Implementation of the reformed IPC:

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Implementation of the reformed IPC Slovenia
Janez Kukec MezekHead of Information and
Promotion DepartmentSlovenian Intellectual
Property Office
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Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)

• Established in 1991 (only 5 patent examiners)
• No classical substantive examination
• Patent is granted by publication of patent
  application
• Results of granting procedures at EPO or other
  IPEA are used for final decision on patent
  validity
• 1994 membership in PCT Extension Agreement with
  EPO
• 2002 full member of EPC PCT national route
  closed

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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IT supporting system

• Running on Alpha computer with OpenVMS
• Designed and build by SIPO
• 11300 published documents in patent database
• IPC codes used to be consisting part of patent
  database
• From 1997, validity file used as controller for
  entering IPC codes into system

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Pre-reform interface
Validity file in background as controller
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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IPC reform starting points

• SIPO will use core level
• SIPO is ready to reclassify Slovenian patent
  documents without family members
• Checking of IT supporting system
• database cannot accomodate reformed IPC codes
• need to build two parallel databases, one with
  old and one with IPC8 codes
• need for controlling file for IPC8
• Determination of extent of reclassification

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
6
Reclassification to IPC7

• First try at beginning of 2005 all IPC codes
  checked with IPC7 validity file
• Only 146 codes not matching IPC7
• Reclassification to IPC7 (February March 2005)
• Step 1 using concordance lists
• Step 2 manual reclassification (abt. 50 codes)
• New decisions
• SIPO will reclassify all Slovenian patent
  documents
• All documents, including granted European patents
  in national phase, will be published and entered
  into database with core level codes

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Preparation of new IT support

• April September 2005
• Two new related databases were build
• Two controlling files were created, using XML
  validity file
• one for controlling input of core level codes
  into database
• one for converting codes from advance to core
  level
• problem late availability of XML validity file
• New interfaces were created

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Reclassification to IPC8

• September 2005 all IPC7 codes were checked by
  conversion from advance to core level
• Codes falling out of this conversion had to be
  reclassified
• 291 codes not matching IPC8 core level
• Reclassification to IPC8 (October 2005)
• step 1 indexing codes were deleted
• step 2 using IPC7 and IPC8 on internet
• step 3 manual reclassification initially 37
  codes
• Decision
• During November - December 2005 classification
  according to IPC8 core level, except when new
  entries of IPC8 are needed in such case, IPC7
  and IPC8 codes are alloted and entered into
  separate databases

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Reclassification interface
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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IPC8 interface
Fields created by system
New IPC8 core level controller
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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IPC8 interface with input completed
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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SIPO internet database
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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ST.36 test XML file
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Closing remarks

• ST.36 test XML files sent to EPO beginning of
  January, 2006
• backfile complete SIPO database
• test frontfile with data of publication on
  31/12/2005
• First real ST.36 XML file will be sent after
  first publication in 2006 (February 28, 2006)
• Open issue frequency of future XML validity
  files on which depend timely creation of
  controlling file for converting codes from
  advance to core level (granted European patents
  entering national phase)

Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si
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Thank you.
Janez Kukec Mezekj.kukec_at_uil-sipo.si