Annual Technical Report 2008 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Poland (SCIT/ATR/ID/2008/PL)
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.
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
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to the previous year
The Industrial Property Law of 30 June 2000 applies in the field of industrial property protection in Poland.
In 2008, additionally the following implementing acts were issued:
- Regulation of the President of the Council of Ministers of 20 May 2008 on registers kept by the Polish Patent Office (Dz.U. No 91, item 564), in force from 12 June 2008;
- Regulation of the President of the Council of Ministers of 15 May 2008 on filing in an electronic form of applications for the protection of inventions, medicinal products and plant protection products, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits, and on carrying out correspondence in an electronic form (Dz.U. No 89, item 540), in force from 7 June 2008;
- Regulation of the Council of Ministers on fees relating to the protection of inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits - Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 26 February 2008 amending the Regulation on fees relating to the protection of inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits (Dz.U. No 41, item 241), in force from 26 March 2008.
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
In 2008, The Polish Patent Office received 1 517 industrial design applications, which is over 9.2% less than in 2007. 1 611 decisions were issued, including 1 365 positive ones. After paying a fee,
1 272 industrial designs have been assigned numbers and entered into the Register. 1 333 certificates of registration of industrial designs were issued.
The Patent Office received from domestic applicants 16 applications for Community industrial design, which were transmitted to the Office of Harmonisation for the Internal Market.
The number of industrial design registration rights in force on 31 December 2008 was 11 062.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to industrial designs
http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Wydawnictwa/Raporty+Roczne.htm (two-language PL/EN versions).
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of industrial design documents and of secondary sources of industrial design information, i.e., official gazettes
Publishing, including printing, copying techniques and electronic printing
The constantly modernized publication system enables production of the Office's publications on its own. The publishing process is based on the DTP system and covers preparation of data contained in the Office's databases, text editing in MS Word programme and picture processing in Adobe Photoshop CS. Final typesetting is made in InDesign 3.0 programme. Printing is performed on the offset machine and digital reproducer. The texts of patent specifications are scanned in OCR technique and pictures are scanned in Adobe Photoshop programme. Then, the texts are combined with the pictures and the first page with bibliographic data. Finally, the patent specification is proof-read and printed in Ms Word programme. Printing is performed on the digital reproducer.
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information
Announcements on industrial designs are mainly published in the second level Official Gazette on paper carrier (information on registered industrial designs). In 2008 there were 1 252 announcements published on registered industrial designs.
The relevant announcements containing ordinances of the President of the Patent Office, official announcements and communications are published in the Official Journal of the Patent Office.
All these publications are forthwith available in PDF format either on the PPO's official web site or the PPO's Online Services Portal. Announcements regarding non-procedural matters, but coupled with the Office's activity like: general information on the PPO's tasks, references, organizational structure. Many non-regular, important announcements are immediately published within the content of the web site.
Mass storage media and microforms used
Mass storage media: hard disks, disk arrays, CD-ROMs, DVDs.
Databases and office automation
The industrial designs information on registrations is available free of charge on the PPO's web site in the data bases and in the Office's Gazettes online; both sources contain bibliographic data and images of the registered industrial designs.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online industrial design gazettes and to other sources of industrial design information, including download of bulk industrial design data
IP information on industrial designs: http://www.uprp.pl/English/PPOs+databases
Online Services Portal with access to the Office’s gazettes, classifications, e-filings and patent attorney's directory: http://ipu.uprp.pl
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied
Classification and reclassification activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification (please indicate whether industrial designs are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)
Annex No. 3 to the Ordinance of the President of the Council of Ministers of 30 January 2002 (as ammended, Dz. U. No 40, item 358 and No 106 item 893 of 2005) on filing and considering industrial designs applications applies in the Polish Patent Office in the scope of industrial designs.
PPO uses its own classification based on the 6th edition of Locarno Classification. The existing files are not reclassified. Application documents are scanned and indexed.
Locarno Classification with many searching and retrieval possibilities has been published on the Online Services Portal of the PPO.
Bibliographic data and processing
The industrial design's bibliographic data is processed within procedural tasks and obligations and is afterwards utilized in many PPO's activities, including the in-house searches, decision makings, exchange and dissemination, among others.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
File building
Information on industrial designs is kept and made available for searching in a paper form and on CD-ROM (International Design Bulletin). Most international publications on industrial designs are presently available on-line, thus the Office has renounced receiving paper copies, therefore, the file building has been significantly diminished
Storage, including mass storage media
The Office has stored large amounts of information in a persisting and machine-readable fashion.
We are under way of a process of disposing of some of our paper search files (domestic and foreign) to save space, in view of the extensive use of online searching in respect of our industrial designs holdings.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
The OHIM and WIPO relevant resources.
V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs
In-house systems (online/offline)
The Office handles and runs two internal systems:
1) the retrieval system (TULIPAN) with access restricted exclusively to examiners; the system provides procedural data concerning industrial designs and ornamental designs;
2) the system of administration and search for the industrial designs (WZOPRZEM).
External databases
The Office's web site and the Online Services Portal offer facilities for accessing Polish designs. Functionality is offered to customers to receive periodic information, information on procedure and fees and procedural information from the PPO's databases.
The Office website is linked to WIPO Designs and OHIM Designs online search facilities.
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
The pilot environment under e-Phoenix for the purposes of electronic data storage of industrial designs was run; the production is now under way and is planned to be launched in the year 2009.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), data carriers used
The PPO workstations infrastructure includes around 4 different types of workstations configured. All of those workstations (approximately 580 PCs) are secured by McAfee antivirus and antispam system. All network connections are based on CISCO and Alcatel equipment with 20 Mb access to the Internet. Server infrastructure for the On-line Portal includes 9 application servers; 5 database servers; 10 TB build-up array; back-ups for Tivoli Storage Management, Fujitsu FI-5900C scanner, 125 packages for the purposes of qualified signatures. On-Line Portal servers are supported by local UPSes and they are also hooked to Main power supply unit for the PPO.
Back office hardware located in secured/zoned Data Centre with fire alarm and CTV system, redundant air-conditioning and technical floor.
Most of workstations run under Windows 2000, and server's operational systems are Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10. The SAN mass memory network was configured in order to make matrices available to the computing systems. Efforts were made to initiate changes with regard to the running in-house operational system. Scheduled to be completed in early 2009, all workstations are going to be upgraded and run under Windows XP environments.
VI. Administration of industrial design information products and 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)
Collection management, preservation
In addition to manual search facilities, the PPO's and the Online Services Portal web sites provide information relating to design registrations including forms and fees, legal decisions, guides for applicants. Information is also available from the Office's Information Unit.
Full text specifications of industrial designs registered in the PPO organised in classified collections were displayed for the users in the Office's Library.
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and industrial design information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
Computerized services and search files for many years have been available from the official PPO's web site. In 2008, they became accessible from our Online Services Portal.
Information on industrial designs is available in the 27 PATLIB centres in the form of CD-ROMS, DVDs, internet databases and printed bulletins.
URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of industrial design applications
See V, item 3 above, and more – the entire and complex relevant module is being prepared under the Online Services Portal; temporarily, users can download all required forms, fill in electronically, and either mail or fax them to the Office, thus initiating the industrial designs procedure before the PPO.
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 industrial designs; opposition and appeal procedures related to industrial designs; etc.
Filing with the PPO:
National Procedure:
http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Procedura+krajowa
International Procedure:
http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Procedura+miedzynarodowa
Forms (including those for electronic filing):
http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Procedura+krajowa/Formularze/Formularze.htm
Procedures before the PPO - Basic Information:
http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Informacje+o+UPRP/Podstawowe+informacje+i+poradniki
http://www.uprp.pl/English/About+the+Polish+Patent+Office/Basic+information
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., industrial design search service(s) and industrial design databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them
Databases:
PL interface:
http://www.uprp.pl/patentwebaccess/databasechoose.aspx?language=polski
EN interface:
http://www.uprp.pl/patentwebaccess/databasechoose.aspx?language=english
Online Services Portal:
http://ipu.uprp.pl/portal/web/guest/publikacje
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of industrial design documentation and information
International or regional cooperation in the exchange of industrial design information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes
In 2008, the exchange of patent documentation and information with foreign patent offices was continued. The Office sent 306 copies of second level Oficial Gazette to 35 countries.
Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape
Within international exchange the PPO received foreign official gazettes on CD-ROM containing data on industrial designs (International Design Bulletin).
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.)
In 2008, within industrial property protection the PPO organised or participated in the following events:
- Conference "Intellectual Property Protection Influential on the Success of Women in Science and Business" organized in Warsaw by the Patent Office in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation, UN European Economic Committee, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, National Economic Chamber and Association of Private Employers Lewiatan;
- International conference on educational platform IP Panorama for increasing the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises in IP management, co-organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization and Korean Intellectual Property Organization;
- International scientific conference "Poland and European System of industrial Property Protection" organized by the PPO on the 90th anniversary of its foundation;
- Conference on "Combat Against Intellectual Piracy" co-organized in Warsaw by the Polish Patent Office, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Anti-piracy Association, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Authors Association ZAIKS;
- Annual "Scientific Picnic" of the Bis Radio in Warsaw (promotional stand);
- International Fairs in Poznan (promotional stand);
- International Symposium in Krakow on "Industrial Property in Innovative Economy - Evaluation of Patents Risks Related to Implementation" co-organized by the Patent Office, European Commission, European Patent Office, Krakow University of Technology and Jagiellonian University, Marshal of Malopolskie voivodeship, under the auspices of the Minister of Economy and Commissioner of the EC Prof. Huebner;
- Industrial Technology, Science and Innovation Fair in Gdansk (promotional stand);
- 8th National Educational Forum for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Warsaw organized by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (promotional stand);
- Ceremony of prize award in the 6th edition of the competition for the best artistic poster as well as postdoctoral, doctoral, master's and student's theses on the subject of industrial property organized by the Patent Office.
Awarded Posters as well as posters from previous editions were exhibited in the Museum of Posters in Warsaw.
Within the scope of promotional activities the PPO, in collaboration with OHIM and Polish agency of Industry Development, prepared and printed the followig publications:
- "Industrial Designs in Business Operations of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises"-10 000 copies;
- "10 Reasons for Using Community system" - 5000 copies;
- "Your World of Intellectual Property"- 5000 copies.
Training courses for national and foreign participants
Every year, Polish Patent Office organises trainings to raise professional skills of its staff.
In 2008, after completing two year training, 19 Office's employees obtained examiner's qualifications and 13 employees, who completed their training and passed the qualifying examinations, obtained assistant examiners's qualifications.
Additionally, language courses for PPO employees (languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian) were organised.
Within the framework of the training program for assistant examiners, and for newly recruited civil service members, 5 lectures for 150 participants were given on industrial property law and responsibilities of the PPO.
Moreover, staff members benefited from many specialist training courses organised by professional educational centres such as: National School of Public Administration, Institute of Accountancy and Taxes, Mazovian Voivodeship Centre for Personnel Training. The subject matter of the trainings included the issues of public procurement, management, finances, information technologies and labour law.
Continual efforts were made in order to launch in the near future the Data Disclosing System for the purposes of the Police, the Customs, and the Border Guard. The main task of the newly being designed system is making available on-line information on the subject of industrial property protection and optical carriers that are produced in Poland.
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
n/a
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 industrial designs
PL version: http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Akty+prawne/Obowiazujace+akty+prawne/default.htm
EN version: http://www.uprp.pl/English/Law
contain the Annual Report of the Office
Location from PL content: http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Informacje+o+UPRP/Raporty+Roczne
Location from EN content: http://www.uprp.pl/English/About+the+Polish+Patent+Office/annual
if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR
n/a
provide open source codes related to industrial design information systems
n/a
contain industrial design-related news regarding the Office
The PPO's News: http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Wiadomosci%20i%20ogloszenia/Aktualnosci
The PPO's press review: http://www.uprp.pl/Polski/Przeglad+prasy