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Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2022 submitted

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Please provide links to your website where the requested information can be found in English, French, or Spanish.  Alternately, you may provide text responses instead of URLs if desired.  If the information is not available on your website in an ATR language, then please provide text.

URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

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by Italian Patent and Trademark Office

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:


Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization

The Italian Office is constantly evolving to improve its services for the users.

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  • development of relations with the chambers of commerce;
  • coordination of the national network of patent libraries (PATLIB) and patent information points (PIPs);
  • definition and management of national funding measures and projects for the promotion and valorization of industrial property rights (Brevetti+);
  • definition and management of funding measures dedicated to capacity building for the benefit of Technology Transfer Offices of public research bodies ( TTO call);
  • definition and management of initiatives to encourage the implementation of the prototyping phase in order to facilitate the process of transferring inventions from the research system to the business system (Proof of Concept call);
  • implementation and development (in partnership with NETVAL - Network for academic research valorisation) of the “Knowledge Share online platform” (link: https://www.knowledge-share.eu/en/), designed to facilitate the interaction between university technology transfer offices (TTO), academic researchers and industry partners. The “Knowledge Share Platform” allows users to easily access information related to patents and technologies, which represent the excellence of the scientific know-how in Italy. Over 1,600 patents are showcased and presented in a clear and simple way, by highlighting the advantages that the technologies can bring to the sector of interest. The platform brings together companies, investors and innovators interested in the research field.
  • Maintaining and developing relationships with Business and User Associations is also an important part of policy making in the field of patents. A consolidated network of 36 associations has grown over the years, managed by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office. Its members are regularly updated on national, European and international IP dossiers. To this end, the Office gathers them twice a year at its headquarters and sends them a monthly newsletter.


New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks

In 2020, the Italian Patent Office (UIBM) introduced the national route for PCT applications designating Italy and implemented its online filing system. In 2021-2022, software tools for examining PCT applications were implemented and then consolidated.

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In late 2022, UIBM introduced from the 1st of January 2023 the pdf-a standard (ISO 19005:2005) as the only accepted format for filing patent documents.

New IT Platform

The feasibility study of the new IT technical infrastructure was completed in 2022.

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  • Improve the reliability and completeness of data. Currently not all information are easily accessible, and data must be previously analyzed, retrieved and enhanced to become useful and understandable.
  • Simplify usability of the platform for internal and external users and make information more user-friendly.
  • Improved services (filing system, examination system, databases), including the introduction of new features.
  • Provision of new services to external partners (companies, researchers, development agencies, proxies, etc).

TTO  call for proposal (measure fully managed by UIBM)

This initiative aims to increase the intensity of technology transfer flows to enterprises by supporting the enhancement and protection of industrial property of projects promoted by TTOs (Technology Transfer Offices). It is addressed to: Italian universities and public research organizations, as well as scientifically-oriented Institutes of Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS).

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ITALIAN Link: https://uibm.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/incentivi/bando-per-il-finanziamento-di-progetti-di-potenziamento-e-capacity-building-degli-uffici-di-trasferimento-tecnologico-utt-delle-universita-italiane-degli-enti-pubblici-di-ricerca-italiani-e-degli-istituti-di-ricovero-e-cura-a-carattere-scientifico-2022

BREVETTI + call for proposals (with INVITALIA as implementing agency)

Brevetti+ is the incentive for the economic exploitation of patents, funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and managed by  Invitalia (Invitalia is the National Agency for Inward Investment and Economic Development.). Addressed to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, in 2022 Brevetti+ was refinanced with a budget of 30 million euro (of which 10 million are “National Recovery and Resilience Plan” resources, Mission 1. "Digitalization, innovation competitiveness, culture and tourism" - Component 2 "Digitalization, innovation and competitiveness in the production system" - Investment 6. "Industrial Property System" funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.).

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https://www.invitalia.it/cosa-facciamo/rafforziamo-le-imprese/brevetti

Proof of Concept (PoC) call for proposals (with INVITALIA as implementing agency)

This initiative supports patent enhancement activities. The objective of the measure is to raise the level of maturity of inventions patented by the research system to enable development actions also, and especially, by companies. It is addressed to: Italian universities and public research organizations, as well as scientifically-oriented Institutes of Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS).

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Link in Italian : https://uibm.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/pnrr-bando-di-8-5-milioni-per-i-progetti-poc-di-valorizzazione-dei-brevetti

Development of the Knowledge Share online platform

In (in partnership with NETVAL - Network for academic research valorisation – and Politecnico di Torino as partners) , through a 1 million euro budget from the fund of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 1. "Digitalization, innovation competitiveness, culture and tourism" - Component 2 "Digitalization, innovation and competitiveness in the production system" - Investment 6. "Industrial Property System" funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.

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Link: https://www.knowledge-share.eu/en/ (ENG link)


Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year

- Adaptation of the IT systems to the new sequence list standard (ST 26),

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  • Valorization of public research results
  • Green technologies and assets protection
  • Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property
  • European and national tools for the valorization of industrial property rights
  • Introduction to the unitary patent package
  • Valuation of intangible assets


Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes

 ITEM

2022

2021

Patents -National Filings

9,077

11,031

Patents- National Grants

7,325

7,248

Utility Models - National Filings

1,678

1,768

Utility Models - National Grants

1,674

1,766

PCT Patent filings

144

15

PCT Patent Grants

27

0

PCT- Utility Models filings

30

5

PCT- Utility Models grants

7

0

Link: https://statistiche.uibm.gov.it/


Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

Specific reports on patents are published at the link: https://uibm.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/brevetti/reportistica-sui-brevetti

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Information on the following topics is desired:

Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs

Link: https://servizionline.uibm.gov.it/deposito-online-new/pubblica/index.html (On_line filing -in Italian)

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Link: https://uibm.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/brevetti ("How to Get an Italian Patent”- in Italian)


Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

The application dossier is available at: https://www.uibm.gov.it/bancadati/Advanced_search/type_url?type=pt&cl=1


Classification1, preclassification2 (if applicable), reclassification3 activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information

Patent applications are assigned to a category in accordance with the International Patent Classification (IPC) after being submitted to the novelty search that is carried out by the European Patent Office. On 28th September 2022, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office officially joined the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC). Consultations with the EPO as well as the training initiatives for the staff are underway in order to effectively implement the CPC on Italian applications.


Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents

Patent applications are filed in Italian. The dossier submitted to the EPO for the novelty search, consists of all patent documents, both in English and Italian, (description, claims, abstract, if any). Only the Italian version is published. The abstract is not mandatory according to the Italian patent law.

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Information on the following topics is desired:

Main types of publications of the Office (patent applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, granted patents, etc.), medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)

Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.

All calls and incentives related to patents and described above are announced on the Italian Official Gazette and on the websites of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and on the UIBM website.


Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)

The Patents of the Italian Public Research Institutes (PATIRIS):

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  link https://patiris.mise.gov.it/index.php/en/  

The PATIRIS platform’s database aims at establishing itself as a permanent patenting overseer for universities and public research institutes in Italy (PRIs). The new service, developed by the UIBM in collaboration with NETVAL stems from the upgrade of the original PATIRIS platform, first created in 2013 in collaboration with the University of  Bologna.

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Access to the platform is free of charge.

KNOWLEDGE SHARE: link https://www.knowledge-share.eu/en/

The access to the platform is free of charge.


Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)

Other sources

Patent data are published in compliance with Italian patent law, at the end of the 18th month from the filing or priority date if the deposit is accepted.

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Information on the following topics is desired:

Specific software tools supporting business procedures within the Office: general description, characteristics, advantages, possible improvements

An on-site tool called NSARA is used  that consists of the back-end for patent examination and the front-end for online filing.


Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

Cluster on-site Qemu (KVM-based)


Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

Galera MariaDB Cluster


Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file

ElasticSearch and Solr


Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)

SNMP-Based (Nagios, Observium), NetBox

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Information on the following topics is desired:

Patent library: equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries

Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.

“KNOWLEDGE SHARE” in an online platform that facilitates the interaction between university technology transfer offices, academic researchers and industry partners, by providing a portal that enables users to easily access information related to patents and technologies that represent the excellence of the scientific know-how in Italy. See above .


Office's initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)

Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.

  • TTO Call for proposals: see above
  • Proof of Concept (PoC) call for proposals: see above


Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.

The Office runs its own Academy. The UIBM Academy seminars (online, face-to-face or hybrid) target all stakeholders interested in IP. Advanced training is provided by the UIBM to the human resources involved in the TTO call – Knowledge Transfer managers and Innovation Promoters - who have, among other things, the difficult task of performing, as a free  support service, the analysis of  the IP portfolio of Italian SMEs and promoting the culture of IP innovation and technology transfer.

Master in Open Innovation and Intellectual Property (with LUISS University as managing body)

The Open Innovation & IP Master’s degree serves to cultivate experts or budding entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs in driving innovation and protecting intellectual property as a company asset. This interdisciplinary program will delve into the entire life cycle of innovation – from conceptualization of an idea to the creation, protection and commercialization of it – including anticipating and applying countermeasures in terms of appropriation of a firm’s IP by competition.

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Link: https://businessschool.luiss.it/openinnovation-ip/?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=EM_Open_Innovation_&_IP_Flight_1_Search_GA_317_BS_EM_OPeIP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2Lrd_qLJ_QIV0-J3Ch0OhQRCEAAYASAAEgLI8PD_BwE (ITA link)

Master in IP valorization for Knowledge Exchange & Impact (KEI) (with University of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum as managing body)

The program of Masterin “Intellectual Property Valorisation For Knowledge Exchange & Impact (KEI)” aims to:

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Information on the following topics is desired:

International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information

The UIBM exchanges bibliographic data and full-text information with the EPO by ftps connection. The authority file is shared with WIPO.


Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information

Participation in Working groups organized by the EPO on CPC, data quality and security.

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

Please include any other relevant information here.



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1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.

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