WIPO Member States Take Steps to Ease Use of Intellectual Property Information

Geneva, February 5, 2004
Press Updates UPD/2004/218

Companies, inventors, academics and users of the intellectual property system will benefit from a decision last week by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to revise certain standards associated with the recording, storage, exchange and retrieval of patent, trademark and industrial design information. These standards facilitate access to and use of the rich pool of publicly available industrial property information associated with the grant of patents, trademarks and industrial designs. This will also make it easier to access prior art information, which is critical in determining the patentability of an invention.

The Standards and Documentation Working Group (SDWG) of the Standing Committee on Information Technologies (SCIT), adopted a revision of WIPO Standard (ST.10/C) regarding the bibliographic data components of patent documents, in particular the presentation of priority application numbers. Priority application numbers are attributed to applicants by industrial property offices. This number establishes priority over any rival applications from that date and also marks the beginning of the period of validity of the patent itself. The priority application number appears in the notification of the first filing, and in the certificates of priority under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Priority application numbers are cited by applicants when filing a subsequent application for the same or related subject matter with another industrial property office in accordance with the Paris Convention. The priority application number can then be used by industrial property offices to link all related patent document "families" together in databases and computerized search systems. The ability to create patent families is of tremendous value to users of the industrial property system as they enable patent examiners to review previously published patent documents in a given language, if available. Patent families facilitate the patent classification process by allowing industrial property offices to use the classifications of one patent family member for all members of the patent family. These and other uses of patent families make the accurate recording of the priority application number by applicants a critical concern of all industrial property offices.

Delegates also agreed to revise standard (ST.80) relating to bibliographic data components of industrial designs. This revision was necessary for the implementation of the 1999 Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs; and, in particular, will enable unambiguous publication of the announcements appearing in the International Designs Bulletin. The 1999 Act, which seeks to enhance the existing system of international protection for industrial designs, entered into force on December 23, 2003, and will become operational on April 1, 2004.

Delegates also reviewed progress in the preparation of proposals to revise WIPO Standards relating to Trademarks. The SDWG agreed to give priority to the establishment of two new standards. The first relates to a standard for the electronic management of the figurative elements of trademarks. The second, concerns an Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard for the electronic external process and exchange of trademark data which is to be developed in close cooperation with the Expert Group of the Office for the Harmonization in the Internal Market (European Union) which is discussing a similar standard.

A Task Force to renew the WIPO Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation, the authoritative guide to WIPO Standards was also established. The Handbook, which provides information on various matters concerning patents, trademarks and industrial designs, is a reference for the industrial property information and documentation community.

The SDWG agreed that a proposal for a new XML standard in the field of patents would be presented for consideration at the next session of the Working Group from November 8 to 12, 2004.

The SDGW, established in January 2001 following a SCIT reform exercise in response to a need for greater flexibility in the operation of the committee, promotes international cooperation between WIPO, member states and regional organizations in the field of industrial property information and documentation. The SDWG is a forum for discussion and adoption of new or revised WIPO standards, recommendations and guidelines in the field of industrial property information.

The SDWG, which met in Geneva from January 26 to 30, 2004, was attended by delegates from 40 members states, seven intergovernmental organizations and one non-governmental organization.

For further information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:

• Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 or (+41 22) 338 95 47;
• E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int
• Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10.