Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2020 submitted by The Estonian Patent Office

Please fill in your items before submitting your report

Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which are 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 access the corresponding information.

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

The average duration of the examination of trade mark applications and international registrations (if there are no deficiencies) was 3.7 months. The examination of national applications from filing an application until making the decision took approximately 3 months.

On 12 October 2020, the Patent Office started offering a new service – an accelerated procedure for trade mark applications. An application for an accelerated procedure with reduced data must comply with certain conditions which allow the registration decision to be made in a shorter period of time.

There are four possibilities to obtain legal protection for a trade mark in Estonia:

  • by registering it in the register of trade marks and service marks by filing an application with the Estonian Patent Office;
  • by registering it with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), requesting legal protection in Estonia;
  • by making a trade mark well known in Estonia;
  • by registering it as an European Union trade mark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

1,403 trade mark registration applications were filed in 2020 (1,351 applications in 2019). Estonian applicants filed 1,239 applications (1,172 in 2020). International trade mark registrations designating Estonia numbered 943 (1,284 in 2019). In total 2,346 trade marks were filed for legal protection (2,635 in 2019).

More: https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks

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

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

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

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

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks

https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/statistics

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE


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

https://www.epa.ee/en/publications/methodical-publications

https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/free-consultations

https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

https://www.epa.ee/en/trade-marks/what-trade-mark

Matters concerning classifying
(i) Classification and reclassification activities; classification systems used, e.g., International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classification
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied

https://www.epa.ee/et/kaubamargid/kaupade-ja-teenuste-klassifitseerimine

https://www.epa.ee/et/kaubamargid/patendiametis-kasutatav-kaubamarkide-kujundelementide-klassifikatsioon

Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)

Other activities

III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Main types of publications in the field of trademark information, outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)

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

https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist

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

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

Other sources

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

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

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

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

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

https://andmebaas.epa.ee/avalik/#/trademarks

Other matters

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/public-awareness-policies

Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/information-events

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid

Other activities

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)

https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/international-cooperation

Assistance to developing countries

Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

https://ajaveeb.epa.ee/

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en

Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2020 submitted by The Estonian Patent Office

Please fill in your items before submitting your report

Where URLs are requested below, it is preferred that either URLs which are 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 access the corresponding information.

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

The average duration of the examination of trade mark applications and international registrations (if there are no deficiencies) was 3.7 months. The examination of national applications from filing an application until making the decision took approximately 3 months.

On 12 October 2020, the Patent Office started offering a new service – an accelerated procedure for trade mark applications. An application for an accelerated procedure with reduced data must comply with certain conditions which allow the registration decision to be made in a shorter period of time.

There are four possibilities to obtain legal protection for a trade mark in Estonia:

  • by registering it in the register of trade marks and service marks by filing an application with the Estonian Patent Office;
  • by registering it with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), requesting legal protection in Estonia;
  • by making a trade mark well known in Estonia;
  • by registering it as an European Union trade mark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

1,403 trade mark registration applications were filed in 2020 (1,351 applications in 2019). Estonian applicants filed 1,239 applications (1,172 in 2020). International trade mark registrations designating Estonia numbered 943 (1,284 in 2019). In total 2,346 trade marks were filed for legal protection (2,635 in 2019).

More: https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks

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

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

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

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

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/trade-marks

https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/statistics

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE


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

https://www.epa.ee/en/publications/methodical-publications

https://www.epa.ee/en/additional-info/free-consultations

https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

https://www.epa.ee/en/trade-marks/what-trade-mark

Matters concerning classifying
(i) Classification and reclassification activities; classification systems used, e.g., International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification), other classification
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied

https://www.epa.ee/et/kaubamargid/kaupade-ja-teenuste-klassifitseerimine

https://www.epa.ee/et/kaubamargid/patendiametis-kasutatav-kaubamarkide-kujundelementide-klassifikatsioon

Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)

Other activities

III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Main types of publications in the field of trademark information, outline of the content and medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URLs)

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

https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist

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

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

Other sources

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

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

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

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

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

https://andmebaas.epa.ee/avalik/#/trademarks

Other matters

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/public-awareness-policies

Office's library (if deals with trademark information): equipment, collection management, network of libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign libraries

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/metoodilised-valjaanded/valjaanded-kaubamargist

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/annual-report-2020/information-events

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

https://www.epa.ee/et/seminarid

Other activities

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)

https://www.epa.ee/en/official-gazettes/estonian-trade-mark-gazette

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

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en/yearbook-2020/international-cooperation

Assistance to developing countries

Other activities

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

https://ajaveeb.epa.ee/

https://aastaraamat.epa.ee/en