Annual Technical Report 2008 on Industrial Design Information Activities submitted by Czech Republic (SCIT/ATR/ID/2008/CZ)
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.
I. Evolution of registration activities
Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants (registrations) with respect to the previous year
2006
Design Applications filed: 387 (1,222 industrial designs)
Design Registrations: 576 (1,507 industrial designs)
Total number of valid registrations as of December 31, 2006: 5,146 (3 designs per registration at average)
2007
Design Applications filed: 354 (1,105 industrial designs)
Design Registrations: 279 (918 industrial designs)
Total number of valid registrations as of December 31, 2007: 4,887 (3 designs per registration at average)
2008
Design Applications filed: 305 (1,045 industrial designs)
Design Registrations: 348 (1 083 industrial designs)
Total number of valid registrations as of December 31, 2008: 4 727 (3 designs per registration at average)
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
The number of national applications is declining in long term. The number of designs filed dropped by 9,6% in 2007 and by 5% in 2008 in year-on-year comparison. The figures are the lowest since 1993. In closer view the national applications dropped by 14,5% in 2007 and by 6% in 2008, the foreign applications grew up by 65,5% in 2007 and dropped by 65% in 2008. The trend of decrease in number of applications must be attributed to the exposure of the national system of protections of industrial designs to the regional system of registered and unregistered Community designs and to the global system of international registrations under the Hague Agreement.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to industrial designs
Since 1996 the Annual Reports and statistics are available on the Office´s URL:
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/annual-report.html
II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, and distribution of industrial design documents and of secondary sources of industrial design information, i.e., official gazettes
Publishing, including printing, copying techniques and electronic printing
Lists of designs which have been registered, renewed, corrected, or which have requested restoration are published weekly in the Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic. Starting from 2007 this is an electronic only weekly (updated on Wednesday) bulletin published on the Office´s web site (http://www.upv.cz/en.html(. No prior registration or subscription to view the Bulletin are needed, however the Acrobat Reader viewer must be downloaded. The information as published should be the authentic one for legal purposes.
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of industrial design information
Office notices are published in the weekly electronic bulletin; the Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic. Notices are also published on the Office’s web site.
Mass storage media and microforms used
Mass storage device - SAN, Workstations - HP, WINDOWS XP, OFFICE - 2003 software and the ORACLE 10.1 database.
The office uses CD, DVD and magnetic tapes as data carriers. The type of network used is ETHERNET.
Databases and office automation
Registered designs are searchable in the public database. It provides a range of search options including proprietor, designer, service agent, image, indication of the product, legal status, date of filing, registration and publication, and Locarno class. The Official Bulletin is created automatically from database.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online industrial design gazettes and to other sources of industrial design information, including download of bulk industrial design data
The Official Bulletin URL:
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/ipo-bulletin.html
The public database URL:
http://www.upv.cz/en/provided-services/online-databases/industrial-design-databases.html
III. Matters concerning classifying, reclassifying and indexing of industrial design information according to the classification systems applied
Classification and reclassification activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), other classification (please indicate whether industrial designs are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)
The 9th edition of the Locarno Classification has been used since January 1, 2009; The Office reclassified all registered designs according to this latest edition.
Bibliographic data and processing
Registered designs are searchable by proprietor as well as the former proprietor, designer, service agent, by date of filing, registration and publication, by number of application and registration, and by indication of the product.
IV. Search file establishment and upkeep
The office carries out the formal and full substantive examination of applications. The applications are subject to examination on novelty and individual character.
File building
The industrial design search file comprises the collection of registered industrial designs of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. The full retrospective collection of registered industrial designs is accessible via public database. The database contains bibliographic data as well as images of approx. 85 thousand registered industrial designs. The oldest data come from the 1966/67 turn of the year.
Updating
Data are updated daily.
Storage, including mass storage media
Data are stored electronically and in paper.
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file
Official bulletins of foreign offices are available in electronic format and in paper.
V. Activities in the field of computerized search systems for industrial designs
In-house systems (online/offline)
The in-house search database of national applications and registered industrial designs exist. The database is not accessible to the public. The structure corresponds to the public database.
External databases
The office uses public accessible search databases provided by other intellectual and industrial property offices. The links to the databases are provided on the Office´s web site (http://www.upv.cz/en.html).
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
The Office uses the internal information system (IS SyPP) to proceed the applications of patents, supplementary patent certificates, utility models, industrial designs, geographical indications and trade marks. The system is flexible and applicable enough to maintain official registers of all the industrial property rights. The system archives all incoming and outgoing communications of the Office, provides the information on the state of proceeding, legal status of registrations and statistical data. The system also processes foreign applications within PCT and Madrid protocol. The data are transferred to the electronic Office´s Bulletin and to the public search database. Starting from November 2002 the system is compatible with electronic filing recognizing authorized electronic certificates. Starting from August 2006 electronic filing works on-line. Starting from January 2008 the system produces automatic electronic extracts from registers of IP rights upon online request.
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), data carriers used
Equipment: workstations -HP, processor 3 GHz, RAM 1 GB, HDD 160 GB. 300 workstations connected in the Office network are of the Office staff direct service. Thereof 50 computers connected in the Office network are of the clients of the Office and staff training service. IPO uses CD, DVD and magnetic tapes as data carriers. The type of network used is ETHERNET. IPO uses WINDOWS XP and OFFICE - 2003 software and the ORACLE 10.1 database.
VI. Administration of industrial design information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, registering designs, assisting clients with search procedures, obtaining official publications and registry extracts)
Planning, administration, automation, security
Applications for design registration can be made by post, in person, by fax or electronically to the Office with electronic signature. Wide range of requests may be submitted electronically via user-friendly interface.
Bibliographic details of applications are entered into SyPP manually if the application is filed in paper or automatically if the application is filed via online filing facility. The applicants receive confirmation of filing via post upon their request or electronically if application is filed online. The applicants can follow up the procedure on their applications via the Office´s web site (URL:
http://isdv.upv.cz/portal/pls/portal/portlets.rejst.formular )
Collection management, preservation
Extended safety is secured via SSL.
Backing up of data changes is done twice a week. Full back up of data is on weekly basis. Backed up files are preserved for 4 weeks.
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and industrial design information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
The information centre and help desk operate during the working days. They provide the public with general information concerning design protection.
The industrial design collections and the Internet access are available in the public reading room of the Office´s library. The public reading room staff carries out personal assistance and consultations.
The Office´s web site provides a wide range of information including basic information on IP rights, filing and registration instructions, fee information and full texts of legal documents. All valid forms are printable. An Interactive facility for filing applications and submitting requests is available online. Entries can be downloaded and stored. The facility requires electronic authorized certificate, which substitutes signature.
The Office provides full range of brochures and guides free of charge. They can be downloaded in PDF format from the Office´s web site, picked up in the office headquarters or sent upon request. The Office publishes its own books and the Industrial Property Journal (6 issues per year) reflecting the current issues of IP rights.
The Office provides searches on commercial basis.
URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of industrial design applications
Online Filing:
http://www.upv.cz/cs/sluzby-uradu/elektronicke-podavani-prihlasek.html
Forms:
http://www.upv.cz/cs/sluzby-uradu/formulare.html
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide information on business procedures such as: filing, publication, examination and registration procedures related to industrial designs; opposition and appeal procedures related to industrial designs; etc.
Protection of Industrial Designs:
http://www.upv.cz/en/ip-rights/industrial-designs.html
Instructions:
http://www.upv.cz/en/ip-rights/industrial-designs/national-application-information.html
ACT No. 207/2000 Coll. of 21 June 2000, on the Protection of Industrial Designs:
http://www.upv.cz/dms/pdf_dokumenty/zakony/207_2000_a/207_2000_A_CS.PDF
Fees:
http://www.upv.cz/en/ip-rights/industrial-designs/fees.html
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., industrial design search service(s) and industrial design databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them
The Office web site: http://www.upv.cz/en.html
Information on Services:
http://www.upv.cz/en/provided-services/information-services.html
Publications:
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications.html
Industrial Designs Databases:
http://www.upv.cz/en/provided-services/online-databases/industrial-design-databases.html
Classification of Industrial Designs:
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/classsification-systems/classification--industrial-designs.html
VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of industrial design documentation and information
International or regional cooperation in the exchange of industrial design information, e.g., in the form of official gazettes
The last paper series were provided in 2007 since the Official Bulletin of the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic is published weekly exclusively electronically as of the beginning 2007. The paper version has been discontinued.
Electronic version of the Official Bulletin is accessible on the Office´s web site:
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/ipo-bulletin.html
Exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., data contained on CD-ROM or magnetic tape
There is no international or regional cooperation in the exchange of machine-readable information on industrial designs. The exchange of statistical data proceed with OHIM and WIPO by mail post.
VIII. Matters concerning education and training, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)
Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)
The Office presented its information activities and products at the following exhibitions
and trade fairs:
International Machinery Trade Fair (Brno, CZ)
FOR INDUSTRY 2008 (Prague, CZ)
FOR ARCH 2008 (Prague, CZ)
Innovation 2008 (Prague, CZ)
IENA - Exhibition of Inventions and Innovations (Nurnberg, DE)
Exhibition of Inventions (Geneva, CH)
PATLIB 2008 (Warsaw,PL)
The Office publishes the Industrial Property Journal every two months.
Training courses for national and foreign participants
The Czech IPO organizes regularly wide range of training courses and seminars for students, SMEs, research institutions and public. The training courses are aimed at improving searching skills and techniques in the national and foreign IP databases. The seminars reflect current issues of Patent Cooperation Treaty, Euroasian Patent System, enforcement of intellectual property rights or protection of IP rights worldwide. University students are invited for excursions and guided tours around the Office´s premises.
The Czech IPO has its own educational facility - the Industrial Property Training Institute, which holds two-year training courses on industrial property rights.
The Office cooperates with Regional Patent Information Centers (PATLIBs) on providing training and education.
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
The fourteen-day training for 5 – 6 participants is hosted by the Office every year.
IX.Other general information related to the Office that is available on the Internet -- URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that:
provide information on legislation related to industrial designs
http://www.upv.cz/en/legislation.html
contain the Annual Report of the Office
http://www.upv.cz/en/publications/annual-report/annual-report.html
if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR
FAQ
http://www.upv.cz/en/information-sources/faq.html