includes the following modules that were fully implemented from the design phase to production and delivered with the infrastructure:

  • e-Baza-Wiedzy (e-Knowledge Base),
  • e-Profil (e-Profile),
  • e-Rejestry (e-Registers),
  • e-Wyszukiwarka (e-Search),
  • e-Powiadomienia (e-Notifications),
  • e-Płatności (e-Payments).

The PPO plans to expand the functionalities of the aforementioned PUEUP modules in accordance with the needs and expectations of customers and users of the platform.

For the purpose of the e-Search, collection folders were created to publish patent descriptions, protection descriptions of utility models, protection descriptions of industrial designs and patent descriptions of European translations. Moreover, in the collection folders we also include abstracts and drawings for the submitted inventions and utility models.

In 2020, the PPO started preparing and sending archival citations to the EPO and these citations are prepared as a set of test files with citation data in XML format.

With the launch of the new e-Profile module, the following forms were started:

  • Application for a protection right for a trademark,
  • Application for granting the right in registration for an industrial design,
  • Application for granting a patent for an invention,
  • Application for a protection right for a utility model,
  • European patent validation,
  • Opposition to a trademark application,
  • Application for the publication of information on the invention / utility model at an earlier date,
  • Application for a priority document,
  • Response to the provision on the listing of goods and services,
  • Application for entry in the register (change of the authorized entity),
  • Indication of the goods for which the right of protection for a trademark is renewed,
  • Application for entry in the register (entry of information about the granted license),
  • Application for entry of a civil / registered pledge,
  • Application for an extract from the register,
  • Contact details form for notifications about the date of payment for the extension of the protection of exclusive rights,
  • General Correspondence form.

In addition to the forms available in ePUAP, customers of the PPO can submit applications on the forms available in the PUEUP e-Profile module, which is integrated with the Electronic Document Management System EZD.

In relation to launching the PUEUP platform, the services previously provided by the PPO were excluded and their functionalities were transferred to the PUEUP platform, i.e.

  • Publication Server,
  • Register Plus for patents,
  • Online Services Portal.

In 2020, the PPO continued to maintain the Intranet system based on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Enterprise software.

In 2020, in cooperation with WIPO, a project was implemented to use the system called IPCRMS to adopt the centralized translation of International Patent Classification (IPC) into Polish. Additionally, The IPC server was replaced with a new one enabling the installation of a new version of IPC application and the creation of archives of old IPC versions (2006 – 2017 versions are available in pdf format). In 2020, a new version of the classification was added.

The PPO continued to maintain Patent Attorneys and Applicants List searchable. Only small adjustments in the data structure were introduced and the system was adapted to existing legislation.

The PPO continued to provide public data concerning the protection of industrial property, publications as well as information on patent attorneys, etc. The address of the website on which we publish the data has changed, currently it is https://dane.gov.pl/pl. Due to the launch of the PUEUP platform, the data sent to this portal comes from the e-Search module.

The PPO still maintained separate official publications of Bulletin of the Patent Office (BUP) for trademarks, inventions and utility models. In 2020, the PPO sent to the EPO up-to-date file descriptions of patents and utility models in xml format. These data are currently published on ESPACENET.

New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks

In 2020, the new Electronic Services Platform (PUEUP) was launched. In total, 7 electronic services were implemented:

  • e-Registry - viewing the entries entered in the registry and obtaining an excerpt from registry;
  • EP Validation - obtaining protection on the territory of Poland;
  • Expiration Date Notification - informing about the expiration date of protection;
  • Information Subscription - searching for information in defined sources maintained by UPRP (including automatic notifications based on user criteria);
  • e-Filing - applying for trademarks, patents, industrial designs registration to obtain an IP protection;
  • e-Submission - handling electronic correspondence during the whole IP lifecycle of trademarks, patents and industrial designs;
  • Changes in registry - management of records changes in registry (e.g. in case of extension of the protection, updating the owners, resignation from protection, changes in rights, pledges, licenses, etc.).

As part of the PUEUP platform, the e-Search module was launched, which contains in one place all documents published by Polish Patent Office: WUP (VLO), BUP, Polish patent specifications, Polish utility models, Polish industrial designs and patent translations into Polish published by the European Patent Office which are valid in the territory of Poland were gathered in separate document libraries in PDF format.

In 2020, as part of organizing the publishers of BUP and VLO and related documents (patent descriptions, descriptions of utility models, descriptions of industrial designs, descriptions of translations of European patents), a page of the PPO Bulletin and News was prepared on the PUEUP platform (under the Act on industrial property). The data was divided into years, months and publication numbers of BUP and VLO. For the VLO publication under the publication number, links to the descriptions lists in the e-Search were implemented.

Link to the website: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/publikacje/biuletyn-i-wiadomosci-uprp

Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year

In 2020 the functionality of search systems, which are in the portfolio of the Office (Search System of Industrial Properties, Publication Server, Register Plus for patents, etc.) was replaced with the e-Search module.

Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes

In 2020, the PPO received 4098 patent applications under the national procedure (out of which 4010 national applications, 88 foreign applications). An increase of almost 2.5% was recorded in comparison with 2019 when 3999 patent applications were filed under the national procedure (including 3887 national and 112 foreign).

In 2020, the PPO received 870 utility models applications under national procedure (out of which 793 national and 77 foreign). A decline of almost 4.5% was recorded in comparison with 2019 when 911 utility model applications were filed under the national procedure (including 855 national and 56 foreign).

In 2020, 2308 patents were granted, including 2260 to domestic and 48 to foreign entities, as compared to 3042 patents in 2019, to 2947 domestic and 95 foreign entities.

Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

Statistics are accessed at the following URLs: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/o-urzedzie/statystyki

This page consists of:

News page: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs

The  PPO information and support options in 2020 included:

1) Via website: https://uprp.gov.pl (all information about patents, trademarks, designs, etc. and instructions e.g. "How to patent an invention or protect a utility model?");

2) Via telephone: (+48 22 579 05 55);

3) Via e-mail: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/centrum-informacji

4) Via virtual information service window (Webex platform): https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/wirtualne-okno-obslugi-informacyjnej

5) Directly in the Front Office of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland at the Cambridge Innovation Centre - Warsaw: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/informacje/front-office-urzedu-patentowego-rp-w-kampusie-innowacji##googtrans(pl|en)


Management of the contacts in 2020 (phone + mail) was performed through software:

1)      Personal contacts (CRM system):

- 666 meetings in PPO Front Office

- 46 meetings via virtual window (from August 2020)

- 12 meetings in PPO Front Office in Cambridge Innovation Centre (from August 2020, 2 hours a week)

(Patents and utility models: 190, Trademarks: 402, Industrial designs: 27)

2)      Within Register IP Info Center customer contacts (OSCC, CRM systems);

- 6 933 emails were received

- 24 962 calls were answered and performed (including the call back - 604) 

(Patents and utility models: 4085, Trademarks: 14433, Industrial designs: 716)

- 64 meetings took place with examiners and at the Center of information 

3)    Identification  and differentiation of customers (OSCC, CRM systems);

4)    Carrying out customer satisfaction surveys (CRM system) - level of satisfaction 96%;

5)    Analyses of  the contacts (analyses, statistics - CRM, OSCC systems);

6)    Keeping records and transferring customer requests (satisfaction, complaints, suggestions for improvement) (TRX system);

7)    Sending e-notifications about the expiry of the protection period of industrial property rights (PUEUP system):  15 876

The CRM system is shared between 15 departments in contact with the public. A change of version was introduced for:

- independent work with the contact, regardless of the fact who established the contact and possibility to change/edit the contact data;

- interfacing with other applications (Computer Telephony Integration, callback, meetings time and visits, virtual information service window and live-chat) to facilitate the customer relation management. Tool for measuring the customers’ satisfaction. IP Info Center has a non-verbal communication system to improve information service for deaf and hard hearing customers.

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

Customers using PUEUP have access to application files which are sent electronically to the PPO. Customers may also use the forms available in the e-Profile module in order to submit applications in electronic form.

Classification1, preclassification2 (if applicable), reclassification3 activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information

In 2020, the electronic 2020.01 version of the International Patent Classification was launched.

Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents

The Digitisation Department prepares and makes available the translations of the European patents in an electronic version which are entered into the PPO databases and e-search engine. In 2020, the Department prepared 13736 translations of European patents into Polish.

III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE


Main types of publications of the Office (patent applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, granted patents, etc.), medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)

In 2020, the following publications were issued:

- “Biuletyn Urzędu Patentowego. Wynalazki i Wzory użytkowe” (Bulletin of the Patent Office – Inventions and Utility Models) – biweekly (in electronic form on the Office’s website), 27 numbers (https://uprp.gov.pl/plpublikacje/biuletyn-i-wiadomosci-uprp );

- “Wiadomości Urzędu Patentowego” (Communications of the Patent Office) – monthly, and from May 2020 – biweekly (in electronic form on the Office’s website), 21 numbers (https://uprp.gov.pl/plpublikacje/biuletyn-i-wiadomosci-uprp );

- 2019 Annual Report of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland – in electronic form on the Office’s website (https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/publikacje/raport-roczny-uprp ) and 395 copies on paper;

- Patent Specifications (type B1 documents) – 2 326 titles – 16 273 copies;

- Protection Specifications of Utility Models – 574 titles – 2 296 copies.

Information on patents is also  available on the website of the Office:

Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.

Announcements on patents and utility models are primarily published in the official gazettes available online: "Biuletyn Urzędu Patentowego. Wynalazki i wzory użytkowe" - Bulletin of the Patent Office. Inventions and Utility Models (biweekly, information on patent and utility model applications) and in "Wiadomości Urzędu Patentowego" - Communications of the Patent Office (biweekly, information on granted patents and granted protection rights for utility models). They are available free of charge in PDF format at: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/publikacje/biuletyn-i-wiadomosci-uprp. Announcements containing ordinances of the President of the Polish Patent Office, official announcements and communications are published in the Official Journal of the Patent Office.

In 2020, 3946 announcements on filed patent applications and 746 announcements on utility model applications were published in Bulletin of the Patent Office.  Inventions and Utility Models, and 2339 announcements on granted patents and 576 announcements on granted protection rights for utility models were published in Communications of the Patent Office.

Announcements regarding non-procedural matters, but connected to the Office's activity like: general information on the PPO's tasks, references, organizational structure, HR matters are published on the Internet version of "Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej" (Public Information Bulletin) on the official PPO's website.  Many non-regular, important announcements are immediately published on the website.

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases

In 2020, the following information products were available to examiners:

  • e-Search provides simple (full-text) search, advanced (deterministic) search and searching in collections of documents (PDF). The e-Search module contains bibliographic data and a list of collections:
    • Trademarks,
    • Inventions,
    • European Patents,
    • Supplementary Protection Certificate,
    • Utility Models,
    • Industrial Designs,
    • Topographies of Integrated Circuits.

The data is published free of charge on the website https://ewyszukiwarka.pue.uprp.gov.pl/search/simple-search (user interface in Polish, English and French).

  • Espacenet – Worldwide database of patents and utility models containing collections of PL (bibliographic data in English): Polish interface available at https://pl.espacenet.com;
  • EPOQUENet Suite.

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)

Online sources of patent information and collections include:

The PPO provides access to patent literature in the reading room where external users can also search free of charge in online databases and databases on CD and DVD.  The latter include: bibliographic databases, databases of full text patent documents, thematic databases of patent and technical literature.

Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)

In order to make entries on the legal status of exclusive rights protected on the territory of Poland, the following registers are held: patent register, utility model register.  Registers include information necessary to establish the subject and scope of protection (e.g. date of filing, title), entity (or entities) entitled to rights concerning a given subject of protection (e.g. holders, licensees, securities, seizure) and other useful information (e.g. applications for revocation).  Everyone who submits a relevant application and pays a fee to the account of the Office can obtain excerpts from the register.

Information on the legal status is available in e-Search at: https://ewyszukiwarka.pue.uprp.gov.pl/search/simple-search

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements

EPOQUE Net is a professional patent information retrieval tool which supports the processes of searching and granting patents. The tool consists of a bundle of searching applications and tools and is accessible for Patent Offices via the Patent secure network. EPOQUE Net is continuously improved by the European Patent Office and distributed to National Offices.

In 2020, a new version of Espacenet was further developed. Currently, training in the functionality of the new version is carried out.

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

The PPO uses workstations and notebooks with Microsoft Windows 10; multimedia tablets with Apple iOS, Google Android and Microsoft Windows 10 Pro; physical servers with Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard and virtual servers using Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Datacenter with Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 installed, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10/11/12, CentOS Linux 5/6/7/8, Oracle Linux 5/6/7, Debian GNU/Linux 6/7/8 and Ubuntu Server LTS, RedHat Enterprise Linux 7.x/8.x; hypervisor servers with VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V.

All of workstations, notebooks and servers are secured by Symantec antivirus.

All network connections are based on Cisco, FortiNet and Extreme Networks equipment with 500 Mb/s redundant access to the Internet (two separate Internet connections). The availability of services published on the Internet is supported by the FortiNet WAF cluster and Barracuda Load Balancer cluster. Security is also provided by McAfee IPS and Fidelis Cybersecurity and Forcepoint antispam systems.

The server infrastructure is supported by local UPSs and secured by the main power supply unit for the PPO. The main IT infrastructure units are located in a secure server room equipped with a fire alarm, CCTV system, redundant air-conditioning and a technical floor.

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

Patent data is stored in specialized, regularly updated internal databases in which image information and bibliographic details are stored, for example:

  • Soprano – a system supporting the process of granting rights of protection for patents and utility models (national procedure, the SPC and the European patent validation procedure);
  • Databases supporting the process of publishing patents and utility models.

Most production databases are hosted by Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise, Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Enterprise and MySQL Server 4/5, PostgreSQL 9.

Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file

EP data is stored and accessed via Soprano system.

Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)

The main electronic administrative system Soprano (work-flow) supports the process of granting protection rights to patents and utility models (national procedure, SPC and the European patent validation procedure). The system is adopted to work together with ePhoenix which stores electronic files and Electronic Document Management System (EZD), which facilitates the processing of incoming and outgoing correspondence. External users have access to registry information and legal status via e-Search module. The Settlement Module (MR) is used as a supplementary system for managing fees and payments.

Other matters

The PPO maintained a professional call centre service based on Unify OpenScape Contact Centre Enterprise software and a new system of customer relationship management based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 365 software.

The public information request lists are stored in the EZD system.

The leading office software used for word processing and spreadsheet was: Microsoft Office 2016 Standard & Professional Plus and Apache OpenOffice 4.

In 2020, the PPO maintained the Data Protection System in order to protect and control patent data to avoid uncontrolled outflow or unwanted access.

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF PATENT INFORMATION

Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries

Patent documentation on paper is stored in the Office storage rooms on movable bookshelves, in numerical and class arrangements, and is grouped separately according to respective countries.  Class collection is stored in special files, adjusted to this type of collection.  Numerical collection is stored in bound volumes.  The storage rooms meet all the requirements for the collections’ safety.  Polish patent documents arranged according to the patent classification symbols are available in the Office's general reading room.

Collection of patent documents on CD-ROM and DVD is stored on specially adjusted bookshelves.  It is available in the reading room, also to external users.

The Office's reading room is also equipped with computer stations where PPO employees and external users can retrieve patent information from internet databases.

The Polish Patent Office cooperates with 26 PATLIB information centres, most of them located within libraries of schools of higher education.  The centres provide patent information and consultancy and employ patent attorneys.  They also conduct free of charge seminars and trainings for those interested in patent information.

The Patent Office supplies the centres with patent literature and informational materials on paper and electronic carriers for further dissemination.

Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.

As part of promotion of knowledge on industrial property, the Patent Office issues various publications such as guides, information and promotion brochures addressed to wide audience, among others to entrepreneurs, students, school youth.  Those publications are available free of charge both in electronic version and PDF format as well as on paper at the premises of the Office.

The publications include the following titles: Get Familiar with Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property for an Entrepreneur, Intellectual Property – Entrepreneur’s Booklet, Your World of Intellectual Property, What Is Intellectual Property, Inventions in SMEs Activity, Industrial Property Protection in a Nutshell, Inventions in Your House, Patents (comic book).

Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.

The Patent Office collaborates with various institutions in promoting knowledge on intellectual property (organisation of conferences, workshops, trainings, patronage of the PPO President over numerous initiatives etc.).

In 2020, the Office collaborated with the following entities, to name a few:

- collaboration with universities (Jagiellonian University in Kraków, University of Warsaw, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, University of Łódź, Łódź University of Technology, Kielce University of Technology, Kraków University of Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Wrocław University of Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, etc.);

- collaboration with science and business-related institutions, including The National Centre for Research and Development, Łukasiewicz Research Network, Association of Polish Inventors and Rationalisers, Polish Federation of Engineering Associations (NOT), Polish Chamber of Patent Attorneys; National Information Processing Institute, National Chamber of Commerce, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Institute of Industrial Design, Institute of Aviation, Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, Kielce Technology Park, Agency for Industrial Development S.A., etc.;

- collaboration with governmental administration institutions: Ministry of National Education (currently Ministry of Education and Science), Ministry of Development (currently Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology), Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (currently Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport), Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, as well as local government authorities.

Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.

In 2020, the PPO organised, among others, the following events:

  • Conference “Mediation and arbitrage in disputes concerning intellectual property” (4 February);
  • Webinar “Intellectual Property for Start-ups” (31 March);
  • IP Day webinars on the occasion of the World IP Day (23-27 April);
  • 13th International Conference on Innovation and Creativity in Economy (29-30 June);
  • Conference and a series of training courses: “Intellectual Property Courts – changes in the Polish legal system” (24 September, 16 and 26 October);
  • Two online meetings for researchers (21 October, 17 November);
  • Training courses for journalists on how to write articles and present information on industrial property protection (6 and 13 November)
  • 18th edition of the annual competition for the best artistic poster as well postdoctoral, doctoral, master’s and student’s theses on the subject of industrial property protection and the 8th edition of a short movie and press release competition.

In 2020, the PPO published information in the e-Knowledge Base module on a specially prepared Educational Platform (Educational Platform, current address https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/platforma-edukacyjna) which is a compendium of knowledge about intellectual property issues. The target group includes enterprises (especially MSEs) and businesses related to public institutions (including schools of higher education) and other entities.

  • The Knowledge Zone includes information, publications and other materials addressed both to entities with advanced knowledge on IP issues as well as those ones looking for basic information on IP protection, procedures and management.
  • The training zone consists of 2 parts: beginner user and advanced user. For these users, training in intellectual property protection is available, which ends with a test verifying the acquired knowledge.

The PPO also maintained the IPPanorama e-learning platform which was dedicated to broadening and promoting the knowledge in the field of intellectual property protection,  it is currently available at http://ippanorama.uprp.pl.

The Patent Information Centre Forum was prepared, a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge, comments and opinions between the Patent Information Centres and the Office.

Other activities

In 2020, the PPO maintained a special Seventica service for non-verbal communication (using the service, the sounds of human language are immediately translated into sign language on a computer or a tablet). The aim of the project was to remove communication barriers among people with hearing deficiency.

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information

The Office provides several patent offices and organizations with its bibliographic data and abstracts in the flat text machine-readable format, and also xml format.  Full-text information is provided in PDF fully searchable format.  Electronic filings submitted to the PPO under the EP and WO procedures are transferred to the EPO and WIPO respectively.

Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information

In 2020, the PPO continued cooperation in areas such as training, patent-related services and IT tools, patent information services and awareness and strengthening of the European Patent Network (EPN).

We continued cooperation with the Visegrad Patent Institute (WIP), expanded the website and developed the necessary functionalities of the application to handle the Institute's affairs.

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

www.uprp.gov.pl


1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.

2. Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner).  Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.

3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC).  The new symbols are available on patent databases.