Recommended Contents of Annual Technical Reports on Patent Information Activities

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 Annual Technical Reports on Patent Information Activities should cover the following items:¹

I. Evolution of patent activities

Changes experienced in terms of application filings and grants with respect to the previous year
Trends or areas experiencing rapid changes with respect to the previous year
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide statistics related to patents

II. Matters concerning the generation, reproduction, distribution and use of primary and secondary sources of patent information

Publishing, printing, copying (main types of publications of the Office in the field of patent information, etc.)
Main types of announcements of the Office in the field of patent information
Mass storage media used (paper, microforms, optical storage, etc.)
Word processing and office automation
(New) techniques used for the generation of patent information (printing, recording, photocomposing, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), etc.)
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide access to online publication of patent documents and gazettes, and to other primary and secondary sources of patent information, including patent publication servers and download of bulk patent data

III. Matters concerning abstracting, classifying, reclassifying and indexing of technical information contained in patent documents

Abstracting, reviewing, translating
Classification², preclassification³ (if applicable), and reclassification⁴ activities; Classification system used, e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC), other classification (please indicate whether or not patent documents are classified by your Office and, if so, which classification is used)
Coordinate indexing (domestic deep indexing systems, keyword indexing)
Hybrid system indexing
Bibliographic data and full-text processing

IV. Search file establishment and upkeep

File building
Updating
Storage, including mass storage media
Documentation from other offices maintained and/or considered part of the available search file

V. Activities in the field of computerized and other mechanized search systems

In-house systems (online/offline)
External databases
Administrative management systems (e.g., register, legal status, statistics and administrative support)
Equipment used (hardware, including the types of terminal and network used, and software), carriers used
Existing online thesauri; their structure, presentation and usefulness for computerized searches

VI. Administration of the industrial property office library, and information products and services available to the public (relating to facilities, e.g., for lodging applications, for assisting clients on searching procedures, for obtaining official publications and registry extracts)

Planning, administration, automation, security, buildings
Collecting, acquisitions, preparation
Collection management, preservation
Interlibrary lending, resource sharing, networks of patent libraries in the country
Information services available to the public (including computerized services and search files contained in libraries remote from your Office and patent information posted by your Office on the World Wide Web)
URLs of web pages of the Office's website for electronic filing of patent applications
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide information on business procedures such as: filing, publication, examination and grant procedures related to patents; opposition and appeal procedures related to patents; etc.
URLs of web pages of the Office’s website that provide a description of information products and services offered by the Office (e.g., patent search service(s) and patent databases), as well as information on how to access and utilize them

VII. Matters concerning mutual exchange of patent documentation and information

International or regional cooperation in the exchange of machine-readable information, e.g., bibliographic data, abstract and/or full text information
Medium used for exchange of priority documents
Medium allowed for filing applications

VIII. Other relevant matters concerning education and training in, and promotion of, the use of patent information, including technical assistance to developing countries (please indicate URLs of web pages of the Office’s website wherever appropriate)

Training courses for national and foreign participants, use of audiovisual means
Assistance to developing countries (sending consultants and experts, receiving trainees from developing countries, etc.)
Promotional activities (seminars, exhibitions, visits, advertising, etc.)
Studies to identify trends in new technology, e.g., by the use of patent statistics and preparation of monographs
Assistance furnished by offices to facilitate the changing over of receiving offices to electronic data carriers for the exchange of patent documents (see also fourth sub-item of item VI, above)

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 patents
contain the Annual Report of the Office
if necessary, provide further information related to the topics referred to in the current ATR
provide open source codes related to patent information systems
contain patent-related news regarding the Office

X. Other relevant matters

^1.	- The term "patent" covers utility models and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). - Offices which issue design patents should report their design patent information activities in their Annual Technical Reports on Industrial Design Information Activities.
^2.	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.
^3.	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.
^4.	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.