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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 2005, the AGEPI received 464 applications for the registration of 1499 industrial designs.
As compared with the previous year both indexes recognized a considerable diminution – by 145 (31,2%) the number of applications and by 473 (31,6%) the number of industrial designs designated in the applications.
Parallel to the applications for the registration, 393 applications for the renewal of the registration of 1356 industrial designs were filed in 2005, or with 16 (4,2%) and, respectively, 137 (11,2%) more than in 2004.
The national applicants filed 141 (30,4%) applications for 459 (30,6%) industrial designs, while the foreign ones proceeded with 323 (69,6%) applications for 1040 (69,4%) industrial designs.
The national applicants filed 51 (13%) requests for renewal for 158 (11,7%) industrial designs, while the foreign ones proceeded with 342 (87%) requests for renewal for 1198 (88,3%) industrial designs.
According to the requested procedures of protection, the applications filed by foreign applicants are divided as follow: national procedure – 17 (5,2 %) applications for 54 (5,2%) industrial designs; procedure under the Hague Agreement - 306 (94,8%) applications for 986 (94,8%) industrial designs and 342 (100%) requests for renewal for 1198 (100%) industrial designs.
The weight of the applications filed by the national applicants (natural persons) increased as compared with the year 2004 from 17,1% to 23,0%.
Under the Hague Agreement of the foreign applicants the most active were from Switzerland (211 applications, 528 industrial designs), Germany (73 - 378), France (12 - 43), Italy (7 - 23), being kept the tendency established in the previous years. Primarily requested fields of protection were: watches and watches accessories (168 applications - 375 industrial designs); articles of adornment (17 - 118); transport facilities and accessories (40 – 183), tissues (6 – 106),
In 2005, 135 certificates for the registration of 448 industrial designs were issued, or with 25 (22,7%) and, respectively, 38 (9,3%) more than in 2004. The absolute majority of the issued certificates hold the national owners – 123 (91,1%).
The analysis of the registered industrial designs highlights the constant interest of the national applicants for the protection of bottles (64 certificates – 156 industrial designs), labels (22 certificates – 84 industrial designs), boxes and containers (15 certificates – 49 industrial designs).
In 2005, 42 certificates for the renewal of 103 industrial designs were issued, or with 17 (68%) and, respectively, 18 (21,1%) more than in 2004.
The most important publications in the field of industrial design documentation are the following:
- The Official Bulletin of Industrial Property Protection (BOPI);
- The National Industrial Designs Register;
- The National Industrial Designs Applications Register.
BOPI includes Sections VI with information on industrial designs and models, from January 2000 onwards are available online via our AGEPI web site at www.agepi.md in portable document format (PDF).
Section VI contains:
- FF4L Registered industrial designs (bibliographic data and graphic reproduction);
- FG4L List of industrial design certificates issued in …(date of issuing);
- FG4L List of renewal industrial designs;
- FG4L Numerical Index of industrial designs registered in the Republic of Moldova according to the Hague Agreement;
- FG4L Subject Index of industrial designs registered in the Republic of Moldova according to the Hague Agreement;
- NZ4L List of industrial designs renewed in the Republic of Moldova according to the Hague Agreement.
Section VII contains various types of notices referring to all amendments occurred to the legal status of the protected industrial property objects (List of amendments, List of assignment agreements, Errata, etc), etc.
As from 2002, searches related to industrial designs, registered in the Republic of Moldova and published in BOPI, can be performed on line via our web site www.agepi.md . The Collection contains graphic reproductions of the industrial designs and bibliographic data of the products.
Republic of Moldova became a state party to the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (1968) on December 1, 1997.
The Agency uses the International Classification for Industrial Designs since 1994. All the documents are classified according to the Locarno Classification. The full texts (Romanian and Russian) of the Locarno Classification were published in BOPI.
The classification symbols (the 8th edition of the Classification) of an application are allotted by the applicant. It is up to the Agency to afterwards check, and eventually to correct, the classification symbols.
The classification is used for the novelty examination, for search purposes and for statistics.
At the disposal of examiners in their daily practice, there are the following databases:
- National automated searchable database “Industrial Design”, supporting a number of search fields;
- International applications received in the International Design Bulletin (paper form and CD-ROM);
- Card - files of industrial designs grouped by categories of the Locarno Classification, of the following countries: BY, BG, HR, HU, LT, MK, SK, TJ, UA, UZ (from 1994 onwards);
- FI, RO, RU, UA applications received in the Design Bulletins (paper form, CD-ROM and searchable database) (from 1994 onwards).
The searches cover a period of 12 years for the collection of industrial designs registered under the national procedure and - 17 years for the collection of industrial designs registered under the Hague Agreement.
Moreover, the manual paper search files consist of special books, periodicals, booklets, and a number of other lists and sources.
The examiner’s search files are updated on a regular basis.
In 2002 the interface for on-line searches in Data Base “Industrial Design” available in Romanian, English and Russian, was put into operation. At present, the “Industrial designs” Data Base contains information on the applications filed from 1993 up to date and on the registered objects. The users have access to the bibliographic data, images of industrial designs, for which the decision to register the industrial design has been taken. From 2003 in the procedure of examination it is used also CD-ROM BOPI_RO (before 2003 it was used the paper version of BOPI of Romania). From 2004 in the procedure of examination it is used also Data Base of Russian Federation, containing the applications published in the period 1993 -2004. From 2005 in the procedure of examination it is used CD-ROM BOPI_UA and CD-ROM BOPI_FI (before 2005 it was used the paper version of BOPI of Ukraine and Finland).
Several work stations were modernized, offering thus, from the technical point of view, sufficient possibilities of homogenizing the working environment, the operation and application soft used within the Agency, namely the installation of the Microsoft Windows 2000/XP and the Microsoft Office 2000/XP. All examiners have access to the Internet at their desks.
In 2004 a Data Base, including the international applications filled under the Hague system and designating the Republic of Moldova was elaborated. At present, this data base does not contain images, thus it is used as a register without being used for examination procedure.
The hardware used by Industrial Design Department:
- Workstation - 9 computers, P III-IV, 256-512 Ram, min. 40 Gb HDD;
- Network type - 100 Mbps;
- 1 network printer
- 1 scanner
The office library functions simultaneously as an in-house and public library.
The AGEPI Library is open to the public during 5 days (except Saturday and Sunday) from 9:00 to 16:00.
The Library Soft “IRBIS”, for acquisition processes automation, formation of electronic catalogue “Books” and library administration, is implemented in the AGEPI Library.
The main information sources of the IP Collection are the official publications of the AGEPI,
Official gazettes and literature received through international exchange with Patent Offices worldwide and other information centers, purchase or subscription. All the received documents are registered, classified and grouped for storage purpose.
On December 31, 2005, the Library collection included 2848913 of documents (both on paper and e-support). In 2005 the total number of acquisitions made through bilateral exchange, subscription, publication etc., was 2843983 documents on electronic support, 722 official bulletins, 1173 books, 1213 periodicals, 1444498 AGEPI publications and 324 other documents.
The AGEPI Library has a general reading room and a specialized PC room. The total area of the AGEPI Library is 125 sq. m.
Visits to the IP Library and services offered are free of charge (except such services as: copying the documents from CD-ROM / DVD-ROM or from INTERNET on paper or on CD-ROM or on diskettes (in 2005 – 2715 pages and 120 documents), copying the documents from the Library paper Collection). The AGEPI Library also sells the AGEPI editions.
In 2005, the AGEPI Library registered: readers - 669; visits – 5450; borrowed documents – 52700.
During the year 2005 the AGEPI has rendered to the economic agents over 324 consultations on how to access and use IP information, organized many visits to enterprises, universities, shows of new books within the AGEPI and in other libraries.
Information about the new acquisitions in the library collection is systematically offered on the AGEPI web site. The information provided on the AGEPI web site www.agepi.md – covers all general topics concerning the industrial property objects (national and international legislation, office procedures, application forms).
The AGEPI exchanges documents with the National Library and the National Technical Scientific Literature Library, which have a complete collection of the official bulletins and relevant literature in the field published by the AGEPI; the Agency also exchanges documents with other national offices and regional organizations.
The AGEPI Library cooperates intensively with 56 territorial Libraries to which the IP information (official gazette) and other literature in this field is furnished regularly for further dissemination in the territory.
In 2005 the AGEPI Library offered to the public Libraries methodical assistance concerning the organization and utilization of IP document collections, by organizing the national seminars ”The Public Library and the Intellectual Property”, “ The Public Library and Copyright”, and the competition ”Public Library-A Partner in the Promotion of Intellectual Property”, in which took part 52 public libraries.
In the year 2005 the process for completion and development of the literature and document collection in the industrial property protection field continued on the basis of a bilateral exchange with foreign patent and trademark offices.
The Official Bulletin (BOPI) was received in 2005 by bilateral exchange from 23 countries in paper form and from 8 countries on CD-ROM.
The AGEPI has sent the Official Bulletin to 34 national offices and 4 international organizations on CD-ROM.
As from 2005 the BOPI is published also on CD-ROM. Due to this change the majority of the offices, with which the AGEPI exchange publications on a bilateral base, preferred receiving BOPI on CD-ROM or access it on-line.
As from the 2005, the AGEPI publishes the BOPI on CD-ROM and has sent it to 41 addresses.
During the year 2005, the AGEPI organized on industrial property protection matters 24 national seminars, including 7 national seminars with international participation and 17 thematic reunions organized in the Republic of Moldova.
The AGEPI staff participated in 82 international events such as trainings, meetings, seminars, symposia, consultations, official visits etc., among which the most relevant are:
- Study tour to the National Institute of Industrial Property of France (INPI) and to the National Institute of Appellations of Origin (INAO), within the project “Strengthening the legislative framework and enhancing the enforcement of industrial property protection legislation in Moldova”;
- The 14th and 15th sessions of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT);
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Visiting Scholars Program;
- WIPO Interregional Intermediate Seminar on Industrial Property, followed by a training course on industrial property, organized by the WIPO at the Center for International Industrial Property Studies (CEIPI);
- The 8th International Scientific-Practical Conference „Actual Issues of Industrial Property”, organized by the State Department of Intellectual Property of Ukraine, Ministry of Education of Autonomous Republic of Krim, WIPO and CIPR;
- National Symposia “Protection of inventions and designs in Romania”, organized by OSIM in cooperation with the University “Lucian Blaga” of Sibiu, Romania, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Sibiu and the National Association for Industrial Property Protection (ANPPI) of Romania;
- WIPO Seminar on the Hague System of International Registration of Industrial Designs;
- The 9th session of the Committee of Experts of the Union created by the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs;
During the year 2005, the Office participated in 25 national and international exhibitions and granted logistical and financial assistance for the participation of Moldovan inventors in 7 international exhibitions.
More than 100 articles, communications, interviews, reports were delivered to the republican mass-media and 4 press conferences were organized on the occasion of the most important IP events.