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Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of trade= mark information activities and expected time frames for their realization<= /strong>
A number of projects were established within the Cooperation Fund, many = of them have already been implemented but on some of them the work is still= pending. The Cooperation Fund covers work in collaboration between the EUI= PO and national offices. The main goals of this project are: harmonization = of practices, adaptation to the digital environment, barrier removal, impro= vement of technical system. Such objectives create a good strategy especial= ly in order to adapt to the competitive internal European and digital marke= t. That is why here in Poland, the Office decided to participate in all of = the 20 CF projects. PPO is still using developed databases. In 2016, EUIPO = launched European Cooperation Programme aiming at enhancing cooperation bet= ween national IP offices. PPO trademarks examiners were members of the foll= owing working groups: Major Improvements to Back Office, Use of a trade mar= k in a form differing from the one registered.
As for 2018, the Polish Patent Office continues to use the following dat= abases:
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 project entitled =E2=80=9CCommon Practice =E2=80=93 New Typ= es of Marks =E2=80=93 Examination of formal requirements and grounds for re= fusal=E2=80=9D under European Cooperation Programme was launched. A Polish = trademark examiner participates in the project working group along with the= representatives from other European national offices, EUIPO, and users ass= ociations. The main goal of the project is to identify general princi= ples for assessing formal requirements and grounds for refusal for new type= s of trademarks and provide recommendation in this respect.
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). = PPO dealt with maintaining the existing forms in terms of their functionali= ty and reliability and it redefined the process of exchanging documents bet= ween ePUAP and Electronic Document Management System (EZD). The most import= ant activity was the preparation of new formulas allowing for faster data c= ollection 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.
The PPO continued the maintenance of the Register Plus system for tradem= arks.
The PPO continued to maintain Patent Attorneys and Applicants List= em> searchable. Only minor adjustments in the data structure were introduce= d and the system was adopted to existing legislation.
The PPO continued to provide data at DanePubliczne.gov.pl webs= ite concerning the protection of industrial property, publications provided= by the Office, as well as information on patent attorneys, etc.
Minor changes in the publication system were maintained. In all systems = there are separate official publications of Bulletin of the Patent Office (= BUP) for trademarks, inventions and utility models.
Main areas of trademark information activities and related infor= mation and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus= of attention last year
In 2018,the BackOffice system for trademarks and industrial designs was = maintained, implementing changes requested by end users and required by new= regulations. A new version of the Vienna Classification was implemented in= the BackOffice system. The solution was modified to change the language of= communication with WIPO from French to English regarding international tra= demarks. The process of handling new types of trademarks began and the impl= ementation of the solution in the BO system for the e-Notification module (= user message system) of the PUEUP platform continued.
The Register Plus software application for trademarks was further develo= ped and enhanced in 2018. The quality of data was improved and a wider rang= e of presented data was introduced.
Updating of the search system for trademarks =E2=80=93 TMView with Polis= h data was performed.
Maintenance and updating of the search system for new trademarks w= ere carried out throughout the year =E2=80=93 Acsepto contains bibliographi= c data and images concerning national, international and community trademar= ks.
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and registra= tions with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid cha= nges
In 2018, the Polish Patent Office received in total 13,667 trademark app= lications under national procedure.
In 2018, the Patent Office received 12,811 trademark applications from d= omestic applicants and 3,665 applications from foreigners, including 856 un= der national procedure and 2,809 under Madrid Agreement.
The number of trademark registration rights in force on 31 December 2018= was 233,118 (149,807 under national procedure and 83,311 under internation= al procedure).
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Offi= ce, news page, statistics, etc.
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 to applicants reg= arding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URL= s
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 IP Protect= ion Information Center customer contacts (OSCC, CRM systems);
- 2,185= strong> emails were received
- 24= ,414 calls were answered and performed (including the call backs)&= nbsp;
- 1,= 822 meetings took place with examiners and at the information cent= re;
3) Identification = and differentiation 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 electronic form
Customers who use ePUAP have access to the application files which are s= ent electronically to the PPO.
Matters concerning classifying
(i) Classific=
ation and reclassification activities; classification systems used, e.g., I=
nternational Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the R=
egistration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of=
the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classifica=
tion
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and=
pre-defined terms of the classification applied
The Polish Patent Office uses the International Classification of Goods = and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classifica= tion) 11th 2018 edition as well as International Classification = of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification) 8th edition.&nb= sp;
During the procedure, the Office's employees amend the classes of goods = and services.
As regards electronic classification systems, the Polish Patent Office u= ses the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes= of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification) which is available on t= he Polish Patent Office website as well as =E2=80=9Ctmclass=E2=80=9D classi= fication available on https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/welcome= .
Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditio= nal marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)
n/a
Other activities
Main types of publications in the field of trademark information= , outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)
In 2018, the following publications (periodicals) were issued:
- =E2=80=9CBiuletyn Urz=C4=99du Patentowego. Znaki towarowe=E2=80=9D (Bu= lletin of the Patent Office. Trademarks) =E2=80=93 biweekly (available only= in electronic form on the Office=E2=80=99s website), 52 numbers;
- "Wiadomo=C5=9Bci Urz=C4=99du Patentowego" (Communications of the Paten= t Office) =E2=80=93 monthly, 12 numbers, i.e. 725 copies;
- 2017 Annual Report of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland =E2= =80=93 1,368 copies.
Most publications are available on the PPO's website: http://uprp.pl - and = continue at http://portal.uprp.pl/wydawnictwa.html (On= line Services Portal).
Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of pub= lication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online, URL), etc.
Both Polish Patent Office's Official Gazettes ("Biuletyn Urz=C4=99du Pat= entowego. Znaki towarowe" (Bulletin of the Patent Office. Trademarks) with = national trademark applications and "Wiadomosci Urz=C4=99du Patentowego" (C= ommunications of the Patent Office) with registered national trademarks and= international registrations of trademarks approved in Poland, containing a= nnouncements regarding trademarks are forthwith available free of charge in= PDF format on the PPO's Online Services Portal (http:= //portal.uprp.gov.pl/wydawnictwa.html).
In 2018, there were 12,310 announcements on trademark applications publi= shed in =E2=80=9CBulletin of the Patent Office. Trademarks=E2=80=9D and 13,= 517 announcements on registered trademarks published in =E2=80=9CCommunicat= ions of the Patent Office=E2=80=9D.
Announcements regarding non-procedural matters, but related to the Offic= e's activity, such as general information on the PPO's tasks, references, o= rganizational structure, HR matters are published on the Internet version o= f "Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej" on the official PPO's web site. Many non= -regular, important announcements are immediately published on the website.=
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to exami= ners, including external documentation and databases
In 2018 the following information products were available to examiners:<= /p>
- Online Services Portal with: IP information on trademarks, access to c= lassifications, e-filings and patent attorneys=E2=80=99 list: http://portal= .uprp.pl
- Register Plus for trademarks (free of charge) available at: http://regservtd.uprp.pl/register/regviewer
- Search System of Industrial Properties =E2=80=93 trademarks: https://grab.uprp.pl= /PrzedmiotyChronione/Strony%20witryny/Wyszukiwanie%20proste.aspx (user = interface in Polish and English)
- Separate Internet applications allow to present Nice and Vienna classi= fications in Polish version and are available at: https://grab.uprp.pl/Klasyfikacje/Strony%20witryny/Kl= asyfikacje.aspx.
The examiners in the Polish Patent Office use also external legal databa= ses, such as:
The Office has an internal retrieval system with access restricted to ex= aminers, namely: MARPOL, MADRAS, MARMAD (systems now available in read-only= mode), ACSEPTO, EZD, BACK OFFICE containing procedural information on newl= y filled trademarks, pending trademarks and registrations. The statutory se= arches cover Polish national marks, designations to Poland made through the= Madrid Protocol, EUIPO marks and designations to EUIPO made through = the Madrid Protocol. Data is stored in XML format. The access is carried ou= t via browsers.
The Polish Patent Office uses external databases, such as:
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) and services avail= able to external users; conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscri= ption, etc.)
- Online Services Portal with: IP information on trademarks, access to c= lassifications, e-filings and patent attorneys=E2=80=99 list: http://portal= .uprp.pl
- Register Plus for trademarks (free of charge) available at: http://regservtd.uprp.pl/register/regviewer
- Search System of Industrial Properties =E2=80=93 trademarks: https://grab.uprp.pl= /PrzedmiotyChronione/Strony%20witryny/Wyszukiwanie%20proste.aspx (user = interface in Polish and English)
The Office's website offers facilities for accessing Polish trademarks a= nd designations to Poland made through the Madrid Protocol. The functionali= ty is offered to customers to receive periodic information, information on = procedure and fees and procedural information from the PPO's data bases. Li= nks to statutory searches within procedural data bases including MADRID MON= ITOR (WIPO), EUTM Online (EUIPO), TMclass, Register Plus for trademarks, Tu= lipan and the INN - WHO among others are provided.
The PPO provides access to trademark data also in the reading room where= external users can also search free of charge in online databases and data= bases on CD and DVD.
Information provided upon payment includes:
- bibliographic data of trademark applications and registered trademarks= .
Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium,= etc.)
In order to make entries on the legal status of exclusive rights protect= ed on the territory of Poland, the trademark register is held. The register= includes information necessary to establish the subject and scope of prote= ction (f. ex. date of filing, title), entity (or entities) entitled to righ= ts concerning a given subject of protection (f. ex. holders, licensees, sec= urities, seizure) and other useful information (f. ex. applications for rev= ocation). Every person who submits a relevant application and pays a fee to= the account of the Office can obtain excerpts from the register.
Legal status information is also available in Register Plus at:
http://regservtd.uprp.pl/register/regviewer
Other sources
Specific software tools supporting business procedures within th= e Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improv= ements
ACSEPTO is a primary search and examination system for trademarks, a too= l that integrates many types of IT resources to enable searching trademarks= registered through the national route, international registrations, Commun= ity Trademarks, appellations of origin, pharmaceutical names, materials und= er Article 6ter of the Paris Convention.
BackOffice is the main system for managing the procedures for granting a= nd maintaining the rights for trademarks and industrial designs in the Poli= sh Patent Office. BackOffice is the source system for many databases (searc= h engines) and is linked to other systems in PPO.
Hardware used to supporting business processes 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, interlinks with external = sources
Trademark data are stored in specialized, regularly updated internal dat= abases, where image information and bibliographic details are held, for exa= mple:
- BackOffice
- databases supporting the process of publication of trademarks.
Most production databases are hosted by Microsoft SQL Server 2012 En= terprise and MySQL Server 4/5/, PostgreSQL 9.
Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file bu= ilding, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the sea= rch file
EUTM, IR (designated to EM and PL) and 6ter data are stored and accessed= via Acsepto search system, IR (designated to PL) are stored and accessed v= ia BackOffice system.
Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal st= atus, statistics, and administrative support)
BackOffice is a workflow-based system for dealing with trademarks and de= signs throughout the entire lifecycle of the process, from application to r= egistration and publication. It also streamlines the working process by ena= bling users to create and monitor correspondence with clients. It is adapte= d to work together with Electronic Document Management System (EZD) which f= acilitates the processing of incoming and outgoing correspondence. External= users have access to register and legal status information via Register Pl= us system. Settlement Module (MR) is used as a supplementary system for man= aging 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.
EZD system was integrated with BackOffice in the field of exchanging cor= respondence and information about entities.
The PPO launched the registers containing lists of requests about public= information and public information provided.
The PPO has prepared a new version of the list of patent attorneys.
The leading office software used for word processing and spreadsheet was= : Microsoft Office 2007 Standard, Microsoft Office 2010 Standa= rd & Professional Plus, Microsoft Office 2013 Standard & P= rofessional Plus, Microsoft Office 2016 Standard & Professional Plus = em>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 PPO. The new lice= nces are to be implemented on all computers and laptops. The new standardiz= ation will allow to implement automatic mechanisms for operation of all wor= kstations in place at the Office.
In 2018, the PPO maintained a Data Protection System for protection and = control of patent data to avoid uncontrolled outflow or unwanted access. Th= e upgrade of anti-virus system Symantec End Point Protection to the level 1= 4 MP2 was also performed.
Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipmen= t, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation = with foreign libraries
n/a
Publications related to different business procedures and tradem= ark information sources available to users, for example, 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).
Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support= centers, etc.
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 (UR= Ls), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
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, PPO maintained the Internet Educational Platform (http://ipe.u= prp.gov.pl) which constitutes the compendium of knowledge on intellectu= al property issues. The target group includes enterprises (especially MSEs)= and businesses related to public institutions (including higher education = 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
International exchange of trademark information in machine-reada= ble form (e.g., Official Gazettes)
Information on Community Trademarks is downloaded using the XML data whi= ch is then transferred to PPO's search systems.
XML trademark files are downloaded from WIPO and are also transferred to= PPO's search systems.
PPO maintains its own service to collect the Nice classification data fr= om the WIPO web service. All changes in Polish version of the Nice classifi= cation are implemented in the WIPO system and then copied to a special dedi= cated application to be presented to Polish users.
Participation in international or regional activities and projec= ts related to trademark information
Assistance to developing countries
n/a
Other activities