UK - new online patent services

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) has launched a new improved version of their online patent filing system.

The new version allows users to request an online certified copy of their patent applications, provide information about late declarations of priority and request entry of an international patent application to the UK national phase.

"Over the next few months, further enhancements will allow customers to request and receive an uncertified office copy electronically and also file a selection of later filed forms and documents via our website."

Further details about the system are available here.

Sources & further information

UK Intellectual Property Office news - Launch of new on-line patent services

UK Intellectual Property Office - Web filing - Important Information

New Zealand - IPONZ website survey

As the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) will have a new website in 2008, IPONZ is asking for feedback on the current website. The five minute survey is available from the IPONZ website, with comments due by 18 January 2008.

Sources & further information

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand news - News: IPONZ Website Survey 2007

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand website - The IPONZ Website Survey 2007.

US & Canada - Patent Prosecution Highway

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have recently announced their agreement to establish a pilot Patent Prosecution Highway between the two countries. The trial program is to run for the period of one year from early January 2008.

"By electing to proceed under the PPH initiative, patent applicants in both Canada and the U.S. will benefit from expedited examination to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently. This initiative should also benefit both offices by facilitating the exploitation of the work performed by the other office, thereby improving patent quality and reducing the examination workload."

The US-Canadian Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program follows other such programs between the UK & US, the UK & Japan, the US & Japan, and Japan & Korea.

Sources & further information

Canadian Intellectual Property Office news - Canada-US Patent Prosecution Highway

Information about other Patent Prosecution Highways

IP Menu news - UK & USA - Patent Prosecution Highway opens between UK and USA

IP Menu news - UK, Japan & US - Patent Prosecution Highway updates

Canada - All registered designs available for free online

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced that all Canadian registered industrial designs from December 1961 onwards are now available on their website. The Canadian Industrial Designs Database now contains over 110,000 designs.

Sources & for further information

Canadian Intellectual Property Office news - Complete Collection of Canadian Industrial Design Registrations is Now Available!

Canadian Intellectual Property Office - Canadian Industrial Designs Database

Australia - updates to E-Form & ATMOSS

The E-Form TM application system and the ATMOSS database on the IP Australia website

have recently been updated.

The new version of ATMOSS has the following additions:

1. "Allow search by ‘notification date’ as shown below (this can be found under the Advanced Search Option):
2. TM number ‘from’ Range now functions correctly.
3. If a TM record is a Certification mark, there will be a hyperlink to the “Certification Mark Rules” on the Trade Mark Details page."

The changes to the E-Form TM application system include:

1. "For TM Headstart Applications, Email address is now mandatory for both the address for correspondence and applicant details screen
2. The system has been updated so that there is a limit of how many categories you can select using the picklist. The maximum number of categories you can select is 2,000 per application.
3. Customers now have the option of emailing themselves an official receipt for TM Applications, TM Headstart Requests and TM Headstart payments.
4. Customers can now enter up to 200 characters for an organisation name. If organisation is also the Address for Correspondence then they will be asked to provide an abbreviated name with a limit of 35 characters."

Source & for further information

IP Australia news - Updates to Trade Marks online forms and ATMOSS

Spain - Subsidized Patent Technical Reports for the ICT industry

The Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (SPTO) has announced that in agreement with the Spanish State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Information Society (SETSI) that requests for Patent Technological Reports by companies in the ICT industry will be subsidised (in some cases fully subsidised) by the SETSI.

Further details on the arrangement can be found here. The arrangement is part of the Avanza Plan, which is to further the promotion of industrial property.

Sources & further information

Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (SPTO) news - Cooperation between the SPTO and the SETSI in the Avanza Plan

Spanish State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Information Society website - Informes Tecnológicos de Patentes TIC [in Spanish]

Spanish State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Information Society website - Plan Avanza [in Spanish]