Annual Technical Report 2004 on Trademark Information Activities submitted by Czech Republic (SCIT/ATR/TM/2004/CZ)

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I. Evolution of registration activities

For the evolution of registration activities see the attached MS Word document.

On 01.04. 2004, the Act. No. 441/2003 Coll. on Trademarks came into effect.

CZ_TM_2004

II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of secondary sources of trademark information, i.e., trademark gazettes

Information concerning the Czech trademarks was published in the Official Bulletin, Part B, of the IPO CZ (Vestnik UPV), issued monthly in 250 pieces. The Bulletin contained the following types of announcements:

- Survey of Published Trademark Applications
- Publications of Trademark Applications
- Survey of Trademark registrations
- Trademark Registrations
- Trademark Renewals
- Trademark Assignments
- Partial Trademark Assignments
- Changes of Data Relating to Trademark Holders
- Limitation of the List of Goods and Services
- Change in the reproduction of the Trademark
- Trademark Lapse
- Registrations of Licence Contracts Concerning Trademarks
- International Registrations of Trademarks
- Trademark Cancellations
- Official Announcements
- Published Trademark Applications - Colour Reproductions


As from No. 1/2000, the Official Bulletin has been available on the web site of the IPO CZ as an electronic book in PDF format.

III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of trademark information

The 8th edition of the Nice Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks has been used since January 01, 2002 for the purposes of trademark filing and registration.

Every trademark application shall contain a list of goods or services for which the mark is to be registered. Goods and services are listed in sequence of classes of the Nice Classification and the appropriate number of this classification is mentioned.

The 5th edition of the Vienna Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks has been used.

In order to assist the applicants in the orientation in the above mentioned trademark classifications, classification systems were displayed on the web site of the IPO CZ (www.upv.cz), too.

IV. Trademark manual search file establishment and upkeep

A manual search file is not built nor used since 1996. The trademark register is kept in electronic form only.
Trademark bulletins of foreign offices, ROMARIN CDs, DVDs from WIPO and Community Trademarks Bulletin on CDs from OHIM were received.

V. Activities in the field of computerized trademark search systems

In January 2004, the standard operation of the new internal information system for application proceedings and for keeping registers of subject matters of industrial rights (IS SyPP) was started. The aim of the project was to create a modifiable and extendable information system over one unified database and to replace two originally separated systems with different conceptions, designed separately for patents and utility models and separately for trademarks. The system is equipped with electronic archiving of incoming and outgoing files. The system makes it possible to processes data of proceedings for the database and for publishing in the Office Bulletin.

An information system accessible for public is available on the web page of the IPO CZ (http://isdvapl.upv.cz/pls/portal30/oz.ozfrm) and allows its users to search within the national trademark database, CTM Online, Madrid Express and other free of charge TM databases of national offices.

The trademark examiners and clients of the public reading room can use a so-called common search triple interface comprising a database of not only Czech trademarks and international trademarks valid in the territory of the Czech Republic, but also a database of Community trademarks registered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.

VI. Administration of trademark services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering trademarks, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)

Trademark information services for the public are provided within the Trademark Information Centre (information concerning trademark applications filing, telephone queries, procedure information etc), in the public reading room (various kinds of trademark searches), common questions can be addressed to the helpdesk (helpdesk@upv.cz) or on the basis of orders (trademark searches).

In 2004, 1.938 trademark searches for the public were carried out.

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of trademark documentation and information

Foreign official bulletins in paper or electronic form were received on exchange basis.

The IPO CZ participated in the CD-ROM TRACES project (electronic data sending) and in the Project for Eastern Europe of the Compu-Mark company (electronic data sending).

VIII. Matters concerning education and training including technical assistance to developing countries

Various courses and seminars were organized for the students and representatives of SMEs or research institutions; Groups of university students were accepted in the premises of the IPO CZ.

In 2004, the two year study course of industrial property rights was conducted within the Office's own educational facility - the Industrial Property Training Institute.

The IPO CZ presented its information activities and products at the following exhibitons and trade fairs:

- International Machinery Trade Fair (Brno, CZ)
- MACH 2004 (Prague, CZ)
- FOR ARCH 2004 (Prague, CZ)
- Innovation 2004 (Prague, CZ)
- IENA - Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations (Nurnberg, DE)
- Exhibition of Inventions (Geneva, CH)
- PATLIB 2004 (Vilamoura, PT)
- EPIDOS 2004 (Prague, CZ)

The IPO CZ issued the Industrial Property Journal every two months.

IX. Other relevant matters