Annual Technical Report 2003 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Republic of Moldova (SCIT/ATR/TM/2003/MD)
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I. Evolution of registration activities
See attached Table I
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes
The main types of announcements of the Office in the field of trademark information are:
The Official Bulletin of Industrial Property Protection (BOPI);
The Trademark Register;
The Appellations of Origin Register.
National Register of Applications for the Registration of Trademarks
National Register of Applications for the Registration of Appellations of Origin
BOPI including Sections IV and V with information on trademarks and appellations of origin, from January 2000 onwards is available online via our AGEPI web site at www.agepi.md in portable document format (PDF).
Section IV of BOPI contains:
- Examined applications for trademark registration;
- List of registered trademarks;
- List of renewed trademarks.
Section V contains:
- Examined applications for appellations of origin of goods;
- List of registered appellations of origin.
Section VII contains various types of notices referring to all amendments related to the legal status of the protected industrial property objects (List of amendments, List of assignment agreements, Errata, etc), the half-yearly subject indexes of registered trademarks.
The AGEPI maintains a complete history of its national trademark files in paper form.
In 2003 began creation of electronic archive, 3500 paper files have been scanned.
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 state 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)
During 2003 the AGEPI applied:
•International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification), the eighth edition; (as from 01.01.2002)
•International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), fourth edition;
•three - digit INID codes in accordance with the WIPO Standard ST.60.
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
To check the conformity of goods and services to the Nice Classification and of the figurative elements to the Vienna Classification the AGEPI uses the electronic classification system on the CD ROMARIN and electronic version of classification translated into Romanian.
Obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied
It is obligatory for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification applied.
Bibliographic data and processing for search purposes
Data included in the WIPO Standard ST.60.
IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep
The examiner’s search files are the following:
• card - file of word trademarks grouped in alphabetic order;
• card - file of combined trademarks grouped by categories of the Nice Classification;
• card - file of combined trademarks grouped in alphabetic order of the words;
• card - file of figurative marks grouped by categories of the Vienna Classification;
• card - file of appellations of origin grouped in numerical order;.
• paper-case with the list of signs protected under Article 6 ter of the Paris Convention not included in the “Article 6 ter CD”;
• list of geographical indications which are protected under a bilateral or regional agreement in respect of the protection of geographical indications;
• list of names of plant varieties registered in the Republic of Moldova.
At the disposal of examiners, there are three foreign databases on CD-ROM (Romarin, USAMark, and Community Trade Mark Bulletin), Trademark Gazettes of different countries and via the Internet the Madrid Express Database – data collection hosted by WIPO. From October 10, 2002, the AGEPI has at its disposal the CD-ROM with INN from OMS, which is used for search purposes. The examiners also use different browsers for search in Internet, dictionaries, atlases and electronic encyclopedias.
Moreover, the manual paper search files consist of encyclopedias, dictionaries, special books, periodicals, and a number of other lists and sources.
Both the examiner’s search files and documentation at the library are updated on a regular basis.
V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems
In 2003 has been completed and handed over in operation Database “National Trademarks”. Database is based on “Interbase Server” platform. It was started the creation of the program “Statistics” for “National Trademarks” database.
There were elaborated and put into operation the Programs for procedural fees evidence and for fees statistics.
Several work stations were modernized, offering thus, from the technical point of view, sufficient possibilities of homogenizing the working environment, the operation and application software used within the Agency, namely the installation of the Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and the MS Office 2000 Professional. All examiners have access to the Internet at their desks.
Equipment used:
The internal network uses a client-server arrangement on an Ethernet LAN running Microsoft Active Directory Domain. The platform used by the Trademarks Department uses a database server, for Interbase applications. Client PCs are used by all staff and are Pentium III or Pentium IV machines with a mixture of 15" or 17" CRT screens. Client PCs operating systems is Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP. The Software specific of the CD-ROM collections is ROMARIN.
VI. Administration of trademark 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)
The office library functions simultaneously as an in-house and public library, open to a wide range of patent information users of the Republic of Moldova.
The library specialists are available to assist the public in all aspects of their work with catalogues, CD-ROMs, books, etc. The AGEPI Library is available to the public during 6 days (except Sunday) from 9:00 to 16:00.
Collection management, preservation
The Library collection is arranged along geographical-systematic-numerical lines. The conditions for storing collections correspond to the types of information carriers used:
- patent documentation on paper is stored in cassettes on shelves;
- on CD-ROM – in catalog racks;
- in automated databases.
The Library Soft “IRBIS”, for acquisition processes automation, formation of electronic catalogue “Books” and library administration, is implemented in the AGEPI Library.
The AGEPI Collection on CD/DVD-ROM available to the public is shown in the attached Table II.
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 AGEPI Library has a general and a specialized reading room.
Visits to the patent Library and services offered to all categories of readers are free of charge.
The Library also provides, by payment, such services as copying the documents from CD-ROM/DVD-ROM on paper or on CD / DVD-ROM (in 2003 – 4212 documents), copying the documents form the Library paper Collection; selling the AGEPI editions.
The main features regarding the library-information services rendered in 2003 are the following: readers- 531; visits – 5882; borrowed documents – 45322.
During the year 2003, the AGEPI has rendered to the economic agents over 1130 consultations on the procedures of obtaining industrial property rights, organized many visits to the enterprises; it rendered a double volume of search services in the IPP field as compared with the previous year.
Information about the new acquisitions in the library collection is systematically offered on the AGEPI web site. The information provided on the AGEPI web site – www.agepi.md – covers all general topics concerning patents (national and international legislation, preparation of application, office procedures, application forms).
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information
In the year 2003, the process for completion and development of the literature and document collection in the industrial property protection field continued on the basis of a bilateral exchange with 44 foreign patent and trademark offices. The acquisition of literature in the field via libraries, publications and book exhibitions, by subscription to periodical publications from the country and from abroad also continued on the basis of periodicals published by the AGEPI - in total over 80 sources.
The Official Bulletin (BOPI) was received in 2003 by bilateral exchange from 25 countries in paper form and from 6 countries on CD-ROM (in total 889 Official Bulletins); 1173 CD-ROMs have been acquired in 2003 by bilateral exchange, as well as, 647 books and 2487 periodicals.
The Agency has furnished BOPI- Official Bulletins to 39 countries (468 copies) and 4 international organizations (48 copies). The CD-ROMs “Inventions of the Republic of Moldova” and “IP Legislation of the Republic of Moldova” were delivered to 25 countries.
VIII. Matters concerning education and training including technical assistance to developing countries
During the year 2003, the AGEPI organized on industrial property protection matters 16 national seminars and 5 seminars in cooperation with regional and international organizations. The AGEPI staff participated in 53 international events such trainings, meetings, seminars, symposia, works, consultations, official visits etc. in the field.
Concomitantly, the AGEPI has held specialized courses for judges, customers, councilors in industrial property and managers of economic units of the republic.
During the year 2003, the Office participated in 18 national exhibitions and granted logistical and financial assistance for the participation of inventors in 4 international exhibitions (“Inventica”-Iaşi, Romania; “Brussels-Eureka”, Belgium; “PALEXPO” – Geneva, Switzerland; International Fair of Industrial Technologies, Methods of Production, Goods and Services from CIS Member States – Kiev, Ukraine).
The communications, interviews, reports (circa 400) made or given by the AGEPI specialists to journalists from 45 journals of the Republic, including 4 press conferences organized on the occasion of key events, 41 articles on the AGEPI activity and IPP issues, photo-video recordings placed in the national Press, Radio and TV, Internet and other information sources contributed essentially to IP promotion throughout the country.
IX. Other relevant matters
On the base of bilateral agreements, the list of geographical indications for alcoholic drinks of the Republic of Moldova was furnished to Georgia and Ukraine.