Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2019 submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina

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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

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

By the BA IPR plan for 2019, the following main activities were set:

-           Development of the financial register.

-           Development of the WEB interface for online payment

-           Linking with the Trademark register

-           Front Office - in the final phase of activities related to the implementation of the Front Office tool for e-filling trademarks.

-           Accessed the harmonized Nice Classification for Trademarks - The translation contains approximately 54,000 terms and is available from 06.05.2019, to search through the EUIPO TMClass system.

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

In calendar year 2019, Intellectual Property Office of Bosnia and Hercegovina received 794 national applications. 330 national applications were registered.  Compared to 2017 (818), the number of filling in national applications decreased.         

At the same time the number of trademark applications filed under the Madrid System increased for 20 applications.  Compared to 2018 (21), the number of applications fillings decreased.

BA Office was designated in 3193 international applications in 2019.  Compared to 2018 (3139), the number of applications fillings increased.


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

http://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/stranica/annual-work-report

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

All relevant data considering the trademark protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina are available on the web site www.ipr.gov.ba.  That includes 1) frequently asked questions about trademarks, 2) TM legislation, 3) guidelines and forms, 4) fees; 5) statistics; 6) reports and useful links.

National trademark database is available on following links: http://reg.ipr.gov.ba/ and https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/#/tmview

Availability of the application dossier in electronic form

Application dossiers are available by the official website of the IP Office.  Electronic trademark register contains bibliographic data on applications and registered trademarks and representations of trademarks.

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
(ii) Use of electronic classification systems and pre-defined terms of the classification applied

The Nice Classification is used for the similarity examination search, for commercial search and for statistics.  The translation of the list of goods and services is available on the web site:  http://tmclass.tmdn.org/ec2/.

We have been using Vienna Classification in trademark examination procedure for years, but from the September of 2015, Trademark Department started to apply Vienna Classification through the IPAS system.

Matters concerning processing of different types of non-traditional marks (e.g., three-dimensional, motion, hologram, color mark, etc.)

IPO of the Bosnia and Herzegovina allows registration of trademark for the three-dimensional and color signs.

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)

The main type of publication in the field of trademark information is an official gazette: Intellectual Property Gazette.  The following information and bibliographical data concerning registered domestic and international trademarks are published in the Intellectual Property Gazette: registration number, registration date, expected expiration date of registration, application number, date of filing of the application, date concerning exhibitions, data relating to priority under the Paris Convention, list of goods and services according the Nice Classification, disclaimer, reproduction of the mark, information concerning the colors claimed, indication relating to the nature or kind of mark, name and address of the holder of the registration, name and address of the representative.  Trademarks are published in grayscale and color technique

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

The Intellectual Property Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the basis of Trademark Law, publishes its official gazette, Intellectual Property Gazette, on the official web site.  The Intellectual Property Gazette is published four times per year (31.03, 30.06, 30.09 and 31.12).  The Intellectual Property Gazette, in the part referring to trademarks, is prepared by means of computer, using the IPAS system.  From September 2015.

Gazettes can be found on our official web site: http://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/stranica/official-gazette_en

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

Examiners use IPAS, which contains bibliographic data on applications and registered trademarks and representations of trade marks, as well as the data on changes relating to applications and registered marks (assignments, licenses, pledges) and more information available through workflow.

Examiners use Madrid Monitor WIPO.

Examiners use TMClass.

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

National trademark register, International trademark database and Alphabetical list of goods and services of the Nice Classification are available to the external users via the official website of the IPO, free of charge.

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

Legal status information are available through the Electronic Register of Trademarks, and also in paper version of the register on request.

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

  • 30/8Mbit/s Mostar; 16/16Mbit/s Sarajevo; 10/2Mbit/s Banja Luka used for Internet connection, FORTINET Network Equipment(LAN based on Fast Ethernet – 1000/100/10Mbit/s)
  • IPAS 3.5 
  • MICROSOFT environment:
  • SQL 2016 Standard databases: Daily backup (full and incremental) is stored at NAS (Network Attached Storage). 
  • Servers: Application server: HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8;  Windows Server 2016 Standard, 64 bit, with 12GB Ram, 8 x CPU E5 - 2609 
  • Database server: HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8;  Windows Server 2016 Standard, 64 bit, with 12GB Ram, 8 x CPU E5 - 2609 
  • Workstation: PC Pentium IV, PC I5 processor 4 generation, with Windows 10

Internal databases: coverage, updates, interlinks with external sources

Internal database of trademarks is searched through IPAS 3.5.

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

IPAS 3.5 is used as administrative system for Trademarks

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.

Various publications related to trademarks such as studies, brochures, newsletters and leaflets are available in paper form or in electronic form on the IPO website: http://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/stranica/brochures-and-publications-en-2

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

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

Recommendations how to prepare the proper documentation and graphic data format for application – all is accessible through link: http://www.ipr.gov.ba/en/stranica/trademark

E-filing system for IP rights is in the final phase of activities related to the implementation of the Front Office tool for e-filling trademarks.

The IPO of Bosnia and Hercegovina participated in the International Economic Fair Mostar in 2019.

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

International exchange of trademark information in machine-readable form (e.g., Official Gazettes)

The trademark database of Bosnia and Herzegovina is updated in TM View database.

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

The IPO of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the International Economic Fair Mostar in 2019.

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS