Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2015 submitted by Slovakia
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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
Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of trademark information activities and expected time frames for their realization
In 2013 strategy of the Office´s activities by 2016 was adopted. It contains inter alia activities in the patent information area: - To prepare the draft of the conception of the Office´s information services development by 2016 in accordance with the Strategic Plan of the Office; - To identify the WIPO standards related to public services and data providing which are not or are partially implemented at the Office and to prepare the proposal for their implementation with the publication of their content in Slovak language for public; - To prepare the proposal for implementation of new standardised processes and outputs of the Office related to provided services; - To prepare the proposal for implementation of new and modification of existing public services of the Office; - To implement a new complex package of public services with relevant information materials and documents.
Evaluation of the period 2013 - 2016 in the area of information services and the report on their status and perspectives is planned for the end of 2016.
New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
Since 2011 the Office has realised the Projects of the Cooperation Fund of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market/European Union Intellectual Property Office (OHIM/ EUIPO) aimed at more effective providing services to national offices experts and clients and harmonization of the practice of national offices in proceedings on applications of trade marks and designs.
In 2015 the tools realised through the mentioned projects were used actively and were available not only to national Office experts but also to public. These are tools eFiling, eServices and tools in applications CESTO (a common support tool for examiners), Quality (Centralising information on IP Office quality standards), Seniority and Similarity (IP Office assessments of similarity between goods and services), portals like TMview (trade mark search tool) and TMClass (trade mark classification tool).
IPO SR cooperated with OHIM/EUIPO to create an electronic tool to exchange data between the European Commission, OHIM/EUIPO, authorities performing the practical enforcement of IP rights and other parties concerned. The Enforcement Database to support the enforcement of IP rights is the base of the safe system of cooperation between IP right holders, custom authorities and police.
More information is on the web site https://www.tmdn.org/.
In 2014 also the Project Common Central Database, implemented in OHIM/EUIPO and used by experts of the Office´s Call Centre to build so-called Knowledge Database, was launched. It means that questions about CTM/EUTM or RCD or related questions are transferred by the Office´s experts to OHIM/EUIPO experts to harmonise answers about CTM/EUTM or RCD.
Since 2012 the Office has been cooperating with industrial property offices of the European Union member states through the European Trade Mark and Design Network within the OHIM/EUIPO Convergence Programme aimed at harmonisation of practice and eliminating differences of national industrial property offices procedures on trade mark and designs and at gradual implementation of the Projects:
CP1 Harmonization of Classification
CP2 Convergence of Class Headings
CP3 Absolute grounds - Figurative Marks
CP4 Scope of protection of B&W Marks
CP5 Relative grounds - Likelihood of confusion
This cooperation resulted in agreements of the offices on common practice in publishing announcements of the Office on its main page such as joint announcements related to:
- Procedure for assessing the likelihood of confusion (relative grounds), where the common elements of the signs in question have no or weak distinctive character
- Procedure for determining the acceptability of terms for classification (set of criteria contained in this procedure helps to determine whether a term included in the list of goods and services of a trade mark application is in terms of classification sufficiently clear and precise)
- Judgments of the Court of Justice - calls for harmonized interpretations of the general indications of class headings of the Nice classification
- Procedure for assessing the scope of protection of black and white trade marks and trade marks in the gray-scale and so on.
In 2015 the project CP3 was successfully completed by adopting Common Communication on the Common Practice of Distinctiveness – Figurative Marks containing descriptive/non-distinctive words in the attached forms or combined signs containing descriptive words/words without distinctive character, which has been applied in the Slovak Republic from December 1, 2015.
Within the Operational Programme Information Society the Office in cooperation with the external company works on the Project Electronic Services of the IPO SR to prepare inter alia the new modern web registers of the Office. In 2015 the works continued under the agreed Schedule.
Main areas of trademark information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
Plans about trade mark information relate to implementation of a new system for making data from the Office registers available on the internet (Webregisters II) interconnected with European and international systems (eSearch, TMview, Romarin,etc.).
Maintenance and updating the search system for trade marks – Acsepto® containing bibliographic data and images of national, international trade marks and Community trade marks.
The projects and activities mentioned in the item above were realised in the co-operation with the OHIM/EUIPO.
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and registrations with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
During 2015 the Office received 3,316 trade mark applications, what represents increase by 6.8 per cent in comparing with the previous year.
When compared with 2014, the number of domestic trade mark applications increased by 3.3 per cent to 2,537.
In 2015, 1,626 international trade mark applications were filed under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement. It represents increase by 2.7 per cent when compared with 2014.
Total number of registered national trade marks increased by 5.9 per cent to 2,620.
The number of domestic registered trade marks increased by 5.1 per cent (1,991), the number of trade marks registered for foreign applicants increased by 8.6 per cent to 629.
By December 31, 2015 there were in the Slovak Republic 48,382 valid national trade marks registered by the Office and 78,952 international trade marks.
For comparison, there is the statistics on trade mark applications and registrations of the years 2011 – 2015:
Trade mark statistics_2015.docx
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
Annual Technical Reports on Trade marks:
http://www.upv.sk/?vyrocne-technicke-spravy
http://www.wipo.int/cws/en/atrs/
Annual Reports of the IPO SR:
http://www.upv.sk/?annual-reports
Trade mark-related news
http://www.upv.sk/
Useful links
http://www.upv.sk/?linky
http://www.upv.sk/?dalsie-uzitocne-linky
Intellectual Property Magazine
http://www.upv.sk/?dusevne-vlastnictvo
IPO SR and IPO CZ Publications
http://www.upv.sk/?publikacie
IPO SR E-Zine
http://www.upv.sk/?e-zine-upv-sr
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
Basic information for applicants related to IP subject matters applications are available on the website of the Office www.upv.sk. These are mainly application forms of particular type of industrial property right, legislation, instructions of the IPO SR and information for applicant, administrative fees, contact to expert assistance, etc. Below there are the individual areas of IP subject matters and relevant information sources with links to website of the Office, where they are available:
Trade marks http://www.upv.sk/?trademarks
What Is a Trade mark?
http://www.upv.sk/?what-is-a-trademark
Information for Applicants
http://www.upv.sk/?information-for-applicants
Legislation
http://www.upv.sk/?legislation-in-force
Administrative Fees - Trade marks
http://www.upv.sk/?administrative-fees-trademarks
Madrid Protocol Concerning the International Registration of Trade Marks
http://www.upv.sk/?madrid-protocol-concerning-the-international-registration-of-marks
Filing Abroad
http://www.upv.sk/?ochranne-znamky-prihlasovanie-do-zahranicia
Application Forms To Be Filled Out Electronically
http://www.upv.sk/?application-forms-to-be-filled-out-electronically
Renewal of international registrations(WIPO Marks E-Renewal System)
http://www.upv.sk/?madridska-dohoda-a-protokol-o-medzinarodnom-zapise-ochrannych-znamok
Madrid System Fees
http://www.upv.sk/?ochranne-znamky-sadzobnik-poplatkov-madridsky-system
Trade mark Classifications
http://www.upv.sk/?ochranne-znamky-systemy-triedenia
Data Extracted from Registers
http://registre.indprop.gov.sk/registre/searchForm.do?lang=en®ister=oz
Downloads
http://www.upv.sk/?downloads
http://www.upv.sk/?ochranne-znamky-dokumenty-na-prevzatie
Contacts
http://www.upv.sk/?contacts
The Office does not provide services for electronic filings with electronic signature in relation to trade marks.
In the past the Office created and made available intelligent electronic forms in cooperation with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market that are now accessible on the website of the Office with the address: http://www.upv.sk/?elektronicky-vyplnitelne-formulare. Filings realised via these forms are not possible to sign with electronic signature/guaranteed electronic signature. This is the reason why they need to be filed in the paper form within the period of one month.
Request for entry of a sign as a trade mark into the Register
Request for entry of transfer of a trade mark
Request for renewal of a trade mark
Request for the amendment of the name/surname or the name/corporate name and address of the proprietor (applicant) of a trade mark
Oppositions against the registration of a sign
Request for revocation of a trade mark
Request for declaration of invalidity of a trade mark
For electronic filing there is the Office´s helpdesk available on the website of the Office http://www.upv.sk/?uzivatelsky-servis-a-helpdesk. Within the helpdesk it is possible to obtain the information on electronic forms and electronic filing using them and also to solve possible problems.
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
The Office conducts the application file only in the paper form.
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
Goods and services are classified in accordance with the actual version of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification). In the IPO SR exist an obligatory classifying system of goods and services by applicant according the said Classification. The last version of the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (Vienna Classification) is used as the code system of figurative elements of trade marks, which are classified by Office's expert.
The WIPO Standard ST.60 is used for trade mark bibliographic data coding in all relevant outcomes or records. All bibliographic data are being processed in electronic database form. The fully searchable data are updated and made available to the public daily in the Internet.
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied
Classification symbols were checked by internal electronic classification system.
In accordance with the Act No.506/2009 the applicant is obliged to indicate in the application the goods and services for which the trade mark is filed, according to the International Classification (Nice Classification) accompanied with the appropriate number of this Classification. But there is no obligation for applicants to use pre-defined terms of the classification.
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.
Information products (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external documentation and databases
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)
Other matters
V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION
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.
Cooperation with universities, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
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)
Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to trademark information
Assistance to developing countries
Other activities
VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS