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Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of paten= t information activities and expected time frames for their realization
The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland aims at development of paten= t information activities within cooperation with PATLIB centres, the Europe= an Patent Office, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the Euro= pean Commission. Within the above mentioned cooperation the Office implemen= ts new services as well as adapts and improves the existing services and to= ols provided by national intellectual property offices.
Main policies and plans of the Office include among others activities ai= med at supporting innovation of SMEs, commercialization of intellectual pro= perty and development of entrepreneurship. Those activities are implemented= by improving business skills in patent information usage, especially in cr= eating strategies of enterprises, creating a cooperation platform between b= usiness and scientific environment as well as a platform for exchanging exp= erience and knowledge.
New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the= policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tas= ks
In 2018, the PPO actively participated in the development project of the= new electronic services platform (PUEUP). The main aim of the project is t= o provide a new platform for providing electronic services to clients. In 2= 018, the public procurement procedure to select the final contractor was co= nducted. The newly selected company had to prepare the following modules of= PUEUP platform: e-Baza Wiedzy (knowledge database), e-Profil (user profile= ), e-Platno=C5=9Bci (payments), e-Powiadomienia (user message system), e-Wy= szukiwarka (search system) and Infrastruktura (infrastructure). During the = 2018, the first step of analysis was initiated.
In 2018, the PPO was active in the field of e-administration services ta= king part in the development of functionalities related to the use of the g= overnmental Electronic Platform of Public Administration Services (ePUAP). = The PPO dealt with maintaining the existing forms in terms of their functio= nality and reliability and it redefined the process of exchanging documents= between ePUAP and Electronic Document Management System (EZD). The most im= portant activity was the preparation of new formulas allowing for faster da= ta collection and elimination of access errors.
In 2018, the PPO took actions to improve and extend the functionalities = of the PPO Industrial Properties Search System. The new mechanisms for coll= ecting translations of European patents into Polish, valid on the territory= of Poland, were introduced with the possibility of collecting statistical = information on queries statistics. After the implementation of the newly pr= epared Intranet system, the above search systems were reinstalled on the ne= w SharePoint 2013 platform.
In 2018, the PPO finished the implementation of Intranet system based on= Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Enterprise software.
In 2018, a new base of industrial properties was made to allow the prese= ntation of data of European Patents in the PPO Industrial Properties Search= System. Additionally, SPC patent and utility models were added.
The PPO continued to maintain Patent Attorneys and Applicants List <= /em>searchable. Only small adjustments in the data structure were introduce= d and the system was adapted to the existing legislation.
The PPO continued to provide data on the DanePubliczne.gov.pl = website concerning the protection of industrial property, publications prov= ided by the Office as well as information on patent attorneys, etc.
In 2018 within the Quality and Source Project, the PPO finished sending = up-to-date descriptions of patents and utility models=E2=80=99 files in xml= format to the EPO. These data are currently published in ESPACENET. The EP= O now has a set of descriptions beginning in 2006.
In 2018, the PPO introduced a newly created Search System in Document Li= braries. The new system was prepared to collect in one place all documents = published by Polish Patent Office. WUP, BUP, Polish patent specifications, = Polish utility models, Polish industrial designs and translations into Poli= sh published by the European Patent Office patents which are valid in the t= erritory of Poland were gathered in separate document libraries in PDF form= at. All documents published after 1973 were indexed and have been subject t= o full text retrieval functionality thanks to the search capabilities of Mi= crosoft SharePoint 2013 platform. All documents published before 1972 were = collected only in separate libraries enabling searching for documents using= data from the year of publication or other available filters. The system c= ollects information from the PPO Search System of Industrial Properties, wh= ich allows to provide current information and additional standard data to b= e used as search criteria.
As part of the Bilateral Cooperation Plan project between the PPO and th= e European Patent Office, in 2018 a new patent classification functionality= was implemented in accordance with the Cooperative Patent Classification (= CPC) schema in the Soprano system.
Main areas of patent information activities and related informat= ion and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of= attention last year
The Register Plus software application for patents was further developed= and enhanced in 2018. The quality of data was improved and a wider range o= f presented data was introduced.
As the continuation of work on the main search engine of industrial prop= erty items in the year 2018, amendments requested by users were introduced = and they aimed at improving the functionality of the search engine. It is l= inked to other search systems, which are in the portfolio of the Office (Se= arch System of Industrial Properties, Publication Server, Register Plus, et= c.).
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and = grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid ch= anges
Filings to the Office are increasingly more often preceded by searches i= n the electronic collections than in the paper holdings.
In 2018, the PPO received 4,269 patent applications under the national p= rocedure, out of which 4,205 were filed by domestic applicants and 64 by fo= reign applicants.
53 applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty entered the ph= ase of examination carried out by the Office (so-called national phase).
Under the international procedure, as the receiving Office, the PPO rece= ived from domestic applicants 204 patent applications under the PCT procedu= re and 247 European patent applications with the aim of seeking protection = abroad.
In 2018, the PPO, acting as the VPI/ISA, prepared 69 International Searc= h Reports and Written Opinions for domestic applicants indicating VPI as an= International Authority. The Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI) is an intergo= vernmental organization for cooperation in the field of patents established= by the four Visegrad countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic = of Poland and the Slovak Republic (V4 countries). VPI was appointed as an I= nternational Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examin= ing Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Visegra= d Patent Institute started operation on 1 July 2016.
In 2018, the Office received from foreign applicants 58 applications for= the grant of supplementary right of protection for medicinal products and = plant protection products in order to protect rights under Supplementary Pr= otection Certificate (SPC).
On 31 December 2018, 82,618 patents remained in force, out of which 64,3= 66 were European patents.
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual re= port of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.<= /p>
Statistics are accessed at the following URLs:
= http://www.uprp.pl (Annual Reports' box)
Detailed statistics may be provided on request (please write to http://www.uprp.gov.pl/Text01,205,161,1,index,pl,te= xt).
News page: http://www.uprp.pl/aktualnosci= /Menu01,16,7,index,pl/.
Information and support provided by the Office t= o applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, semin= ars, etc.) - URLs
The PPO information and support options in 2018 included:
1) Via website: htt= p://www.uprp.pl/przedmioty-wlasnosci-przemyslowej/Menu02,12,4,index,pl/= (all information about patents, trademarks, designs, etc. and instructions= e.g. "How to patent an invention or utility model to protect? ");
2) Via telephone: (+48 22 579 05 55);
3) Via e-mail: http://www.uprp.pl/Text01,20= 5,161,1,index,pl,text/.
Management of the contacts in 2018 (phone + mail) was performed&nb= sp; through a software:
1) Personal contacts (CRM sys= tem);
2) Within the Register I= P Info Center customer contacts (OSCC, CRM systems);
- 2,185 emails we= re received
- 24,414 cal= ls were answered and performed (including the call backs)
- 1,822 meet= ings took place with examiners and at the information centre;
3) Identification and di= fferentiation of customers (OSCC, CRM systems);
4) Carrying out customer= satisfaction surveys (CRM system) - level of satisfaction 95.5%;
5) Analyses of the conta= cts (analyses, statistics - CRM, OSCC systems);
6) Keeping records and t= ransferring customer requests (satisfaction, complaints, suggestions for im= provement) (TRX system).
The CRM system is shared between 11 departments in contact with the publ= ic. A change of version was introduced for:
- independent work with the contact, regardless of the fact who establis= hed the contact and possibility to change/edit the contact data;
- interfacing with other applications (Computer Telephony Integration, c= allback, meetings time and visits) to facilitate the customer relation mana= gement. Tool for measuring the customers=E2=80=99 satisfaction. IP Info Cen= ter has a non-verbal communication system to improve information service fo= r deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.
Availability of the application dossier in elect= ronic form
Customers who use ePUAP have access to the application files which are s= ent electronically to the PPO.
Classification1= , preclassification2 (if applicable), reclassifi= cation3 activities; classification systems used (e.g.= , International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing o= f patent information
In 2018, the 2018.01 electronic version of the International Patent Clas= sification was launched and used at the PPO.
Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the i= nformation contained in patent documents
In 2018, the patent literature collection was enlarged by 12,336 pdf fil= es of European patent specifications translated into Polish.
Polish abstracts and their English equivalents are stored in the databas= e, and thus are searched and accessible for further processing.
The Office's abstracting services are handled by electronic means which = aid to place the abstract deliveries in the in-house and external retrieval= systems, like: Polish databases, Official Journal records, Espacenet (both= collections - PL database and the Worldwide data base), etc.
Other activities
Main types of publications of the Office (patent= applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, grant= ed patents, etc.), medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)
In 2018, the following publications (periodicals) were issued:
- =E2=80=9CBiuletyn Urz=C4=99du Patentowego. Wynalazki i Wzory u=C5=BCyt= kowe=E2=80=9D (Bulletin of the Patent Office =E2=80=93 Inventions and Utili= ty Models) =E2=80=93 biweekly (available both on paper and in electronic fo= rm on the Office=E2=80=99s website), 26 numbers, i.e. 1,475 copies.
- =E2=80=9CWiadomo=C5=9Bci Urz=C4=99du Patentowego=E2=80=9D (Communicati= ons of the Patent Office) =E2=80=93 monthly, 12 numbers, i.e. 725 copies;= p>
- 2017 Annual Report of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland =E2= =80=93 1,368 copies;
- Patent Specifications (type B1 documents) =E2=80=93 3,331 titles =E2= =80=93 35,805 copies;
- Protection Specifications of Utility Models =E2=80=93 759 titles =E2= =80=93 3,036 copies.
In 2016, the Publications Department started to prepare and make availab= le in PDF format translations of the European Patents. In 2018, the Publica= tions Department prepared 12,336 translations of European patents.
Most publications are available on the PPO's website: http://uprp.pl - and = continue at http://portal.uprp.gov.pl (Online Services Portal).
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 t= he official gazettes: "Biuletyn Urz=C4=99du Patentowego. Wynalazki i wzory = u=C5=BCytkowe" (Bulletin of the Patent Office. Inventions and Utility Model= s) with information on inventions and utility models applications and in "W= iadomo=C5=9Bci Urz=C4=99du Patentowego" (Communications of the Patent Offic= e) with information on granted patents and granted protection rights on uti= lity models which are available on paper and also in pdf version on the web= site of the Patent Office.
In 2018, 3,916 announcements on filed patent applications and 953 announ= cements on utility model applications were published in "Biuletyn Urz=C4=99= du Patentowego. Wynalazki i wzory u=C5=BCytkowe " (Bulletin of the Patent O= ffice. Inventions and Utility Models) and 3,343 announcements on granted pa= tents and 842 announcements on granted protection rights on utility models = were published in "Wiadomo=C5=9Bci Urz=C4=99du Patentowego" (Communications= of the Patent Office). Announcements containing ordinances of the Presiden= t of the Patent Office, official announcements and communications are publi= shed in the Official Journal of the Patent Office.
All these publications are forthwith available free of charge in PDF for= mat on the PPO's Online Services Portal http://portal.uprp= .pl/wydawnictwa.html
Announcements regarding non-procedural matters, but related to the Offic= e's activity like: general information on the PPO's tasks, references, orga= nizational structure, HR matters are published on the Internet version of "= Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej" (Public Information Bulletin) on the offici= al 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 ext= ernal collections and databases
In 2018, the following information products were available to examiners:=
- IP information on patents and utility models: http://grab.uprp.pl;= p>
- Search System of Industrial Properties =E2=80=93 Polish patents (B), u= tility models (Y) and EP translations into Polish (T): https://grab.uprp.pl/PrzedmiotyC= hronione/Strony%20witryny/Wyszukiwanie%20proste.aspx (user interface in= Polish and English languages);
- Search System in Document Libraries - a search system giving possibili= ties of free full text search on patent documents distributed in PDF format= . As a part of its functionality, the system allows to search Polish indust= rial designs descriptions. Available at: https://grab.uprp.pl/site= s/WynalazkiWzoryUzytkowe/Opisy/Patenty%20i%20Wzory%20uytkowe/Forms/AllItems= .aspx. Free of charge;
- Publication Server - Polish patents (B), utility models (Y) and EP tra= nslations into Polish (T): http://pubserv.uprp.gov.pl/ (user inte= rface in 3 languages - PL, EN and FR);
- Espacenet =E2=80=93 a worldwide database of patents and utility models= containing the PL collection (bibliographic data in English): Polish inter= face available at https://pl.espacenet.com/;
- Online Services Portal with access to patent papers, classifications, = e-fillings and catalogues of patent attorneys: http://portal.uprp.gov.p= l;
- Register Plus with access to published Polish applications (Descriptio= ns, Claims, Figures and Search Reports): http://reg= serv.uprp.gov.pl/register/regviewer;
- EPOQUENet Suite;
- Science Direct (full-text scientific database) hosted by Elsevier;&nbs= p;
- STN (the Scientific and Technical Information Network);
- ACS (the American Chemical Society) Journals;
- Springer Journals (accessed also via Epoquenet);
- IEEE (accessed also via Epoquenet) scientific and technical content pu= blished by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and= its publishing partners;
- Wiley Online Library;
- Scopus (abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: sc= ientific journals, books and conference proceedings) hosted by Elsevier.
Information products and patent document= collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditio= ns of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)= strong>
Patent literature collections are available in the PPO's reading room.= p>
The copies of documents are available upon payment (price list available= on the PPO website or on the spot) in the reading room or can be sent to e= xternal users by fax, electronic mail or traditional post.
Patent Office possesses collections of:
- 6.26 million patent documents on paper;
- over 36 million documents on CD-ROM.
Supplementary literature comprises:
- official bulletins of 42 patent offices;
- legal and methodology publications;
- general technical and specialised magazines.
The PPO provides access to patent literature in the reading room where e= xternal users can also search free of charge in online databases and databa= ses on CD and DVD. The latter include: bibliographic databases, databases o= f full text patent documents, thematic databases of patent and technical li= terature.
Information rendered available free of charge included:
- provision of 19,048 single Polish and foreign patent specifications;= p>
- 574 volumes of books and magazines;
Information provided upon payment includes:
- bibliographic data of patent and utility model applications and grante= d exclusive rights.
Online sources of patent information and collections include:
- Online Services Portal with: IP information on industrial design, acce= ss to patent gazettes, classifications, e-filings and patent attorney's dir= ectory. Available at: http://portal.uprp.gov.pl. Free of charge;= p>
- Espacenet =E2=80=93 Worldwide patent and utility models data base cont= aining PL collection (bibliographic data in English): Polish interface avai= lable on https://pl.espacenet.com/. Free of charge;
- Search System of Industrial Properties =E2=80=93 a search system givin= g free, open access to patent information and texts of Polish and European = Patents and Polish utility models. Documents are distributed in PDF format.= Available at: https://grab.uprp.pl/PrzedmiotyChronione/Strony%20witryny/Wyszukiwanie%2= 0proste.aspx. Free of charge;
- Publication Server =E2=80=93 a portal giving free, open, and wide acce= ss to patent information, with integrated facilities to search full texts o= f Polish patent specifications, Polish utility models, Polish industrial de= signs and translations into Polish language published by the European Paten= t Office patents which are valid in the territory of the Republic of Poland= . Documents are disseminated in PDF format. Available at: http://pubs= erv.uprp.gov.pl/. Free of charge;
- Register Plus available at: http://regserv.upr= p.gov.pl/register/regviewer. Free of charge.
Legal status information (kind of inform= ation, coverage, medium, etc.)
In order to make entries on the legal status of exclusive rights protect= ed on the territory of Poland, the following registers are held: patent reg= ister, utility model register. Registers include information necessary to e= stablish the subject and scope of protection (f. ex. date of filing, title)= , entity (or entities) entitled to rights concerning a given subject of pro= tection (f. ex. holders, licensees, securities, seizure) and other useful i= nformation (f. ex. applications for revocation). Every person who submits a= relevant application and pays a fee to the account of the Office can obtai= n excerpts from the register.
Legal status information is available in Register Plus at:
http://regserv.uprp.pl/register/regviewer
Other sources=
Specific software tools supporting business proc= edures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages,= possible improvements
EPOQUE Net is a professional patent information retrieval tool which sup= ports the processes of searching and granting patents. The tool consis= ts of a bundle of searching applications and tools and it is accessibl= e for Patent Offices via the Patent secure network. EPOQUE Net is continuou= sly improved by European Patent Office and distributed to National Offices.= In 2018, a new version of Espacenet was introduced. One of the new functio= nalities is the introduction of full-text search. Currently, training in th= e functionality of the new version is being carried out.
Hardware used to supporting business pro= cesses of the Office
The PPO uses thin clients, workstations and notebooks with Microsoft= Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Microsoft Windo= ws 10; multimedia tablets with Apple iOS, Google Android and Micro= soft Windows 10 Pro; physical and virtual servers with Microsoft W= indows Server 2003 Standard & Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Server 2003= R2 Standard & Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard &= Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard & Enterprise, Mi= crosoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10/11= /12, CentOS Linux 5/6/7, Oracle Linux 5/6/7, Debian GNU/Linux 6/7/8 an= d Ubuntu Server LTS; hypervisor servers with VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2.
All of thin clients, workstations, notebooks and servers are secured by = Symantec antivirus and Forcepoint antispam system.
All network connections are based on Cisco, Force= point and Extreme Networks equipment with = ;300 Mb/s access to the Internet. The availability of services publish= ed to the Internet is supported by the Barracuda Load Balancer cluster.
The server infrastructure for the Online Portal includes 9 application s= ervers; 5 database servers; 15 storage spaces. TB build-up array; back-ups = for HP Data Protector, Fujitsu FI-5900C scanner, 125 packages for the purpo= ses of qualified signatures. On-Line Portal servers are supported by local = UPSs and they are also hooked to the main power supply unit for the PPO.
The main IT infrastructure units are located in a secure server room equ= ipped with a fire alarm, a CCTV system, redundant air-conditioning and a te= chnical floor.
Internal databases: coverage, updates, i= nterlinks with external sources
Patent data are stored in specialized, regularly updated internal databa= ses in which image information and bibliographic details are stored, for ex= ample:
- Soprano =E2=80=93 a system supporting the process of granting rights o= f protection for patents and utility models (national procedure, the SPC an= d the European patent validation procedure);
- databases supporting the process of publication of patents and utility= models.
Most production databases are hosted by Microsoft SQL Server 2012 En= terprise and MySQL Server 4/5/, PostgreSQL 9.
Establishment and maintenance of electro= nic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other off= ices included in the search file
EP data are stored and accessed via the Soprano system.
Administrative management electronic sys= tems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)
The main administrative electronic system Soprano (work-flow) supports t= he process of granting the rights of protection for patents and utility mod= els (national procedure, the SPC and the European patent validation procedu= re). It is adapted to work together with ePhoenix which stores electronic c= ase files and Electronic Document Management System (EZD) which facilitates= the processing of incoming and outgoing correspondence. External users hav= e access to register and legal status information via the Register Plus sys= tem. Settlement Module (MR) is used as a supplementary system for managing = fees and payments.
Other matters=
The PPO has maintained a professional call centre service based on U= nify OpenScape Contact Centre Enterprise software and a new system of = customer relationship management based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server= 365 software.
The leading office software used for word processing and spreadsheet is,= Microsoft Office 2007 Standard, Microsoft Office 2010 Standar= d & Professional Plus, Microsoft Office 2013 Standard & Pr= ofessional Plus, Microsoft Office 2016 Standard & Professional Plus and Apache OpenOffice 4.
In 2018, a new project of migration from all Microsoft Office licences t= o the new Microsoft Office 2016 standard was continued at the PPO. The new = licences are to be implemented on all computers and laptops. The new standa= rdization will allow to implement automatic mechanisms for operation of all= workstations in place at the Office.
In 2018, the PPO purchased a special Seventica service for non-verbal co= mmunication (it translates immediately the human language sounds into sign = language on a computer or tablet screen). The purpose of the project was to= remove barriers in communication with people with hearing impairment.
In 2018, the PPO maintained a Data Protection System for further protect= ion and control of patent data to avoid uncontrolled outflow or unwanted ac= cess. The upgrade of anti-virus system Symantec End Point Protection to the= level 14 MP2 was also performed.
Patent library: equipment, collection management= , network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign pate= nt libraries
Patent documentation on paper carrier is stored in the Office storage ro= oms on movable bookshelves, in numerical and class arrangements, and are gr= ouped separately according to respective countries. The class collection is= stored in special files, adjusted to this type of collection. The numerica= l collection is stored in bound volumes. The storage rooms meet all the req= uirements for collection's safety. Polish patent documents arranged accordi= ng to the patent classification symbols are available in the Office's gener= al reading room.
The collection of patent documents on CD-ROM and DVD is stored on specia= l bookshelves adjusted to this type of collection. It is available in the r= eading 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 inter= net databases.
The Polish Patent Office cooperates with 26 PATLIB information centres, = most of them located within libraries of higher education institutions. The= centres provide patent information and consultancy and employ patent attor= neys. They also conduct free of charge seminars and trainings for those int= erested in patent information.
The Patent Office supplies the centres with patent literature and inform= ational materials on paper and in electronic form for further dissemination= .
In 2018, the Office sent:
- 26 discs with bibliographic databases.
The decreasing number of discs sent to the centres results from the poli= cy to post information materials online rather than on disc and paper carri= ers.
Publications related to different busine= ss procedures and patent information sources available to users, for exampl= e, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.=
Within promotion of knowledge on industrial property the Patent Office i= ssues various publications such as guides, informational-promotional brochu= res addressed to wide audience, among others to entrepreneurs, students, sc= hool youth. Those publications are available free of charge both in electro= nic version and PDF format as well as on paper on the premises of the Offic= e.
The titles of publications include: Protection of Utility Models in Pola= nd, Protection of Inventions in Poland, Your World of Intellectual Property= , What Is Intellectual Property, Graphic Presentation of Industrial Designs= , Industrial Property Protection in a Nutshell, Service Manual for Intellec= tual Property, Inventions in Your House, Copyright (comic book), Patents/Tr= ademarks (comic book).
Office's initiatives on providing foreig= n patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation to= ols, translation of abstracts)
In 2018, the Publications Department of the PPO prepared translations of= 12,336 European patent specifications into Polish, which are available at = the Office=E2=80=99s Publication Server in PDF format.
Cooperation with universities, research = centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.<= /strong>
The Patent Office cooperates with various institutions in the scope of p= romotion of knowledge on intellectual property (organisation of conferences= , workshops, trainings, granting patronage of the PPO President over numero= us initiatives etc.).
In 2018, the Office cooperated with the following entities, to name a fe= w:
- universities, such as Jagiellonian University in Krak=C3=B3w, Universi= ty of Warsaw, Maria Curie-Sk=C5=82odowska University in Lublin, University = of =C5=81=C3=B3d=C5=BA, =C5=81=C3=B3d=C5=BA University of Technology, Kielc= e University of Technology, Krak=C3=B3w University of Technology, Warsaw Un= iversity of Technology, Wroc=C5=82aw University of Science and Technology, = AGH University of Science and Technology in Krak=C3=B3w, etc.;
- science and business related institutions, including Association of Po= lish Inventors and Rationalisers, Polish Federation of Engineering Associat= ions (NOT), Polish Chamber of Patent Attorneys; National Information Proces= sing Institute, National Chamber of Commerce, Polish Agency for Enterprise = Development, Institute of Industrial Design, Polish Confederation of Privat= e Employers Lewiatan, Kielce Technology Park, Agency for Industrial Develop= ment S.A., Institute of Aviation, Staropolska Chamber of Business and Comme= rce in Kielce, Institute of Industrial Design, Council of Patent Attorneys = of Universities and Academies;
- government administration institutions: Ministry of Science and Higher= Education, Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology, Ministry of Cultur= e and National Heritage, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Agricu= lture and Rural Development.
Education and training: training courses= , e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.<= /strong>
In 2018, the PPO participated in trainings and conferences, both in-hous= e and online, organised by the European Patent Office. The events focused o= n issues, such as: Patent families, INPADOC: background, coverage, richness= and safe use of the EPO worldwide legal status database in Espacenet, Intr= oduction to the European Patent Register, Basics of patent searching with E= spacenet, Business use of Patent information, EP Bulletin search, Accessing= court decisions on patents across Europe with ECLI.
In 2018, in the scope of industrial property protection, the PPO organis= ed or participated in the following events:
- Conference =E2= =80=9C100 years of industrial property protection in Poland=E2=80=9D organi= sed on the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day
- Scientific Sympo= sium =E2=80=9CIntellectual property in the digital world=E2=80=9D
- 11th Internation= al Conference =E2=80=9CInnovation and Creativity for Economy =E2=80=93 Sust= ainable Design in Innovation-Driven Business=E2=80=9D
- 14th Internation= al Symposium =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CIntellectual Property in Innovative Economy= =E2=80=93 IP in the Innovation Ecosystem =E2=80=93 strategies for protecti= on, management and commercialization=E2=80=9D in Krak=C3=B3w
- International Co= nference =E2=80=9CRethinking Patent Law as an incentive to innovation=E2=80= =9D
- A series of Inter= national Expert =E2=80=9CRoving Seminars=E2=80=9D entitled =E2=80=9CInteres= ted in protecting your IP overseas?=E2=80=9D
- Seminar =E2=80=9C= Brand protection strategy =E2=80=93 national, international and regional sy= stem=E2=80=9D
- A series of 16 re= gional seminars =E2=80=9CPatent for success =E2=80=93 intellectual property= management strategy=E2=80=9D
- Seminar =E2=80=9C= Patentability issues in the fields of pharmacy and biotechnology=E2=80=9D= p>
- 37th Seminar for= Patent Attorneys of Schools of Higher Education held in Cedzyna
- Open information= and consultation meetings on industrial property protection
- =E2=80=9CAmbassa= dor of School Innovation 2018=E2=80=9D Competition
- 8th edition of t= he annual =E2=80=9CStudent-Inventor=E2=80=9D competition
- 22nd Science Pic= nic of the Polish Radio and Copernicus Science Centre
- =E2=80=9CPatent = by Night 2018=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 Night of Museums in the Patent Office of t= he Republic of Poland
- =E2=80=9CPolandIn= .=E2=80=9D Exhibition of Polish inventions and industrial designs at the Wo= rld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headquarters in Geneva
- 16th edition of = the annual competition of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland for t= he best postdoctoral, doctoral, master=E2=80=99s and student=E2=80=99s thes= es and for an artistic poster, as well as the 6th edition of the competitio= n for a short film and press release on the subject of industrial property = protection.
In 2018, the PPO maintained the Internet Educational Platform (http://= ipe.uprp.gov.pl) which constitutes the compendium of knowledge on intel= lectual property issues. The target group includes enterprises (especially = MSEs) and businesses related to public institutions (including higher educa= tion institutions) and other entities.
PPO has also maintained an e-learning platform, IPPanorama, dedicated to= broadening and promoting the knowledge about the protection of intellectua= l property. It is available at http://ippanorama.uprp.pl.
The Patent Information Centre Forum has been prepared, which is a platfo= rm for exchanging experience, knowledge, comments and opinions between Pate= nt Information Centres and the Office.
Other activities
A non-verbal communication system was maintained in the form of online s= ign language translation services. The purpose of the project was to remove= barriers in communication with people with hearing impairment.
International exchange and sharing of patent inf= ormation 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 bi= bliographic data and abstracts in the flat text machine-readable format, an= d also xml format. Full-text information is provided in PDF fully searchabl= e format. Electronic filings submitted to the PPO under EP and WO procedure= s are transferred to the EPO and WIPO respectively.
Participation in international or region= al activities and projects related to patent information<= /strong>
The PPO and the European Patent Office signed the Bilateral Co-operation= Plan (BCP) which was a co-operation agreement covering a number of project= s planned for the years 2016-2018, such as Federated Register, Espacenet Ne= w, Cooperative Patent Classification and Quality at Source in the IT field.= In 2018, the PPO continued cooperation activities in such areas as trainin= g, patent-related IT services and tools, patent information services and aw= areness and strengthening of the European Patent Network (EPN).
Following the creation of the Visegr=C3=A1d Patent Institute (WIP), the = website design and the necessary functionalities of the application were de= signated to handle the affairs of the Institute. As part of the work, the e= -mail service for the Institute was prepared and deployed via the Microsoft= Exchange Server 2010 e-mail system as well as the procedures of servicing = e-mail accounts for the @ vpi.int domain were developed. In 2018, the above we= bsite design was operated and maintained by the PPO=E2=80=99s employees.
Assistance to developing countries
N/A
Other activities
1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., = IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and ex= amination, 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 applicat= ion, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e= .g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner). Usually pre= classification is applied by the administration of an office.
3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement o= f one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent docume= nt, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the C= lassification system (e.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available o= n patent databases.