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.
The expression "industrial designs" covers industrial designs and models. Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in this series of Annual Technical Reports.
In 2004 271 applications for industrial designs were filed in total, of which:
- 32 applications were filed by domestic applicants,
- 239 applications were filed by foreign applicants.
As compared with the previous year, the number of applications filed by foreign applicants dramatically increased. Most of them were filed under the Hague Agreement, which equals 226.
All design documents are published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property which is issued monthly. Documents are initially prepared in personal workstations of examiners in the Designs division, where after they are forwarded via Local Area Network to the Publication division for final processing and printing. Official Bulletins are printed and copied using Rhysograph and powerful Xerox copiers.
Every Official Bulletin contains colored images of published designs as well as bibliographic data of the international applications extended to the territory of Georgia.
The Bulletins are published also on CD disks and on the Office Website.
Design documents are prepared with MS Office software products and the Office Patent Database management system. All workstations are equipped with Pentium III or Pentium IV PC computers, personal scanners and printers.
Documents are classified using the Locarno classification (8th edition). Other classifications are not in use.
It is possible to conduct searches in design bibliographic data with the Office patent database.
All documents are maintained in the Office library on paper. They are kept as numerical and classified collections which are regularly updated.
Various Official Bulletins from other Intellectual Property Offices of the world are also kept in the library.
The library is also equipped with two workstations having access to the Office patent database and the Internet.
It is possible to conduct searches in design bibliographic data with the Office patent database.
The library is equipped with two workstations having access to the Office patent database.
Almost every workstation has access to the Internet through which external Designs databases are accessible. In special instances access to some commercial databases, such as Quested Orbit and micropat is also available.
The Office industrial property library is located in separate premises and is equipped with every nececary documentation as well as computers for assisting public on searching procedures, for obtaining official publications, for providing consultations as concerns applications drafting, novelty searches, etc.
All Official Bulletins stored on CD discs (trilingual versions) are exchanged with various Intellectual Property Offices worldwide. These bulletins are stored in MS Word format.
The Office is well equipped with audiovisual means for conducting seminars and training courses. Power Point presentations were mainly used as visual means for training purposes.
Several members of the examination staff members attended seminars abroad.
The Office continues to publish journal "Intellectual Property" containing papers on all spheres of intellectual property. It is published on paper and on the Website in PDF format (full texts). The authors of the papers are mainly the Office staff members. The new journal provides great aid to the public, among which are patent professionals, in obtaining useful educational materials.
Apart from publishing, the Office permanently provides consultations to applicants as concerns applications drafting, novelty searches, etc.