Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:59:43 +0100 (CET) Message-ID: <1236352371.24447.1711706383491@ip-10-44-162-152.eu-central-1.compute.internal> Subject: Exported From Confluence MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_Part_24446_2010927906.1711706383489" ------=_Part_24446_2010927906.1711706383489 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: file:///C:/exported.html
Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which a= re 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 acce= ss the corresponding information.
The term "patent" covers utility models and Supplementary Protection Cer= tificates (SPCs). Offices which issue design patents should report their de= sign patent information activities in their Annual Technical Reports on Ind= ustrial Design Information Activities.
- filings and grants
There were no changes in terms of application filings and grants with resp=
ect to the previous year. In 2004, the Netherlands Patent Office (NPO) rece=
ived 2742 patent applications under the 1995 Patents act. A decrease of alm=
ost 4 % compared to 2003. In total 2185 (80%) of the filings were of Dutch =
origin.
Filings: Grants
-2003: 2850 -2003: 2171
-2004: 2742 -2004: 2366
In 2004, the office received 2742 patent applications under the 1995 Paten=
t Act. A decrease of almost 4 % compared to 2003. In total 2185 (80%) of th=
e filings were of Dutch origin.
The 1995 Patent Act offers the applicants the choice of a six year or twen=
ty year patent. Approximately 72% of the applicants opted for a twenty year=
patent (with novelty search). In 2004 the NPO carried out 287 novelty sear=
ches. The European Patent Office (EPO) effected 1532 novelty searches on be=
half of the NPO our Office. A total of 2366 patents were granted.
- UKPO
The NPO carried out about 150 cases on behalf of the UKPO.
- Patent Act
In the year 2004, there were no changes in the Patent Act 1995.
- Supplementary Protection Certificates
A total of 41 applications for a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC=
) were submitted to the NPO in 2004. Of these 41 applications, 37 were rela=
ted to a certificate for medicinal products, while the remaining 4 applicat=
ions were related to a certificate for plant protection products.
- Publications
Publications according to the Patent Law 1995 are:
A-documents, registered patent applications;
C6-documents, 6 year (unexamined) grant of patents;
C20-documents, 20 year (examined) grant of patents.
The Netherlands Patent Office publishes the patent gazette, De Industri=C3=
=ABle Eigendom, and the official journal, Bijblad bij De Industri=C3=ABle E=
igendom, monthly. The latter contains jurisprudence on industrial property =
rights.
The Patent Register has been accessible on line since January 2000 via the=
NPO=E2=80=99s website (www.octrooicentrum.nl). The system offers free acce=
ss to current data about published Dutch patent applications, patents grant=
ed since 1912 (including European patents granted for the Netherlands) and =
certificates.
The only activities carried out under this item were classification and =
reclassification activities. Classification is made in accordance with the =
seventh edition of the IPC. The Netherlands Patent Office continued its pra=
ctice to allot the relevant classification symbols both for the purposes of=
invention information and for the purposes of additional information, and =
not to allot any indexing codes.
With relation to the search files mentioned under IV, below, no reclassifi=
cation has been carried out when a new edition of the IPC entered into forc=
e. However, the complete collection of NL patent documents classified in ac=
cordance with the current version of the European Classification (ECLA) is =
available via the website using Espacenet.
The NPO is in 2005 preparing the introduction of the eight edition of the =
IPC.
In 2004 the collection of patent publications in the NPO library has bee=
n reduced in size.
A start was made on disposing a part of the foreign library collections on=
paper and microfilm. The operation will be completed in 2005. The EPO is t=
aking over a substantial part of the collection in order to expand the BNS =
(Backfile conversion Numerical Services) data-base. Some of the countries o=
f origin have also indicated a wish to take over parts of the collection. T=
he remainder will be offered to other parties in the Netherlands. This mean=
s that new destinations will have been found for the vast majority of the c=
ollection that is to be disposed of.
The secondary collections, such as the journal collection and the technica=
l collection, have also been greatly reduced. Some of the reorganised secti=
ons will be transferred to other libraries or institutions in the Netherlan=
ds. A selection of special patent-related documents and books will be retai=
ned for their historical value and in order to give an impression of the si=
ze and diversity of the collection that the Patent Council owned in the pas=
t.
- The Netherlands patent register.
Since July 2004, the Netherlands Patent Office has had a new register on t=
he internet. This register now contains the data from all patents published=
since the first Patent Act came into effect in 1910. In addition, the Neth=
erlands Patent Office has worked in cooperation with the European Patent Of=
fice on the introduction of a new version of Esp@cenet. This, the patent in=
formation system of the European Patent Office, disseminates information on=
a total
of 55 million published patents from 71 countries.
Esp@cenet can be accessed via the Netherlands Patent Office=E2=80=99s webs=
ite, with auxiliary text in Dutch. This allows customer-friendly disseminat=
ion of patent information to the target groups.
- Website
The website was expanded in 2004. In addition to the pages in Dutch, much =
of the website is now available in English. In the latter half of 2004, a p=
roject was begun that is intended to produce a completely refurbished websi=
te in 2005. It is intended that the new website will be simpler and will su=
it the new corporate style. It will also be supplemented by a =E2=80=98digi=
tal advisor=E2=80=99. Visitors should find it easier to find what they are =
looking for, especially news
and current topics relating to industrial property. In 2004, 60,000 visito=
rs made over 2.6 million page views. In 2003, the figure was only 1.8 milli=
on page views.
- EPTOS
At the end of 2003, an ICT policy for 2004-2006 was drawn up; implementati=
on of its objectives commenced in 2004. In this ICT policy, the Netherlands=
Patent Office has set
itself the goal of expanding electronic service provision (from applicatio=
n to archiving) over a period of 3 years. The ambition is also to increase =
dissemination of the information contained in patents and modernise interna=
l automated data processing. This will involve complete
digitisation of the document streams. A prime objective of the ICT policy =
is that patent-related applications should be compatible with the developme=
nts at the European Patent
Office. In the field of infrastructure and supporting systems, the aim is =
to maximise compatibility with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and its ext=
ernal services.
In the second quarter of 2004, the Netherlands Patent Office started using=
the e-Phoenix electronic dossier system. This was developed by the Europea=
n Patent Office. With this dossier system, the digitisation of the document=
flow for processes relating to the granting of
patents has been completed. In addition, during the course of 2004 the Net=
herlands Patent Office obtained a test version of the Electronic Patent and=
Trademark Office System (EPTOS) of the European Patent Office. This system=
will provide a fully integrated platform for the
digitisation of patent granting, from submission to archiving. At the hear=
t of this system are the e-Phoenix dossier system and the Soprano/CS system=
for the granting procedure, both of which are already in use.
The third quarter of 2004 started with preliminary research into the migra=
tion from the current administrative system for patent granting to the Sopr=
ano/CS system. It is anticipated that the system will come into production =
at the end of 2005.
The aforementioned EPTOS includes the facility to submit patent applicatio=
ns electronically. Realisation of this facility began in the latter half of=
2004. The electronic submission
facility for PCT applications was introduced in April 2005. The electronic=
submission of national applications will be possible about six months late=
r.
The Netherlands Patent Office completely renovated its office automation, =
including upgrading of the workstations to Windows XP. The workstation conf=
iguration and the
central server systems are compatible with the infrastructure of the Nethe=
rlands Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The year 2005 will be dominated by the further introduction of EPTOS appli=
cations for digitising patent granting and electronic submission. A facilit=
y will also be put in place to
make it possible to work from another location. Finally, a study will be s=
tarted concerning the replacement of the financial accounting system.
See under IV and V.
The library is open to the public on one afternoon per week.
See under IV.
With presentations, lectures and workshops, the Netherlands Patent Offic=
e reached in 2004 over a thousand business people. Over 600 visitors were r=
eceived at trade fairs and seminars. About 165 business people received inf=
ormation during surgery sessions. Over one hundred
orientational studies were carried out for business people.
Since the reorganisation in 2004, individual inventors are formally includ=
ed as one of the target groups of the Netherlands Patent Office. In that ye=
ar, an account manager was appointed and an advisor was seconded to the Dut=
ch Association of Inventors (NOVU) to give advice and information two days =
per week. In addition, workshops and surgeries have been organised for this=
target group. The Netherlands Patent Office helped with the production of =
the new edition of the Inventor=E2=80=99s Guide, which appeared in autumn 2=
004.
The relevant faculties (technology, exact sciences and business economics)=
have to use more and more patent related knowledge in research and educati=
on. In 2004, the Netherlands Patent Office and external lecturers held gues=
t lectures and workshops in order to draw the attention of lecturers and st=
udents to patents. In total, about 800 students and 300 researchers from te=
n universities took part. In the third quarter of 2004, a pilot project com=
menced at
the University of Leiden. An advisor from the Netherlands Patent Office ha=
s been seconded for one day per week. In this way, researchers and students=
receive guidance on searching for relevant patent publications for researc=
h purposes. The use of patents can stimulate researchers to bring their res=
earch results to the attention of businesses, thereby adding value to their=
knowledge.
The objective of the NPO is that all colleges of higher education should d=
evote attention to patents in their education programmes. In 2004, this was=
done at 29 of the 32 colleges of higher education. All college media libra=
ries are now aware of the Netherlands Patent Office=E2=80=99s module, which=
can be used in education on patents. Knowledge relating to industrial
property was imparted to 720 students and lecturers in 23 guest lectures a=
t sixteen different colleges of higher education.
The government also benefits from the use of information from patent liter=
ature. Patent information can be especially relevant to technically-oriente=
d departments, such as the
Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. For example, inf=
ormation was supplied in 2004 to the Directorate-General for Public Works a=
nd Water Management on reducing the noise nuisance from road traffic, alter=
native methods of using dredge spoil in
infrastructure projects and alternative methods of reinforcing dikes. A ca=
talogue has been created of the latest techniques for further exploitation =
of communication carriers as instruments for further reducing traffic conge=
stion.
Once again in 2004, delegations from various countries visited the Netherl=
ands Patent Office. In partnership with the EPO, the annual course =E2=80=
=98Administrative Issues on Patents and Trademarks=E2=80=99 (AIPT) was orga=
nised for 22 participants from eighteen countries. Interest focussed on the=
processing of a patent application up to the point when it is granted, and=
on activities in the field of knowledge dissemination. The Netherlands Pat=
ent Office also provided part of the EPO training course =E2=80=98Administr=
ative Procedures and Related Information Systems in the Patent Granting Pro=
cedure.
- Holland Innovation
In 2004, the Netherlands Patent Office organised the 'Holland Innovation' =
event in cooperation with ID-NL, NeBIB, Kennisalliantie Zuid-Holland, Ontwi=
kkelingsbedrijf
Rotterdam and NOVU. Three innovation-related events (Startech, the ID-NL a=
nnual prize and the Knowledge Festival) were combined into a single, specta=
cular event for researchers and technologically-oriented small and medium-s=
ize enterprises. A variety of plenary debates on
the theme of =E2=80=98Think, Dare and Do=E2=80=99 were organised. There we=
re workshops and stands with information on research, patents, trademarks, =
licences, subsidies, credit and venture
capital. The State Secretary for Economic Affairs closed this event by awa=
rding the ID-NL annual prize to the best inventor of 2004. The number of vi=
sitors (just under 2,000)
contributed to its success.
- Innovation through Patent Information (IPI)
The IPI project was used by 1,250 businesses in 2004. Five advisors from t=
he Netherlands Patent Office, seconded to five Syntens regional offices, ad=
vise and inform the heads
of small and medium-size businesses about the opportunities patent scan. A=
t the beginning of 2004, it was decided, in consultation with the Commissio=
ning Authority, to leave the
performance of this scan to the private sector. Since then, the advisors h=
ave focussed more on improving the self-reliance of businesses so that they=
can independently make adequate
use of the patent literature and databases.
In mid-2004, an independent report on the project=E2=80=99s effectiveness =
was brought out. There is a clear increase in patent-awareness among the pa=
rticipating business people. 82% of them say that they have more understand=
ing of patents as a source of technical
information. 71% have more insight into innovation undertaken by their com=
petitors, and 58% have more insight into trends in their area of specialisa=
tion.
The tailor-made advice and information led 65% of participants to make adj=
ustments to an innovation project. A quarter of them have indicated that th=
is tailor-made information has led to an improvement in their competitive p=
osition and ability to innovate. The survey also shows that the partnership=
with Syntens is working well. Provision of services registers a good score=
(7 to 8). The intended low threshold, regional information structure is wo=
rking.
1. | Classification is=
allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a pate=
nt application, either before or during search and examination, which symbo=
ls are then published with the patent application.
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2. | Preclassification=
is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or su=
bclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or aut=
omated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an applica=
tion to the appropriate examiner). Usually preclassification is appli=
ed by the administration of an office.
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3. | Reclassification =
is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previousl=
y allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revisio=
n and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e=
.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available on patent databases. &= nbsp; |