Questionnaire on application numbering

Response 2 of 2 submitted by Japan in 2012

Introduction

1. The revised version of WIPO Standard ST.13 was adopted by the Standards and Documentation Working Group (SDWG) of the Standing Committee on Information Technologies (SCIT) in February 2008. This revision introduced guidelines on a prototype numbering format of application numbers, including guidelines for coding the types of industrial property rights (IPRs), codes for internal use, control numbers, etc.

2. Application numbers are assigned by industrial property offices (IPOs) in order to identify each application received, and are used by applicants and other offices, for instance, when the priority is claimed. It is important that IPOs, applicants, and users of IP information are always able to identify application numbers, and particularly priority application numbers, as well as their parts, in a unique, clear, and unambiguous manner.

3. The term priority application number in the context of this questionnaire is the reference to an application for a patent, trademark, design or any other IPR, previously received by the Office/Organization, and to which the applicant wishes to refer in a further application, usually filed with another Office/Organization. Generally, these numbers are provided on priority documents or priority certificates.

4. IPOs use a variety of codes in their application numbers, for instance, for coding types of IPRs, regional filing information, and check digits. The codes used by each IPO are unique, and the detailed information on them, as well as on the application number format, might be very important for other IPOs to facilitate their subsequent procedures, e.g. when claiming a priority right.

5. The SDWG requested the International Bureau to conduct a survey on application and priority application numbering systems currently used by the IPOs. The International Bureau should also maintain a list of codes for the types of IPRs, the codes for internal use and the control numbers (check digits) used by the IPOs in the WIPO Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation (WIPO Handbook).

6. The main part of the present Questionnaire (Questions 1 - 11) is devoted to application numbering systems. Question 12 concentrates on priority application numbering in details. Question 13 relates to the compliance of the IPO's practices with WIPO Standard ST.13. Examples of application numbers and priority application numbers along with relevant remarks are to be provided in response to Question 14.

7. Please note that the objective of this questionnaire is to collect information about numbering systems currently implemented in the IPOs. It is expected that once this exercise is completed the ST.10/C Task Force will prepare a questionnaire to conduct a second survey to collect information about numbering systems used by the IPOs in the past.

Background documents

8. The following WIPO Standards are of relevance to this survey:

• WIPO Standard ST.13
• WIPO Standard ST.10/C

9. Part 7.2"Numbering systems" of the WIPO Handbook could be also helpful when you prepare your response to this questionnaire.

10. Working materials of the SDWG and the ST.10/C Task Force are available on the WIPO web-site.

INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING COMPLETION OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE

One response to questionnaire per numbering system