- Email: [email protected]
Searching for European registered designs
World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276 www.elsevier.com/locate/worpatin
Searching for European registered designs Stephen van Dulken Science, Technology and Business Patents Information, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK
Abstract In introducing his topic, the author points out the continuing worldwide sparsity of information on design registrations, especially in comparison with that available for patents. He then summarises the output of design registrations for the most active countries, both European and worldwide, with Germany and France leading in Europe, and Japan and China leading in the rest of the world. In most countries, domestic filings predominate. In listing the databases of European registered designs available on the Internet, information is provided on aspects such as coverage, whether images are provided and in what form, whether titles are searchable, and how hit-lists are sorted. Commercial databases are also mentioned. Status information is sometimes embedded in these databases, or provided as a separate database e.g. in the UK and in Spain. The Locarno classification is the key to searching for registered designs and is available in all these databases. Finally, the author points out that paper records are still important in this field, and lists the holdings of the British Library to illustrate what can be searched in this form. Ó 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Keywords: Registered design databases; Design registration statistics; European Internet design databases; Locarno classification; Design image availability; Official design gazettes
1. Introduction
2. Design registration statistics
Searching for registered designs has long been the Cinderella of the industrial property searching world. A major reason has been the lack of images of the actual designs, which only recently began to be printed in the German (from 1988), French (from 1996) and British (from 1997) official journals. Another is the fact that although priority can be claimed, as with patents (but within 6, not 12 months), in practice this is infrequently claimed and often is not recorded in design journals or databases. This means that sorting designs into families, as with patents, is very difficult. This would also make any attempt to set up a multinational database for designs, comparable to the Derwent World Patent Index, particularly difficult. Images would be vital; words would be few and, if taken from the originals, the titles would often be in a wide variety of languages.
To set the design search needs and capabilities into context, Fig. 1 summarises the major countries for design registrations. For Europe it is noteworthy that registrations in Germany and France are by far the largest, with Great Britain some way behind in third place and with a much lower proportion of domestic applications. Possibly this is due to the nature of the national laws. Note also the small number of Hague registrations. OHIM will soon be accepting Community design registrations. Together with a harmonisation on design laws throughout the EU which makes applying and protecting designs easier and more lucrative this may well stimulate more applications and hence more interest in searching. This interest may well be stimulated as well by the wider definitions of relevant prior art under these new laws and by the fact that under the new European harmonisation the concept of a design, and not its depiction through a particular product, is important. Hence a fictional animal face could be on any suitable product and not just on e.g. lollipops. This may mean that the whole idea of searching by classification is redundant and that the
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. van Dulken). 0172-2190/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. PII: S 0 1 7 2 - 2 1 9 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 4 0 - 6
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S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
Fig. 1. Top authorities for designs (1998 registrations).
ability to search for the appearance of the concept across the entire database is what is needed.
3. Locarno classification The international classification system for designs, the Locarno classification is used for indexing what the designs are for and is used by, it seems, all European countries. It is much less popular outside Europe: Canada, the USA, Japan and Korea do not use it. The classification dates from 1968 and the seventh edition is now valid. There are 6600 classifications for the type of product. The seventh edition of the Locarno classification can be found at http://www.wipo.int/classifications/en/. A more detailed version, EuroLocarno, is discussed (and a draft version is available as a PDF) at
the http://oami.eu.int/en/design/default.htm site and it is proposed that OHIM uses it when it accepts European designs. The official Locarno site can look a little confusing and the list of classes with explanatory notes is the best way to browse a known area. The initial class, 01/01, for example, is for bakery and confectionery products. Britain is the only authority to currently use a more detailed version (devised by themselves) so that 01/01 is divided into nine subcategories such as lollipops, or biscuits.
4. Internet databases for searching European design registrations The Internet databases known to exist are listed in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Internet databases for searching European design registrations.
S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
All these databases allow both Locarno classes and the proprietor to be searched for. Only Switzerland and the Hague database allow priorities to be searched for. ‘‘Stream of images’’ means that imbedded images can be seen in the hit-list. The British material is slower to load but effectively does the same. For France there is a priced designs database available through Questel.Orbit. Britain and Spain also have special design status databases. Some of the databases listed above clearly mark status. The URLs for these sites, and any corresponding gazettes in electronic form, can be found on the British Library site at http://www.bl.uk/services/information/ patents/deslinks.html#data, together with non-European sites.
5. Information available in paper form––official gazettes Sometimes only paper is available. To illustrate what is provided by intellectual property offices, the British Library holdings are described. Many official gazettes are held by the British Library and are accessible through its patents reading rooms. Many smaller countriesÕ design journals are also held (or they may be incorporated in the patent gazette). A list of these paper journals is included on the ‘‘exhaustive list’’ of holdings at http:// www.bl.uk/services/information/patents/list.html. For Great Britain, there is a series of cumulative card indexes arranged by applicant which give title for the years 1961 to the end of 1999. Up to 30 min free help listing designs from these indexes can be provided on application to [email protected]. In the following listing, all the publications can be assumed to have images of the designs, and Locarno data, unless specified. It was not possible to identify relevant material for some countries. Few have indexes and if they do have indexes they are normally by proprietor. AT Musteranzeiger. 1991. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 48437. Consecutive order. No indexes. BX (Benelux). Recueil des dessins ou modeles. 1975. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 33525-00. Consecutive order. Annual proprietor index. CH Patent, Muster und Markenblatt, III. 1962. Fortnightly. No images except for timepieces. Numbered e.g. 127467. Consecutive order. No indexes [previously similar format in Liste der Muster und Modelle]. DE Geschmacksmusterblatt. 1988. Fortnightly. Numbered e.g. 401 04 282 (4 for designs, 01 for application year). In Locarno order. Proprietor index. Twice annually proprietor indexes. DK Registreringstidning f€ or mønster. 1971. Fortnightly. Prefixed and numbered e.g. DR 2002
275
00171. Consecutive order. Indexed by ‘‘DA’’ filing numbers. ES BOPI, Sec. III. 1969. Fortnightly. Divided into modelos industriales and dibujos industriales (for ornamental concepts). Prefixed and numbered respectively e.g. I 149190 and D 25073. Each issue has separate indexes by proprietor and Locarno. FI Mallioikenslehti. 1971. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 20010144. Numerical order. No indexes. FR BOPI, Dessins et modeles. 1910. Fortnightly. Images only from 1996. Numbered e.g. 656711. Originally in class order, in numerical order from 1993. Annual proprietor indexes. GB Designs in view. 1997. Weekly. Numbered e.g. 3001507 from early 1992, previously in a 2 million series. Numerical order. No indexes. Previously listed with title in alphabetical order of applicant each week in the Official Journal (Patents). Hague Agreement International designs bulletin. 1928. Monthly. From 1999, no images on paper (they are on CD-ROM supplements). ‘‘1934 Act’’ designs have no images and are numbered e.g. 76646. The now much more common ‘‘1960 Act’’ designs are numbered e.g. DM/058 338. Consecutive order. Indexed by Locarno. Annual proprietor indexes. IE Patents Office Journal. 1928. Fortnightly. No images. Numbered e.g. D.13785. Consecutive order. No indexes. IT No printed material has been received since 1977 publications. At that time, the Bollettino dei brevetti per invenzioni, modelli e marchi, II, contained designs in numerical order, numbered e.g. 012689. No images. NO Norsk tidende for det industrielle rettsvern, Del III. 1971. Fortnightly. Numbered e.g. 75950. Consecutive order. Annual proprietor index. PTBoletim da propriedade industrial. 1902. Twice monthly. No images. Divided into modelos industriais and desenhos industriais. Numbered e.g. 29883 and 6327 C respectively. No indexes. RO BOPI, Sectiunea Desene. 1993. Monthly. Numbered e.g. f 2000 1343. Locarno order. No indexes. SE Registreringstidning f€or mønster. 1971. Fortnightly. ‘‘Apparent’’ numbers e.g. 99-2284 but concordance at back of each issue gives actual ‘‘Registernummer’’ e.g. 65722. Numerical order of ‘‘apparent’’ number.
6. Conclusion Searching for information on European (and worldwide) design registrations was reviewed a few years ago in this journal [1]. It was concluded there that this was a fragmented and difficult task. As we have seen here, to a
276
S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
large extent this remains the case. Improvements in recent years in paper records, with the addition of images, etc., and the provision of an increasing number of electronic databases have helped. The imminent option for Community Design registration at OHIM may act as a further boost, but there is still a very long way to go before anything comparable to the searches available for patents is provided for designs.
Acknowledgements This paper is based on a presentation given by the author at a meeting ÔProtection of designs in the UK and EuropeÕ, organised by the Patent and Trade Mark Group (PATMG) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, at the Design Centre,
London, on 14 May 2002. A similar paper is being prepared for publication in ÔSearcherÕ the membersÕ journal of the PATMG. Reference [1] Blackman M. Designs as a searchable intellectual property right. World Patent Information 1996;18(4):193–204. Stephen van Dulken has worked as a librarian in the patents field for the British Library since 1987. This includes maintaining their patents web site; providing training and backup for difficult enquiries; and much writing and contact with the media.
Searching for European registered designs Stephen van Dulken Science, Technology and Business Patents Information, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK
Abstract In introducing his topic, the author points out the continuing worldwide sparsity of information on design registrations, especially in comparison with that available for patents. He then summarises the output of design registrations for the most active countries, both European and worldwide, with Germany and France leading in Europe, and Japan and China leading in the rest of the world. In most countries, domestic filings predominate. In listing the databases of European registered designs available on the Internet, information is provided on aspects such as coverage, whether images are provided and in what form, whether titles are searchable, and how hit-lists are sorted. Commercial databases are also mentioned. Status information is sometimes embedded in these databases, or provided as a separate database e.g. in the UK and in Spain. The Locarno classification is the key to searching for registered designs and is available in all these databases. Finally, the author points out that paper records are still important in this field, and lists the holdings of the British Library to illustrate what can be searched in this form. Ó 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Keywords: Registered design databases; Design registration statistics; European Internet design databases; Locarno classification; Design image availability; Official design gazettes
1. Introduction
2. Design registration statistics
Searching for registered designs has long been the Cinderella of the industrial property searching world. A major reason has been the lack of images of the actual designs, which only recently began to be printed in the German (from 1988), French (from 1996) and British (from 1997) official journals. Another is the fact that although priority can be claimed, as with patents (but within 6, not 12 months), in practice this is infrequently claimed and often is not recorded in design journals or databases. This means that sorting designs into families, as with patents, is very difficult. This would also make any attempt to set up a multinational database for designs, comparable to the Derwent World Patent Index, particularly difficult. Images would be vital; words would be few and, if taken from the originals, the titles would often be in a wide variety of languages.
To set the design search needs and capabilities into context, Fig. 1 summarises the major countries for design registrations. For Europe it is noteworthy that registrations in Germany and France are by far the largest, with Great Britain some way behind in third place and with a much lower proportion of domestic applications. Possibly this is due to the nature of the national laws. Note also the small number of Hague registrations. OHIM will soon be accepting Community design registrations. Together with a harmonisation on design laws throughout the EU which makes applying and protecting designs easier and more lucrative this may well stimulate more applications and hence more interest in searching. This interest may well be stimulated as well by the wider definitions of relevant prior art under these new laws and by the fact that under the new European harmonisation the concept of a design, and not its depiction through a particular product, is important. Hence a fictional animal face could be on any suitable product and not just on e.g. lollipops. This may mean that the whole idea of searching by classification is redundant and that the
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. van Dulken). 0172-2190/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. PII: S 0 1 7 2 - 2 1 9 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 4 0 - 6
274
S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
Fig. 1. Top authorities for designs (1998 registrations).
ability to search for the appearance of the concept across the entire database is what is needed.
3. Locarno classification The international classification system for designs, the Locarno classification is used for indexing what the designs are for and is used by, it seems, all European countries. It is much less popular outside Europe: Canada, the USA, Japan and Korea do not use it. The classification dates from 1968 and the seventh edition is now valid. There are 6600 classifications for the type of product. The seventh edition of the Locarno classification can be found at http://www.wipo.int/classifications/en/. A more detailed version, EuroLocarno, is discussed (and a draft version is available as a PDF) at
the http://oami.eu.int/en/design/default.htm site and it is proposed that OHIM uses it when it accepts European designs. The official Locarno site can look a little confusing and the list of classes with explanatory notes is the best way to browse a known area. The initial class, 01/01, for example, is for bakery and confectionery products. Britain is the only authority to currently use a more detailed version (devised by themselves) so that 01/01 is divided into nine subcategories such as lollipops, or biscuits.
4. Internet databases for searching European design registrations The Internet databases known to exist are listed in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Internet databases for searching European design registrations.
S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
All these databases allow both Locarno classes and the proprietor to be searched for. Only Switzerland and the Hague database allow priorities to be searched for. ‘‘Stream of images’’ means that imbedded images can be seen in the hit-list. The British material is slower to load but effectively does the same. For France there is a priced designs database available through Questel.Orbit. Britain and Spain also have special design status databases. Some of the databases listed above clearly mark status. The URLs for these sites, and any corresponding gazettes in electronic form, can be found on the British Library site at http://www.bl.uk/services/information/ patents/deslinks.html#data, together with non-European sites.
5. Information available in paper form––official gazettes Sometimes only paper is available. To illustrate what is provided by intellectual property offices, the British Library holdings are described. Many official gazettes are held by the British Library and are accessible through its patents reading rooms. Many smaller countriesÕ design journals are also held (or they may be incorporated in the patent gazette). A list of these paper journals is included on the ‘‘exhaustive list’’ of holdings at http:// www.bl.uk/services/information/patents/list.html. For Great Britain, there is a series of cumulative card indexes arranged by applicant which give title for the years 1961 to the end of 1999. Up to 30 min free help listing designs from these indexes can be provided on application to [email protected]. In the following listing, all the publications can be assumed to have images of the designs, and Locarno data, unless specified. It was not possible to identify relevant material for some countries. Few have indexes and if they do have indexes they are normally by proprietor. AT Musteranzeiger. 1991. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 48437. Consecutive order. No indexes. BX (Benelux). Recueil des dessins ou modeles. 1975. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 33525-00. Consecutive order. Annual proprietor index. CH Patent, Muster und Markenblatt, III. 1962. Fortnightly. No images except for timepieces. Numbered e.g. 127467. Consecutive order. No indexes [previously similar format in Liste der Muster und Modelle]. DE Geschmacksmusterblatt. 1988. Fortnightly. Numbered e.g. 401 04 282 (4 for designs, 01 for application year). In Locarno order. Proprietor index. Twice annually proprietor indexes. DK Registreringstidning f€ or mønster. 1971. Fortnightly. Prefixed and numbered e.g. DR 2002
275
00171. Consecutive order. Indexed by ‘‘DA’’ filing numbers. ES BOPI, Sec. III. 1969. Fortnightly. Divided into modelos industriales and dibujos industriales (for ornamental concepts). Prefixed and numbered respectively e.g. I 149190 and D 25073. Each issue has separate indexes by proprietor and Locarno. FI Mallioikenslehti. 1971. Monthly. Numbered e.g. 20010144. Numerical order. No indexes. FR BOPI, Dessins et modeles. 1910. Fortnightly. Images only from 1996. Numbered e.g. 656711. Originally in class order, in numerical order from 1993. Annual proprietor indexes. GB Designs in view. 1997. Weekly. Numbered e.g. 3001507 from early 1992, previously in a 2 million series. Numerical order. No indexes. Previously listed with title in alphabetical order of applicant each week in the Official Journal (Patents). Hague Agreement International designs bulletin. 1928. Monthly. From 1999, no images on paper (they are on CD-ROM supplements). ‘‘1934 Act’’ designs have no images and are numbered e.g. 76646. The now much more common ‘‘1960 Act’’ designs are numbered e.g. DM/058 338. Consecutive order. Indexed by Locarno. Annual proprietor indexes. IE Patents Office Journal. 1928. Fortnightly. No images. Numbered e.g. D.13785. Consecutive order. No indexes. IT No printed material has been received since 1977 publications. At that time, the Bollettino dei brevetti per invenzioni, modelli e marchi, II, contained designs in numerical order, numbered e.g. 012689. No images. NO Norsk tidende for det industrielle rettsvern, Del III. 1971. Fortnightly. Numbered e.g. 75950. Consecutive order. Annual proprietor index. PTBoletim da propriedade industrial. 1902. Twice monthly. No images. Divided into modelos industriais and desenhos industriais. Numbered e.g. 29883 and 6327 C respectively. No indexes. RO BOPI, Sectiunea Desene. 1993. Monthly. Numbered e.g. f 2000 1343. Locarno order. No indexes. SE Registreringstidning f€or mønster. 1971. Fortnightly. ‘‘Apparent’’ numbers e.g. 99-2284 but concordance at back of each issue gives actual ‘‘Registernummer’’ e.g. 65722. Numerical order of ‘‘apparent’’ number.
6. Conclusion Searching for information on European (and worldwide) design registrations was reviewed a few years ago in this journal [1]. It was concluded there that this was a fragmented and difficult task. As we have seen here, to a
276
S. van Dulken / World Patent Information 24 (2002) 273–276
large extent this remains the case. Improvements in recent years in paper records, with the addition of images, etc., and the provision of an increasing number of electronic databases have helped. The imminent option for Community Design registration at OHIM may act as a further boost, but there is still a very long way to go before anything comparable to the searches available for patents is provided for designs.
Acknowledgements This paper is based on a presentation given by the author at a meeting ÔProtection of designs in the UK and EuropeÕ, organised by the Patent and Trade Mark Group (PATMG) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, at the Design Centre,
London, on 14 May 2002. A similar paper is being prepared for publication in ÔSearcherÕ the membersÕ journal of the PATMG. Reference [1] Blackman M. Designs as a searchable intellectual property right. World Patent Information 1996;18(4):193–204. Stephen van Dulken has worked as a librarian in the patents field for the British Library since 1987. This includes maintaining their patents web site; providing training and backup for difficult enquiries; and much writing and contact with the media.