The British Patent Office has just published the first edition some new sort of publication named Patent Office Annual Review:
"[...] This is the first Patent Office Annual Review and is designed to supplement the formal Annual Report (which will cover the financial year 2005/2006). The review provides a narrative covering some of our activities in greater detail than is possible in the Annual Report, and includes the Facts and Figures which provide the statistical overview of 2005. In short, the Review provides an accessible picture of what we have done in relation to IP and innovation.
As you will see from reading the Review we have engaged across a wide range of innovation related issues, wider than in the past. This is not by chance. It is a direct result of the implications for UK Business of the global knowledge based economy in which economic competitiveness depends on creativity and innovation.
Intellectual property is a key tool and driver in this new economy. Equally the Patent Office has to change to meet the new challenges and provide Government, Researchers and Business with the services that will support them in turning their creativity into successful innovative services and products. We have called this programme ?A Patent Office for the 21st Century? and this Review opens by explaining that concept in greater detail.
This is not change for change?s sake. As you will read in the Review all of our activities are directed at helping to create the conditions for business success and help business meet the challenges of globalisation. We do not do this alone. The stories in this Review show how we have worked with the IP professions, the private sector, and colleagues in the DTI and other parts of Government to provide a more comprehensive programme of support and encouragement. I believe the year has been a success. I enjoyed reading this Review and I?m sure that you will as well. [..]"
This issue covers, inter alia:
A Patent Office for the 21st Century;
The Trade Marks Programme (TMP);
Patents Electronic Case System (PECS);
Awarding Winning Customer Service 5th time Charter Mark Winners;
What you say about us - the results of the Patent Office 2005 Customer survey;
Early Views Prove Valuable to Customers;
Preliminary Indication SAS - Search and Advisory Service;
Customer Consultation Designed to Reduce Bureaucracy;
CREATE for the future;
The Lambert Model Collaboration Agreements - Saving time and cost;
THINK kit - Accessing the Business People of Tomorrow;
IP Crime - The Patent Office Enforcement Team;
What is the Key? - Raising Awareness of IP in the Business Sector;
Taking the lead in the European and International IP arena UK Presidency of the European Union 2005 - an IP Perspective;
Negotiations to Amend Commission Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 on the fees payable to Office for Harmonization in the International market;
The European Patent Organisation: Strategy Debate; and
Knowledge Sharing on a Global Scale - IP International Co-Operation.
It appears to be quite a lightweight brochure with very brief articles on the topics mentioned above. Do not expect any thorough or scholarly discussion of significant depth. But it might give an overview on what is considered relevant in these days from the perspective of a Patent Office.
Patent Office Annual Review: