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 Annual Technical Reports on Patent Information Activities should cover the following items:¹

1. General overview of recent developments in patent information activities carried out by the Office

• Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent 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 patent 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 grants 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.

2. Services and activities related to patent 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
• Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
• Classification², preclassification³ (if applicable), reclassification⁴   activities; classification system used (e.g., International Patent  Classification (IPC)), matters concerning indexing of patent information
• Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
• Other activities 

3. Sources of patent information provided by the Office

• Main types of publications of the Office (patent applications, full text, first pages, abstracts, bibliographic data, granted patents, etc.), 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 and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases
• Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) 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 

4. ICT support to services and activities related to patent 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

5. Promotion activities aimed to support users in access and efficient use of patent information

• Patent library:  equipment, collection management, network of patent libraries in the country, cooperation with foreign patent libraries
• Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.
• Office’s initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)
• Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.
• Education and training:  training courses, e learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.
• Other activities 

6. International cooperation activities in the field of patent information

• International exchange and sharing of patent information in machine-readable form, e.g., priority documents, bibliographic data, abstracts, search reports, full text information
• Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information
• Assistance to developing countries
• Other activities 

7. Other related matters

1	- The term "patent" covers utility models and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs).  - Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in their Annual Technical Reports on Industrial Design Information Activities.
2	Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application.
3	Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes.
4	Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC).  The new symbols are available on patent databases.