Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2014 submitted by Norwegian Industrial Property Office

I. 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

Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) is a government authority organized under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
Main office goals:

• Handle applications on industrial rights with correct quality and within due time
• Contribute to IP awareness and knowledge in Norway

Main priorities:

• Customer orientation, efficiency and competence.

Strategic technical focus:

• Established case handling efficiency project (2015->) to improve internal process and Tools
• Continue to improve and maintain the SANT Automation System for IP Case Management and registry handling
• Upgrade infrastructure where further virtualization of servers and Oracle databases, EMC Documentum, Microsoft servers and Citrix clients are central (2015)
• Continue to improve PPH cooperation (2015->)
• Integration to national registries for citizen birth number and company ID (Master Customer database).
• Focus towards improvement in participation with Nordic Patent Institute (pending)
• Enhanced tech cooperation with WIPO to ensure 100% electronic exchange (2015 - 2017)
• Improvements in reporting to EPO - all PT applications/rights (2015), legal status (2016)
• Implement electronic gazette publication (2017)
• Improve online surveillance services, online search and create online payment for annuities (by 2016)
• Create national archive (separate) live from production according to national standard (By 2017) 
• Create and host the national anti-piracy information site (by 2015)
• - Improve international sharing of patent documents IPDL/DAS (2016->)

New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks

• The London treaty was adopted in revised patent act: All applications can be filed in English, including national applications, and where at least prior to grant, only the claims are demanded translated to Norwegian. Valid for all PT application types and national customers, too.
• Project for online payment solution for annuities started. Project aim to allow direct online payment  or payment order generation of all annuities regardless of type of IP-application/right.
• This project is a continuation of the current on line search service and the newly created surveillance service, where customer can make a portfolio and are warned when annuity is due, and for other events, such as change in legal status and new records/events in application or IP-right.
• Project for new national archive (time capsule) for IP system started
• New office overall project management system introduced

Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year

2013

• Completed modernization of IP automation system to MS.Net 4.n platform (From 86 to 32 workflows for everything)

2014:

• Board of appeals becomes a separate public institute with dislocated office, see link below.
• The modernization and porting of the IP case management system to MS.Net (4.n) completed, in the 10th year of full production for system. From 96 to 33 workflows for all IP-handling.
• System changes to support London Treaty (English language in PT-rights).
• System changes to support the new act for registration of Pledge documents on Patents completed.
• Agreements with contractor for time-capsule archive for IP case handling was signed
• Scan production line replaced by Abbyy-recognition server and adaptations.
• New e-mail integration to create documents directly in IP case management system created.
• EDB-spirit for auto creation of EP-patents for national validation improved and upgraded.

Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes

                                                             2010            2011             2012             2013            2014       % 2014

Filings

• Direct National applicant            1070           1079              978              1065            1057     
• Direct foreign applicant                162             187               153                146                95     
• DO/EO PCT national appl.            28               33                  31                 36                55        
• DO/EO PCT foreign appl.            548             475               403                502              363            

             Total  filings                            1 808          1 774            1 565            1 749            1 570         - 10%

--------- 

• Granted patents                         1631            1617              1310            1421             1415 
• Refused patent applications          15                16                  12                14                  21
• Shelved/withdrawn                    4173            3339              2083             2539             2156      
• Total decisions                          5 819          4 972              4 125           3 974            3 610        - 9%

---------

• Validated EP -patents                  117             758              1 432            2 093           2 556        + 22%

---------

• Patent application backlog                                                18 464          16 128          14 217

---------

• Reduction in national filings, but within normal year to year variation
• Firm increase in EP-patent for validation in Norway (>20% increase)
• Substantial increase in duration of national patents for 2014: 2 years longer duration compared to 1999.
• At end of 2014 there was 21 218 patents in force.
• Time to grant increasing due within specific technical fields (manpower issue). Time in average considered too long.
• Measured high customer satisfaction for patent examination.
• 20% increase in usage of public search services.

IP automation system SANT measured availability to 99.5%

Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

NIPO homepage: http://www.patentstyret.no/en/

Annual Report NIPO:

• Highlights in English: http://www.patentstyret.no/en/Annual-Reports/Annual-Report-2014/Highlights/
• Full report only in Norwegian (PDF): http://www.patentstyret.no/Global/Filarkiv/patentstyret/Patentstyret_aarsrapport_2014.pdf

NIPO public IP services

• homepage with Norwegian and English interface: https://search.patentstyret.no/
• Access to advanced IP search (cross-domain), general guides, e-filing redirector, statistics, access to international DBs
• Surveillance services with alert functions, classification assistant and "name check" (App),
• Pending development for direct payment (renewal) and customer interactivity.

Other related:

• Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights, site: http://www.kfir.no/english-summary.aspx
• National anti-piracy site (only Norwegian): http://www.velgekte.no

II. 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

Filing information at  

• http://www.patentstyret.no/en/For-Experts/Patents-Expert/E-filing/

National filing and correspondence reception portal        http://www.altinn.no

• NIPO provides link to national e-filing portal only available for national citizens or companies. Extensive info given in Norwegian
  • http://www.patentstyret.no/no/For-eksperter/Patenteksperten/Altinn---send-soknaden/
• Electronic filing of all types of IP applications, correspondences and requests , plus all correspondence received by Customer electronically through national portal http://www.altinn.no.
• Request of commercial services by NIPO: IP search, -evaluation and -surveillance services

NIPO allows filing on paper format, or combination with memory stick or ROM.
PDF-forms is available online at http://www.patentstyret.no/en/For-Experts/Trademarks-Expert/Forms-in-PDF-format/

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

The full dossier of open for public IP applications and IP granted rights, including EP-patents valid in Norway, are available at

• https://search.patentstyret.no/

The dossier contains

• all bibliographic data, legal and processing status,
• all publications, and all incoming and outgoing correspondences. The dossier contains also links to info about appeals etc.
• Individual documents – correspondence and certificates - may be downloaded.
• A downloadable PDF-document with summary of bibliographic data, image(s), legal status etc, may be created on demand per application/right.

Surveillance service for changes in dossier (Change in status, change in selected values, and New documents) can be activated by any user

Classification¹, preclassification² (if applicable), reclassification³ activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information

From end of 2014 the office has the ability to classify only using CPC.
Steps:

• Initial coarse classification is needed to select the group of or the individual examiner for examination (push task to officer within area)
• where first four positions are used, and where group or individual examiner are selected by use of IPC-range (or CPC-range).
• Prior to OPI publication, a detailed classification is performed via a specially developed CPC-code assignment function/assistant integrated in IP automation system SANT.
• The user browse, search and click/select the valid classes and set property and order.
• Through updated concordance list, each publication receives automatically the correct corresponding IPC-code including nature of code.
• Reclassification needs are identified via report, based on changes in CPC/IPC codes performed by same classification function.
• The database definition tables is built according to WIPO standard.

Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents

NIPO do not translate documents.

• The Officer in charge has the means to modify abstract and title. o *
• NIPO allows filing of base documents in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, or in English.
• Publication only performed either fully in Norwegian language, or fully in English with additional list of claims in Norwegian.
• For EP validated in Norway, only front page and Norwegian clams published (reference to EPO-publication).

By the London Treaty all documents may be filed in English, and only Claims translated to Norwegian prior to grant. For these. and for all where Customer requests, all communication with client will be in English. Title is translated to Norwegian, and key words may be attached to enhance searching.

Other activities

NA

III. 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)

A-Documents:

• The examiner classifies, selects source documents and thereby approve the publication.
• Administrative officers then uses special made function within Ptolemy (SANT IP automation system) where the different sections of the documents is merged in to one coded PDF, where additional coding and paginating is performed.
• All actions is made in single workflow (push task to individual or group) per application, with internal due date.
• Source document always as original filed: either text coded or as images (TIFF), but abstract is always text coded and proof read.
• When published, the full documents are processed in a separate patent publication archive that generates a search index (by OCR if needed) for entire document, and splits the document to ST36 formatted document with TIFF pages.
• The result is full text search capabilities, grey scale (including colour image browsing if filed as such) with the mandatory official TIFF-image document, as alternative approaches.
• A dedicated image browser has been created by own developer as a result.
• A-documents is created as soon as the document becomes open for public inspection, with up to one week delay.

B-Documents

• Processed exactly like A-documents, but with some additional control and calculations due to grant fee calculation based on number of pages (this is expected to be changed).
• B-documents are normally created one or two weeks in advance of the grant publication, and will be available for the public at the date of grant, since grant date shall correspond with gazette publication date according to patent act.

EP-validations: B-documents only published With front page and Norwegian set of claims.

Patent gazette published weekly on our web site, in Norwegian with use of inid-coding.

Data and documents are shared with connection to Espacenet.

All publications can be downloaded from free public search service.

Official Gazettes: main types of announcements, frequency of publication, medium (on paper, on CDs, online - URL), etc.

The gazette is by Act published in one sectioned document per domain (a patent gazette, a trademark gazette and a design gazette). The patent act specifies a minimum content per record and it varies from type to type. The document is merged via MS Office to PDF v.7 format (in order to inline the domains). Publication is weekly. The document is published on our web site. Links are shared with a handful of fixed recipients (libraries) via e-mail, and inserted in our e-mail newsletter.

Current sections that are published in Patent Gazette:

• Other, notes, rare events
• New OPI publications, grants B1 -... B3, EP validated in Norway
• Expired, refused, OPI applications which is shelved
• Opposition filing, administrative limitation and overruling filings, appeal filings
• *Changes in right (lapse, cancellation, reinstatements, etc) when decision in force
• Decisions in force by higher authority
• Assignment, licenses, pledges, change in attorney.
• Lapse of rights

Outline of Gazette function in SANT:

• The SANT-IP case management system contains function to order (automatically by event) or manually (by function select) a record in the gazette.
• The records is gathered, sorted and inserted in a very advanced MS office template, via a user controlled control function, to make sure everything is published and periodization is kept.
• Manual odd publication events is included at this stage. When the actual gazette document is created, there is a record in each individual dossier.

NIPO has developed a depended sub set of statuses - a level under Legal Status, used through out processing of application or actions on rights.
These corresponds to the publication of the gazette (where date is one week prior). Hence a professional user can recreate gazette by search on our search service advanced status coding.

An electronic version of the gazette is planned and prioritized for 2017. This will both make a user friendly interface with links to dossier, while the entry will act as a journal record of the archive (dossier).

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to examiners, including external collections and databases

PT Examiners uses Epoque as main examination tool, and use of other commercial database hosts when required (such as STN and for NPL). NIPO search strategy is PCT minimum, plus full national and Nordic search in addition. Extensions of search area for certain fields. NIPO has general trust in other authorities search reports.

All National historic patent publication and the continuously produced new publication are structured and imported in to same search archive, covering historic B, C and front page/abstracts, and new A and B-publications. All have a full text index and searchable in Norwegian. The system offers full text search in combination with some bibliographic data (status, IPC, numbers, dates) with an advanced document and image browser capability.

In addition to national search service we have a paper based archive for all Nordic patent material as complement (also sorted on Nordic/German classification system). Pending work on sharing of Nordic electronic documents and German class reclassification.

Information products and patent document collections (coverage, medium, etc.) available to external users, conditions of access (e.g., free of charge, subscription, etc.)

• The historic collection of Norwegian national patent publication will be electronically available in via our search service (pending). 
• By 2014 the historic publications dated back to 1985 is available, with publication and full set of bibliographic data.
• Patent publications are available back to 1976 with limited bibliographic data.
• Correspondence letters (In/Out = Record journal) is available in the dossier where document is dated 2010 and later.
• Older material will have a limited set of data attached.
• * Full Nordic paper based archive exists in house and is managed by our library service open for the public.

Legal status information (kind of information, coverage, medium, etc.)

Legal status information can be obtained by the public search service. The legal status is updated & complete for all available applications/rights.

Other sources

NA

IV. 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

About the SANT IP automation system

• Tailored software based on IP handling framework Ptolemy, delivered and maintained by Sword SA, Paris.
• Full production in 2004, later modernized and functionally changed under a planned regime.
• Integrated to EMC Documentum 7.1 for full electronic document management (paper less system) and workflows, security and soon archive/time capsule,
• Ptolemy core runs on MS.Net4.n framework based on virtualized Microsoft servers (2008), with virtualized Oracle 11g databases. 
• All clients based on Windows 8, via virtual clients on Citrix. All officers has dual screen setup.
• All officer have home office access to anything except print and scan.
• Interfaces to Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, Alternatiff, with optional usage of other specialized client software.

Highlights of integrations (restricted to patent):

• E-filing interface to national portal, AND interface for electronic correspondence towards all citizens/national companies
• eOlf integation for PCT/RO, and WIPO PCT integration
• Automated EP-patent import and task activation via EBD-Spirit licensed SW,
• Automated CPC import and handler with IPC concordance
• Automatic invoicing integration with Agresso (ERP)
• Daily copy of DB for search services
• e-mail integration, integration to Abbyy (scan/imaging)
• Multi image cropping internal cropping and image enhancement tool (publication, grant, etc)

Highlights of functional perspective:

• All tasks on application and rights within same application. Cross domain nature where functions is shared between design, trademark and patent:  Administrative officers can work cross domain, e.g. the formal workflow is identical, all admin changes performed through same function, by same group of officers.
• Legal officers can work on complaints, oppositions, etc, cross domain.
• A separate dossier function with logic linking between relevant cases, also by other domains: One window for all info needed to process anything.
• Multi windowing (Main + search + dossier + special functions/dialogues).
• The workflow system pushes tasks to individual case officer inboxes or group inboxes, based on rules or by forced selection.
• High degree of automation via batch preparation

Other key parameters (General / cross domain):

• 85% of flings and correspondence currently performed electronic.
• System Covers both the dossier, registers and publications, invoicing and annuities/renewals, as well as all related case types, such as oppositions, assignments, divisions etc.
• TMs and DSs in average higher e-fling rate than patent, possibly due to size limitation in national portal. 
• NIPO and the SANT IP Automating system also  handles appeals for company name registrar authority.

Hardware used to supporting business processes of the Office

Database HW: HP Itanium, HP-U 11.31, Oracle 10.2.0.5
Virtual MS Servers 2008 on VMWare
Full virtualization of all servers to be completed in 2015

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

The self developed “Patgransk”-system (Electronic search, based on Contempus docs and Oracle search):

• All historic national patent with a sub set of bibliographic data, page images in TIFF and PDF for all publications.
• Most PDFs are text-coded since approx. 2010.
• A common full text index from auto OCR generated from both historic data (Imaging/OCR) and text coded/ resent publications.

Production database (SANTDB):

• Full bibliographic data/history since 1985, with incomplete records from 1976.
• Full electronic dossier (all images/records) since 2004. All records for all granted patents since 2004.
• Additional hyperlinks to external sources in search reports used since 2004 (various quality due to change in urls over time).

Online search service database:

• Weekly/daily (partial) updated database
• A full copy of production database when application is deemed open for Public inspection, where all correspondence documents and publications are available when created since 2010 (via secure link to Document management system EMC Documentum)
• Structured according to WIPO ST.36 with additional schemas since search service has cross domain nature.

Espacenet:

• Content same as NIPO web search + publications.
• Export of same data as extracted to public search site, sent to EPO bi-weekly (bibliographic data) and monthly all images (PDF-format) with text coded abstracts for all new publications.
• EPO uploads to Espacenet international, and issues a copy to NIPO site of Espacenet.
• NIPO uses copy to validate and load national services of local Espacenet database (Norwegian interface).
• NIPO  plans full historic Archive export to Espacenet within 2017.

Establishment and maintenance of electronic search file: file building, updating, storage, documents from other offices included in the search file

• National search DB with all national publications references included in search file)
• Searches from Epoque, STN and other commercial tools are documented in dossier (Query and results). 
• All used search results are documented in each patent application/-right dossier by the search report

Administrative management electronic systems (register, legal status, statistics, and administrative support)

Application handling and rights management is all performed within "single dossier" in SANT-application, from birth to death.
A copy of all public data that are published on the public search service is updated frequently to a separate online dossier.

Our IT sections performs technical support (first line).
NIPO has a dedicated system management team outside in other department that handle all interventions and contact with suppliers/contractors.

• SANT/Ptolemy and EBD-spirit maintenance, development, upgrades and integrations by  Sword SA, Paris
• EMC Documentum, Document management system, maintained by Ciber AS, Oslo
• Template creation and management system PubMan, managed by Perspectives Consulting, France.

Satellite systems: ERP system Agresso with bank transaction logic from Babelbank by Visual Banking. Oracle reports

Other matters

NA

V. 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

NIPO office located in capitol Oslo has a public library function, a visitor center with trained librarians.
Our national and Nordic paper collections are available for visitor, as well as the internet clients for supported use of international search.
The library service will provide professional searches using commercial database hosts, upon coverage of office cost, and we supply direct contact with examiners for novice inventors. 
Link to our public site is provided to the national network of libraries, along with links to searches in gazette, patenting information and guides

Publications related to different business procedures and patent information sources available to users, for example, books, brochures, Internet publications, etc.

Dedicated information targeting patent novices on web site

• EPO Inventors' Handbook, by Graham Barker, translated to Norwegian with access from web site.
• Dedicated collection of information for experts, were 50% is translated to English.
• Full patent act collection

Office's initiatives on providing foreign patent information in the local language(s) (e.g., machine translation tools, translation of abstracts)

Via home page and exhibitions promote use of Espacenet and other national/international search services.
Direct links to other authority’s web sites.
Information on possible commercial translation services

Cooperation with universities, research centers, technology and innovation support centers, etc.

2013: Creation of IPIN (http://www.ipin.no), center for research and teaching of IP, together with Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, and the Centre for Intellectual Property (CIP) in Gothenburg, SE. Aim to include IP awareness and knowledge in general for students and to give support for projects and studies. NIPO has role as lecturer.

As a result of increased political IP awareness, NIPO created and are hosting a national anti-piracy site in cooperation with the authority network of public bodies. www.velgekte.no (only in Norwegian)

Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.

NIPO training sessions are

• directed towards both professionals and novices within IP.
• We had a substantial increase in customer training, lectures and participation in external conferences, seminars and exhibitions during 2014.
• The data does not separate between the activity fields PT, DS, TM (and others) of the office.
• NIPO hosted in total 30 training courses, with in total 920 participants (10% increase), whereas
  • - 15 free "breakfast" meetings - 9 Theme courses - 5 IP introduction courses - World IP Day training and Conference
• Two courses was streamed live to NTNU-university, and over NIPO YouTube Channel.
• NIPO organized 88 external lectures for educational institutions, entrepreneurs, professionals and partners. Audience = 2400.
• NIPO was active contributor/participant in various exhibitions and trade shows.

Other activities

The most important information channel for customers is our web site. In 2014 we registered 260 000 visitors. Customer polls shows high satisfaction with information and training courses. The innovation network of public offices team and cross link their information to innovators

VI. 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

• NIPO aims to use relevant WIPO standards for all publications, both in internal structure and for transfer.
• Our search service is built on a database according to WIPO ST36, whilst all publications are converted to a structured PDF and a structured TIFF image collection.
• Planned access/use of DAS and IPDL-publication for coming years.

Participation in international or regional activities and projects related to patent information

• NIPO hosted, with participation by EPO, a common training for European based examiners about communication with professional clients/customers.
• NIPO hosted the annual EPO-meeting for patent IPC classification. 
• NIPO examiners has participated in various EPO trainings session for common practice (harmonization)
• NIPO contributed within the national delegations in EFTA meetings, together with our ministry, with special appendices regarding the protection of intellectual property.
• Participation in EFTA/EEA-meetings for Special Committee on Intellectual Property and Working Group on Intellectual Property.
• NIPO participate within the Nordic council (Nordic governmental cooperation organization)
• * NIPO is a partner in the Nordic Patent Institute (With DK and IS)

Assistance to developing countries

Nothing to report for patent area. See ATR for trademark for 2014

Other activities

NA

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

In 2014 the first part of the program for manager training was completed. The goal is to improve the office general performance.
The IP-consil was funded in 2014: 7 by competence and interest selected persons shall give general advice to NIPO and the IP-field development in Norway.

1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.

2. 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 (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner).  Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.

3. 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.