Glossary on Industrial Property Statistics

 

Application An application normally consists of a form containing information related to the applicant, the inventor (in the case of a patent or utility model) and a specification of the form of IP protection, which must meet certain formal requirements.
Class Refers to the classes defined in the Nice Classification. Classes refer to the categories of products and services for which the trademark protection is requested (See "Nice Classification").
Designated Office A national or regional Office of or acting for a State designated in an international application under Chapter I of the PCT.
Direct Filing See “National Route”
European Patent Convention (EPC) The Convention on the Grant of European Patents, commonly known as the European Patent Convention (EPC), is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organization and providing a legal system according to which European patents are granted. The EPC permits the applicant to file a single application at the European Patent Office (EPO) and to designate any of the participating European countries.
European Patent Office (EPO) The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the regional patent offices, created under the European Patent Convention (EPC), in charge of granting European patents for the Member States of the European Patent Convention. The EPO also acts as an international searching authority for the PCT and performs searches on behalf of some national offices.
Filing The procedure for requesting IP protection at an IP office.
Grant A set of exclusive rights is legally accorded to the applicant when a patent or utility model is “granted” or “issued” (See “Patent” or "Utility model").
In Force Refers to a patent or other form of IP protection that is currently valid. To remain in force, IP protection must be maintained (see "Maintenance").
International Patent Classification (IPC) International Patent Classification is a hierarchical system in which the whole area of technology is divided into a range of sections, classes, subclasses and groups. The Classification is a language independent tool indispensable for the retrieval of patent documents in the search for "prior art."
International phase under the PCT A procedure consisting of four main steps:

    (1) the filing of an international application and its processing by the receiving Office;

    (2) the establishment of an International Search Report and a written opinion by the International Searching Authority;

    (3) the international publication of the international application and related documents, as well as their communication to the designated and elected Offices; and

    (4) an option of international preliminary examination, which concludes with the establishment of the international preliminary report on patentability (Chapter II of the PCT).
Madrid System The Madrid system for the international registration of marks, also known as the Madrid system, is the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world.
Maintenance An act by the applicant for keeping the IP grant valid, by primarily paying the required fee to the IP office of the State providing the protection. The fee is also known as "maintenance fee".
National Route Applications for IP protection filed directly with the national office of or acting for the State (see also "PCT Route" or "Madrid System").
Nice Classification Refers to the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks based on the Nice Agreement signed in 1957.
Non-Resident A "non-resident" filing refers to an application filed with the Office of or acting for the State in which the first named applicant in the application concerned does not have residence.
Origin (Country / Region) For the statistical purpose, the “origin” of an application means the country of residence of the first named applicant in the application concerned. In some cases (notably that of the United States of America), the country of origin is determined by the residence of the assignee instead of that of the applicant.
Paris Convention The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed in Paris, France, on March 20, 1883, is an important and one of the first intellectual property treaties. On account of this treaty, intellectual property systems, including patents, of any contracting state are accessible to the nationals of other states party to the Convention. The general principles of "national treatment", "right of priority" and "independence of the patent procedure" are firstly established by the Convention.
Patent A patent is a document which describes an invention which can be manufactured, used and sold with the authorization of the owner of the patent. An invention is a solution to a specific technical problem. A patent document normally contains at least one claim, the full text of the description of the invention, and bibliographic information such as the applicant’s name. The protection given by a patent is limited in time (generally 15 to 20 years from filing or grant). It is also limited territorially to the country or countries concerned.

A patent is an agreement between an inventor and a country. The agreement permits the owner to exclude others from making, using or selling the claimed invention. For further details on patents.
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The PCT is a system facilitating the worldwide filing of patent applications. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by first filing a single "international" patent application. Later, the granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent Offices in what is called the "regional phase" or "national phase."
Patent Family A patent family is a set of inter-related patent applications filed in one or more countries to protect the same invention.
PCT Filing See “PCT International Application”.
PCT International Application An application for the protection of an invention filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). An international application contains a request, a description, one or more claims, one or more drawings (where required) and an abstract.
National Phase under the PCT This follows the international phase of the PCT procedure, and consists of the entry and processing of the international application in the individual countries or regions in which the applicant seeks protection for his invention.
PCT Route Patent applications filed or patents granted based on PCT international applications.
Regional Application / Grant An application filed with or granted by a regional IP office. Regional IP offices in operation include: African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), the European Patent Office (EPO), and African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI).
Regional Route (or regional direct) Applications for IP protection filed or granted based on applications filed with a regional IP office.
Registration Term indicating that a trademark application has been entered in the trademarks registry of a trademark office and has thus been granted.
Resident The "resident" filing refers to an application filed with the Office of or acting for the State in which the first named applicant in the application concerned has residence.
Trade/Service Mark A distinctive sign which identifies certain products or services as those produced or provided by a specific person, enterprise or a group of persons/enterprises allowing the consumer to distinguish them from goods or services of others.
Utility Model A special form of the patent rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time. The terms and conditions of granting a utility model are slightly different from that for normal patents (shorter term and less stringent patentability requirements). The generic term "utility model" can describe what is designated as a "petty patent", "short-term patent" or "innovation patent" in certain countries.
Validation Procedure by which patent protection is validated after grant at the offices designated in an EPO patent grant. The procedure is different at different European offices but usually consists of a translation into the national language and/or a payment of fees.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) WIPO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, that has two main objectives. The first is to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide. The second is to ensure administrative cooperation among the intellectual property Unions established by the treaties that WIPO administers.

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