Training and education

TRAINING AND EDUCATION World Intellectual Property Organization Seminar on Patent Information and the International Patent Classification (IPC) (Beijing, November 12 to 30, 1979) The WIPO Seminar on Patent Information and the International Patent Classification (IPC) was held in Beijing, China, from November 12 to 30, 1979. The Seminar was organized by WIPO on the invitation of the State Science and Technology Commission of the People's Republic of China. The participants were staff members of the Bureau of Scientific Research Atteinments of the State Science and Technology Commission (Beijing and Shanghai) and various Institutes of Scientific and Technological Information (in Beijing, Chungking, Honan Province, Shensi, Shanghai, Szechuan and Tientsin), officials of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (Beijing), other Government Ministries, and Commissions and Departments responsible for scientific and technological information in various institutes and State production and distribution enterprises. The total number of participants was more than 70. The Seminar dealt with the following main subjects: - General introduction to the usefulness and the use of patent documents as a source of technological information - Study of patent documents and means of access to their technical content - The International Patent Classification (IPC) - The dissemination of patent information to research organizations and enterprises - The planning and creation of patent information and documentation center. Discussions were based on 14 background documents prepared by the International Bureau and on the text of the third edition of the IPC. Some of the documents and five Sections of the International Patent Classification had been translated into Chinese. Practical exercises in classification were conducted using examples of patent documents and on the formulation of search strategies with respect to given technical problems. Discussions were preceded by lectures given by two staff members of WIPO and by three specialists - experts in patent information in general and the International Patent Classification in particular - from the Industrial Property Offices of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The participants took a very active part in the discussions. Many of them were already familiar with the World Patent Information 2 (1980) No. 2

Training and Education

subject of patent information in general and with the International Patent Classification. The subjects referred to above were considered in depth by the participants in nine small working groups set up primarily to facilitate the execution of the practical exercises, thus enhancing the active exchange of views which took place throughout the Seminar. The participants formulated technical questions relating to patent information generally and to the International Patent Classification, and posed several legal questions pertaining to the procedures for the granting of patents in various countries. The Seminar gave the participants the opportunity to become better acquainted with problems of patent information and the use of the International Patent Classification for search and retrieval, and the way in which patent information could be disseminated to enterprises and research institutions.

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