GB2576430A

GB2576430A - System and method for submitting data for filing a patent application

Info

Publication number: GB2576430A
Application number: GB1911671.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Mchugh James
Original assignee: EVOLUTION IP Ltd
Current assignee: EVOLUTION IP Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-16
Filing date: 2019-08-15
Publication date: 2020-02-19
Also published as: GB201813358D0; GB201911671D0

Abstract

A system and method of submitting to a patent filing system a request to record or register one or more patents or patent applications by a patent application submission system. The method comprises the steps of receiving identifying data associated with one or more patents or patent applications from a remote user and automatically retrieving data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application from a database 7 of patents and patent applications. The retrieved data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application is displayed to the user for verification and upon verification of the data by the user, at least the minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application is transmitted to a remote patent filing system 5 for further processing. The method may be used to submit a request to obtain a Hong Kong standard patent following publication of a designated patent application.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SUBMITTING DATA FOR FILING A PATENT APPLICATION

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to systems for facilitating filing of one or more patent applications and to methods of filing one or more patent applications.

Background to the Invention

Hong Kong standard patents are obtained by re-registering a so-called designated patent with the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department (IPD). A designated patent can be a UK patent, a European patent designating the UK, or a Chinese invention patent. The reregistration process is separated into two stages, depicted graphically in Figure 1.

In a first stage, following publication of a designated patent application 101 a request to record a designated patent application is filed with the IPD within six months of publication of the designated patent application or, if a divisional application, within the later of six months from publication of the parent Hong Kong standard patent application or publication of the divisional designated patent application 102. Upon receipt of the request, the IPD processes the request and, provided all filing requirements are met, assigns an application number and filing date to the resulting Hong Kong standard patent application 103.

In a second stage, when the designated patent has been granted 104 and the corresponding Hong Kong standard patent application is still pending, a request for registration and grant is submitted to the IPD 105. This second stage application must be submitted within six months of publication of grant of the designated patent or six months of publication of the request to record, whichever expires later. Provided all filing requirements are met, the IPD proceeds to grant a Hong Kong standard patent and issues a patent certificate to the applicant 106.

For both the first and second stages, an official form must be completed and submitted to the IPD. The official forms for the first and second stages are currently known as P4 and P5, respectively. In each case, the completed official form can be submitted in paper form or electronically using the IPD's e-filing system. In the latter case, an electronic web-form is completed with the required information and submitted to the IPD for processing.

To obtain a filing date, certain minimum requirements must be met. In the case of the first stage, the following information must be submitted to obtain a date of filing:

(a) an indication that a request is made to record a designated patent application;

(b) information identifying the applicant; and (c) a reference to the designated patent application, including— (i) the application number assigned to it by the designated patent office; and (ii) the publication number (if any) assigned to it by the designated patent office, and the date (if any) of its publication by the designated patent office.

In the case of the second stage, the following information must be submitted to obtain a date of filing:

(a) an indication that a request is made for the registration of a designated patent and the grant of a standard patent;

(b) information identifying the applicant;

(c) the publication number assigned to the designated patent by the designated patent office, and the date of its publication; and (d) the publication number assigned to the request to record by the Registrar.

In each case, if any of the minimum required information is missing, the date of filing is given as the earliest date on which all the minimum required information has been received by the IPD. Since the six-month deadlines for both the first and second stages are non-extendable and non-restorable, it is critical that the minimum required information is submitted within these deadlines, otherwise the request to record or request for registration and grant will be deemed withdrawn and the application lost.

In addition to the minimum required information, other information must be submitted to the IPD in support of a request to record or request for registration and grant. However, unlike the minimum required information, this other information can be submitted after the sixmonth deadlines without loss of the Hong Kong standard patent application or standard patent.

Upon receipt of a request to record or a request for registration and grant, an Examiner at the IPD will check the minimum filing requirements and other required information and, if any information is missing and can still be timely filed, invite the applicant to furnish the missing information within a specified deadline. This examination process involves checking the information received in the official form against the information published by the patent office in respect of the designated patent or patent application. If the information does not match, the Examiner will invite the applicant to correct the information or submit reasons as to why the information is different. For example, if the applicant details given in the official form are different from those in the published designated patent application, the Examiner will ask the applicant to correct the applicant information or submit a statement explaining why the information is different e.g. because there has been a change in ownership that has not yet been recorded by the patent office of the designated patent application or the rights to the grant of a patent in Hong Kong have been transferred to an entity which is different from the applicant specified in the designated patent application.

Since the official forms require manual entry of data by humans for submission to the IPD, there is a chance that the information given in the official form will contain errors or missing information. This can increase the risk of an application being deemed withdrawn. Furthermore, completing the official forms is time consuming and inefficient. Finally, standard working hours generally results in local Hong Kong patent agencies stopping offering patent filing services several hours before midnight which is the end time for an official deadline in Hong Kong. Consequently, there may be a window of a few hours in which an applicant, particularly an overseas instructor, wishes to file a request to record or request for registration and grant but is unable to easily do so due to the differing working hours of local Hong Kong patent agencies. This is particularly problematic for overseas instructors who may be several hours behind Hong Kong time and whose working hours do not significantly overlap with those in Hong Kong.

An embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of these issues.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a patent application submission system comprising one or more computing devices for receiving data remotely from a user over the Internet via a web page of the patent application submission system, said data identifying one or more patents or patent applications to be recorded, a processor and memory configured to perform the steps of:

using said data identifying one or more patents or patent applications to automatically retrieve, from a database of patents and patent applications, further data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application;

displaying to the user retrieved data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application for verification by the user; and upon verification of the displayed data by the user, transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices of a patent filing system for further processing.

Advantageously, by automatically retrieving patent data associated with a patent or patent application for filing and displaying the data to a user for verification, the need for a human intermediary between the user and the patent filing system is removed. The data may be retrieved from an official database of patent applications to ensure the data is accurate and will not contain errors that may result in the submitted application being refused. A user may be an applicant of a patent application or an agent or organisation acting on behalf of the applicant. Accordingly, the patent application submission system enables a user to file a patent application directly with a patent filing system, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the likelihood of error by reducing the number of involved parties.

The processor and memory may be further configured to determine a date based upon the retrieved data, said date corresponding to a deadline for submission of the minimum required data to one or more receiving computing devices of the patent filing system. The processor and memory may be further configured to indicate to the user of the system if the calculated deadline is after the current date.

The processor and memory may be further configured to automatically transmit an alert message to a remote computing device of a user via a telecommunications network, upon publication of a patent or patent application whose data may be processed by the patent application submission system and submitted to a patent filing system for further processing. Said alert may include an activable hyperlink for accessing a web page of the patent application submission system, said hyperlink including data for identifying the patent or patent application in a database storing details of a plurality of patents or patent applications. The processor and memory may be further configured, upon activation of the hyperlink by a user, to extract identifying data from the hyperlink to automatically identify the patent or patent application in the database and retrieve data associated with the identified patent or patent application for display to the user.

The processor and memory may be further configured to perform the step of formatting retrieved data into a required format for processing by one or more receiving computing devices ofthe patent filing system. Formatting retrieved data may include the preparation of a compressed file containing one or more data files comprising at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application.

Transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices of a patent filing system for further processing may comprise transferring one or more data files including the at least minimum required data to an FTP server ofthe patent filing system via a telecommunications network.

The processor and memory may be further configured to automatically retrieve a response file from the FTP server, following transmission of at least minimum required data, extract and store data from the response file, and transmit extracted data from the response file to the user via a telecommunications network.

The step of displaying retrieved data may comprise transmitting the retrieved data via a communication channel to a remote computing device of the user for display on a display of the computing device.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of submitting to a patent filing system a request to record or register one or more patents or patent applications by a patent application submission system comprising the steps of:

a. receiving, from a remote user, identifying data associated with one or more patents or patent applications;

b. automatically retrieving, by a processor, from a database of patents and patent applications, data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application;

c. displaying to the remote user retrieved data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application for verification; and

d. upon verification of the data by the user, transmitting, by a processor, at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to a remote patent filing system for further processing.

The method may further comprise the step of determining a date based upon the retrieved data, said date corresponding to a deadline for submission of the at least minimum required data. The method may further comprise the step of indicating to the remote user of the system if the calculated deadline is after the current date.

The method may further comprise the step of automatically transmitting an alert message to a remote computing device of a user via a telecommunications network, upon publication of a patent or patent application whose data may be processed by the patent application submission system and submitted to a patent filing system for further processing. The step of receiving identifying data associated with one or more patents or patent applications may comprise obtaining identifying data from a hyperlink, included in the alert message, that has been activated by the remote user to access the patent application submission system.

The method may further comprise the step of formatting retrieved data into a required format for transmission to, and subsequent processing by, one or more receiving computing devices of the patent filing system. Formatting retrieved data may include the step of preparing a compressed file containing one or more data files comprising at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application. Transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices of a patent filing system for further processing may comprise the step of transferring one or more data files including the at least minimum required data to an FTP server of the patent filing system via a telecommunications network.

The method may further comprise the steps of automatically retrieving a response file from the FTP server, following transmission of at least minimum required data, extracting and storing data from the response file, and transmitting extracted data from the response file to the remote user via a telecommunications network.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a patent filing alert system comprising a processor and memory configured to perform the steps of:

a. determining a date, based upon a publication date of a patent or patent application, by which data associated with the patent or patent application must be submitted to a patent filing system;

b. automatically transmitting an alert to a recipient to notify the recipient of the determined date, said alert including an activable hyperlink, said activable hyperlink including data for identifying the patent or patent application in a database storing details of a plurality of patents or patent applications;

c. upon activating the hyperlink by a recipient, using the data from the hyperlink to identify the patent or patent application in the database and retrieve data associated with the identified patent or patent application; and

d. displaying on a web page retrieved data associated with the identified patent or patent application for verification.

The processor and memory may be further configured, after verification of the retrieved data, to transmit minimum required data associated with the identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices for further processing.

The processor and memory may be further configured, after verification of the retrieved data, to format the data into a format required by one or more receiving computing devices for further processing.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of timely submitting to a patent filing system data associated with a patent or patent application comprising the steps of:

a. determining, by a processor, based upon a publication date of a patent or patent application, a date by which data associated with the patent or patent application must be submitted to a patent filing system for further processing;

b. generating an alert including an activable hyperlink, said activable hyperlink including data for identifying the patent or patent application; and

c. transmitting the alert to a recipient for activation of the activable hyperlink.

The method may further comprise the steps of using the data from an activated hyperlink to identify the patent or patent application in a database storing details of a plurality of patents and/or patent applications, and displaying, for verification, data from the database associated with the identified patent or patent application.

The method may further comprise the step of transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the identified patent or patent application to a patent filing system.

The method may further comprise the step of formatting the data from the database associated with the identified patent or patent application into a required format for processing by the patent filing system.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a flowchart of a two-stage patent filing process;

Figure 2 is a block diagram comprising a patent filing system and a server system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the determination of the deadline by which a request to record (stage 1) must be filed to obtain a filing date;

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figures 6A-6C

Figures 7A-7B is a flowchart of a filing process involving a server system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

is a schematic representation of a patent filing Web page stored on the server system;

collectively show a schematic representation of a request to record

Web page stored on the server system; and collectively show a schematic representation of a request for registration and grant Web page stored on the server system.

Figure 2 shows a server system 1 connected to a client system 3, a patent filing system 5, and at least one patent database system 7 over the Internet using the World Wide Web.

The server system 1 is configured to facilitate submission of one or more patent applications to a patent filing system 5 and forms at least a portion of a network-accessible computing platform implemented as a computing infrastructure of processors, storage, software, data access, and other components that is maintained and accessible via a network. The server system 1 comprises at least one server having a processor 9 and memory 11 for storing instructions executable by the processor 9. The server system 1 includes a server engine 13, a locally stored patent database 15, client database 17, order database 19, deadline module 21, patent filing alert module 23, and various Web pages 25. The server engine 13 receives HTTP requests to access Web pages 25 identified by URLs and provides various requested Web pages 25 to client systems 3.

A client system 3 comprises at least one computing device having a processor 27, memory 29, browser 31, display 33, and an interface to enable a user to interact with the client system 3 and transmit to, and receive requests from, the server system 1. A client system 3 may include a personal computer, tablet, mobile communication device or any other computing device capable of communicating with the server system 1 across a network.

The patent database 15 stores information associated with a plurality of (preferably all) designated patents and/or patent applications including the filing date, application number, priority date and priority number (where applicable), publication number (if any), publication date (ifany), international patent application number(if any), international patent application date (if any), applicant name, applicant contact details, inventor names, agent name (where applicable), and agent contact details. For any designated patent application with a corresponding request to record (Hong Kong standard patent application), the patent database 15 also stores information associated with the corresponding request to record a Hong Kong standard patent application. In addition, the patent database 15 stores corresponding information for any 'parent' designated patent applications and corresponding Hong Kong standard patent applications, where 'parent' means a patent or patent application from which a 'divisional' patent application is derived. The server system 1 assigns a unique reference for each designated patent or patent application and associated data stored in the patent database 15 for easy identification.

The patent database 15 information may be obtained from a source of official patent data originating from one or more patent databases 7 over the Internet. The patent databases 7 are preferably the official sources of patent information such as the European Patent Register and European Publication Server administered by the European Patent Office, the Online Patent Information and Document Inspection Service administered by the UK Intellectual Property Office, the Chinese patent database administered by The State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China, and the Hong Kong Register of Patents administered by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department. Alternatively, the patent data could be obtained from one or more commercially available patent databases whose data is originally obtained from the official sources.

The server system 1 further includes a client database 17 storing details of existing registered users which includes contact information and deposit account information for those users that have deposited money to the server system accounts to facilitate payment for filings. When a new user registers with the server system 1, the details of the user are stored in the client database 17 to enable the user to login to their account with the server system 1 without having to re-type user details for each order.

The server system 1 maintains an order database 19 with details of all orders placed by users of the server system 1. The order database 19 enables users to review past filings and any associated correspondence.

Since the patent database 15 of the server system 1 stores publication information for all possible designated patent applications, all designated patents with a corresponding pending request to record, and all Hong Kong standard patent applications, for each designated patent and patent application it is possible to calculate stage 1 and stage 2 filing deadlines whenever the designated patent application and designated patents are published. Thus, the server system 1 further includes a deadline module 21 for determining and storing stage 1 and stage 2 filing deadlines for all designated patent and patent applications. Publication of designated patents and patent applications by the Chinese, European, Hong Kong, and UK official patent administrative authorities occurs on a weekly basis according to a routine schedule. For example, details of all European patents and patent applications are generally published every Wednesday at 14.00 hrs CET. Accordingly, the server system 1 is configured to update the patent database 15 on a weekly basis after publication of designated patents and patent applications and standard patent applications by the relevant authorities.

Whilst a locally stored patent database 15 is preferred, it will be appreciated that the server system 1 could instead communicate directly with the patent database systems 7 to obtain publication information of desired patents and patent applications. Accordingly, the deadline module 21 may determine and store in memory stage 1 and stage 2 deadlines based on data received directly from the patent database systems 7 rather than a locally stored patent database 15.

For potential request to record (stage 1) filings, the deadline module 21 calculates a filing deadline for each designated patent application as 6 months from publication of the designated patent application and stores the deadline in a 'stage 1 deadline' column of the patent database 15. The server system 1 also stores or has access to the dates of every Saturday and Sunday, and every public holiday in Hong Kong for a given year. Accordingly, if the calculated deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline module 21 determines the date of the deadline to be the next working day. For example, if a designated patent application was published on 1 January 2018, the deadline for filing the request to record would be calculated as 1 July 2018. However, in the event the deadline is determined by the deadline module 21 to fall on a non-working day, the deadline system calculates that the deadline is the next working day. For example, in 2018, the 16^th, 17^th, and 19^th February were public holidays in Hong Kong. If the filing deadline fell on 16^th February 2018, the deadline module 21 would determine that 16^th to 19^th are all non-working days and that 20^thFebruary 2018 is the next available working day. Accordingly, for that designated patent application, the deadline module 21 would populate the stage 1 deadline entry of the patent database with 20 February 2018 and an explanation for the user as to why this is the calculated deadline in a 'deadline explanation' column.

For any designated patent application which is a divisional of a parent designated patent application that has a corresponding pending request to record, the deadline module 21 calculates a second deadline as 6 months from the publication of the request to record and stores the deadline in a 'stage 1 divisional deadline' column (again considering non-working days as outlined above). For example, if there was also a pending parent request to record connected to a parent designated patent application of the identified designated patent application, and the pending request to record was published on 1 February 2018, the deadline module 21 would calculate a second filing deadline of 1 August 2018, unless this is determined to be a weekend day or public holiday, in which case the deadline is calculated to be the next working day.

As shown in Figure 3, the deadline module 21 may follow a simple routine to determine the latest deadline for a stage 1 filing. In a first step 50, the deadline module 21 obtains the publication date of the identified designated patent application. In a second step 52, the deadline module 21 queries the patent database 15 as to whether the identified designated patent application is a divisional patent application. If no, the deadline module 21 proceeds to determine 54 that the deadline is 6 months from publication of the identified designated patent application (considering non-working days). If yes, the deadline module 21 queries 56 whether the parent patent application of the identified designated patent application has a corresponding request to record in Hong Kong that is published and still pending. If no, the deadline module 21 determines 54 that the deadline is 6 months from publication of the identified designated patent application (considering non-working days). If yes, the deadline module 21 queries 58 whether the publication date of the earlier request to record is before the publication date of the identified designated patent application. If yes, the deadline module 21 determines 54 that the deadline is 6 months from publication of the identified designated patent application (considering non-working days). If no, the deadline module 21 determines 60 that the deadline is 6 months from publication of the earlier request to record (considering non-working days), provided the applicant wishes to claim divisional application status.

If the deadline module 21 determines that there is an earlier request to record, that a divisional filing is possible, and that the stage 1 divisional deadline is the later of the two possible deadlines, the deadline module 21 updates the patent database 15 to include an alert that this later deadline only applies if divisional status is requested when submitting the stage 1 filing. Thus, since requesting divisional status (where possible) is optional, a user can be alerted to the fact that a later deadline will only apply together with a request for divisional status when submitting an order, otherwise the earlier calculated deadline applies.

For potential request for registration and grant (stage 2) filings, for each designated patent with a corresponding pending request to record, the deadline module 21 calculates a first deadline as 6 months from the date of publication of the designated patent and a second deadline as 6 months from the date of publication of the corresponding request to record, and stores them in 'stage 2a deadline' and 'stage 2b deadline' columns respectively of the patent database 15. In the case of a stage 2 filing, the deadline module 21 determines which of the two stage 2 deadlines is the actual deadline by calculating which of the two deadlines is the latest.

The patent filing system 5 is implemented by the patent office of a country or organisation whose role is to receive, process and grant patents. In the present embodiment, which is concerned with filing Hong Kong standard patents and patent applications, the patent filing system 5 is implemented by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department. The patent filing system 5 facilitates electronic filing of a request to record and a request for registration and grant over the Internet. Accordingly, the patent filing system 5 permits electronic submission of patent application data via suitable technical specifications and, in the present embodiment, allows submission of patent application data via an asynchronous system to system interface. Therefore, the server system 1 may submit patent application data directly to the patent filing system 5 over the Internet without the need for manual filling and filing of forms. The patent filing system 5 is configured to receive electronic submissions of structured data relying on XSD technical specifications for each electronic form.

In the present embodiment, the patent filing system 5 comprises an FTP server which is accessible to the server system 1 as an FTP client. The FTP server implements a predefined folder structure, as follows:

/Outgoing: This folder maintains all files outgoing from the server system 1 to the patent filing system 5. After processing by the patent filing system 5, these files are moved by FTP server to an /Outgoing/Archive folder.

/Incoming: This folder maintains all files processed by the patent filing system 5 to be downloaded by the server system 1.

The server system 1 is configured to generate a request to record or request for registration and grant (as the case may be) of one or more designated patents and/or patent applications comprising a compressed (.zip format) file with a predefined filename, followed by a timestamp in the format of nis-efl-b2b-yyyy-MM-ddTHH-MM-SSZ.zip.

The compressed file includes completed e-forms which are designated by the patent filing system 5 for receiving a valid request to record (e-form P4) or request for registration and grant (e-form P5). The e-forms are populated with at least minimum required information relating to a designated patent or patent application to obtain a filing date, include any embedded attachments, and are provided in XML format according to the XSD schema of the patent filing system 5.

The compressed file also includes a single header file in XML format comprising the customer ID of the account associated with the owner of the server system 1, the deposit account number of the owner of the server system 1, to be used for the payment of fees for the submitted e-forms and additional validation, authorisation, and security purposes, and a list of the filenames of all XML files corresponding to each individual e-form and included within the ZIP file. Accordingly, it is possible to include a plurality of requests to record/register a designated patent or patent application in a single batch submission from the server system 1 to the patent filing system 5.

Upon confirmation to submit one or more requests to record/register a designated patent or patent application, the server system 1 is configured to place the batch submission into the /Outgoing folder of the FTP server for processing by the patent filing system 5. All batch files submitted to the patent filing system 5 undergo a validation process. The patent filing system 5 returns the validation result in XML format for further processing by the server system 1.

For each successfully validated batch submission, the patent filing system 5 converts each eform to a PDF file, generates a receipt for each of the e-forms, generates a batch submission receipt for the entire batch, with summary of financial information, debits the deposit account of the server system 1 owner with the total calculated amount of official fees, creates a response batch in ZIP format, including all of the aforementioned produced files, and places it in the /Incoming folder of the FTP account of the server system 1.

After submission of a batch file to the FTP server of the patent filing system 5, the server system 1 is configured to periodically poll the /Incoming folder of its FTP account to determine the presence of a response batch. In the event a response batch is present, the server system 1 is configured to download the zip file, and extract and store the content in memory 11 for further processing. Upon receipt and extraction of the response file, the server system 1 records filing details for each respective new filing request in the order database 19 for subsequent reporting to the user, as described further below.

Figure 4 is a flowchart of a routine that enables users to submit a request to record or request for registration and grant to the Hong Kong patent filing system in the appropriate format and with the required information via the server system 1 without the need to manually enter any, or significant amounts of, required data into an electronic form for submission.

A user may initiate a filing routine in two possible ways. In a first way, the user transmits from the client system 3 a HTTP request for a patent filing Web page 25a (shown in Figure 5) by entering the Web page URL into the client system browser 31. The server system 1 receives the request and transmits a patent filing Web page 25a to the client system for display in the browser 31 on the client system display 33.

The patent filing Web page 25a comprises a patent choice section and a patent identification section. The patent choice section includes an option for a request to record (stage 1) or a request for registration and grant (stage 2). As discussed above, a request to record is filed after publication of a designated patent application to initiate a Hong Kong standard patent application, and a request for registration and grant is filed when the designated patent has been granted and the corresponding Hong Kong standard patent application is still pending.

When the user has chosen the desired type of filing, the user is prompted to enter data into the patent identification section to identify either the designated patent application (for a stage 1 filing), or additionally the Hong Kong standard patent application or designated patent (for a stage 2 filing). In the present embodiment, the patent identification section includes five possible data entry fields, namely 'Reference', 'Designated patent application number', 'Designated patent publication number', 'Standard patent application number', and 'Standard patent application publication number'.

The Reference field enables the user to enter the unique reference number (if known to the user) assigned by the server system 1 to the desired designated patent application. This unique reference may have been communicated separately to the user by a patent deadline alert system, discussed further below. The Designated patent application number and Designated patent publication number fields allow the user to enter the application number or publication number, respectively, of the designated patent application or designated patent (as the case may be). For example, a European patent application may be assigned an application number in the format XXXXXXXX.X and a publication number in the format EPXXXXXXX. Likewise, a Hong Kong standard patent application may be assigned an application number in the format XXXXXXXX.X and a publication number in the format HKXXXXXXX. These assigned Hong Kong standard patent application numbers may be entered into the Standard patent application number and Standard patent application publication number fields, respectively. If a stage 1 request is selected, such that there is no corresponding Hong Kong standard patent application, the Standard patent application number and Standard publication number fields are greyed out and unavailable for data entry or editing. Accordingly, in a first step 201A, the client system 3 communicates the patent choice and patent identification data to the server system 1.

The second way to initiate the filing routine allows the user to bypass the patent filing Web page 25a without the need to manually enter designated patent or standard patent identification information. Again, with reference to Figure 4, in an alternative first step 201B, a user may initiate a filing request by clicking on an activable hyperlink sent from the server system 1 to the client system 3. As discussed further below, the activable hyperlink includes data identifying the designated patent or patent application. The server system 1 uses the identification data contained within the hyperlink to retrieve, from the patent database 15 or appropriate patent database system 7, information associated with the identified patent or patent application.

Regardless ofthe initiation route, in a second step 202, based on the retrieved data, the server system 1 generates and transmits either a request to record Web page 25b or a request for registration and grant Web page 25c to the client system 3 for display in the browser 31. The request to record and request for registration and grant Web pages 25b, 25c each include a patent verification section. The patent verification sections comprise a plurality of data fields each populated by the corresponding item of data associated with the identified patent or patent application, as retrieved from the patent database 15 or patent database system 7.

In addition to generating a request to record or request for registration and grant Web page, the server system 3 is configured to download and store in memory 11 a copy of the corresponding required patent documents to support the filing request. These are the identified designated patent application, international patent application, designated patent, and/or an extract with details ofthe identified right from an official patent database (as the case may be). Corresponding directory locations of the stored document(s) are also stored in the patent database 15. For example, in the event a request to record a designated European patent application derived from an international patent application is received, the server system downloads a copy of the published international patent specification from the 'Patentscope' service operated by WIPO and stores a copy of the specification in memory together with a copy of an extract from the official European Patent Register showing details of the designated European patent application. If a request to record is based on a directly filed European patent application, the server system downloads a copy of the published patent specification from the 'European Publication Server' web service. Likewise, if a request for registration and grant is based on a European patent (whether derived from an international patent application), the server system downloads from the European Publication Serverand stores in memory a copy of the published European patent as granted.

For a request to record or request for registration and grant based on a European patent application or European patent, the server system 1 may verify that the UK is specified as a designated state (as this is required by current Hong Kong law).

With reference to Figures 6A-6C, the verification section of the request to record Web page 25b comprises the following editable data fields:

• Server system reference • User reference • Applicant name(s) • Applicant address(es) • Title of invention • Inventor name(s) • Details of designated patent application:

o applicant name(s) o application no.

o filing date o publication no. (if any) o publication date (if any) o territory (China, Europe, or UK) • Details of international application from which identified designated patent application is derived (if any):

o international application no.

o international filing date o international publication no.

o international publication date o date of publication in the designated patent office indicating that the international application has validly entered the national phase or o Date of issuance of the National Application Notification by the State Intellectual Property Office, People's Republic of China • Details of parent Hong Kong standard patent application (if any):

o application no.

o application filing date o publication date of the request to record • Is divisional application status requested? yes/no • Priority details:

o Country/Territory/Area o priority application no.

o Priority application filing date • Filing deadline (determined by server section) • Supporting documents o Copy of designated patent application as published o Copy of international application as published by the International Bureau (if any) o Copy of extract from official patent register (if designated patent application is based on international patent application) o Evidence of change of applicant o Evidence of change of inventors

When generating the request to record Web page 25b, the server system 1 populates the following data fields using data from the patent database 15 and/or appropriate patent system database 7:

• Server system reference • Applicant name(s) (taken to be the same as the applicant(s) of the identified designated patent application) • Applicant address(es) (taken to be the same as the address(es) of the applicant(s) of the identified designated patent application) • Title of invention (taken to be the same as the title of the identified designated patent application) • Inventor name(s) (taken to be the same as the inventor(s) of the identified designated patent application) • Details of designated patent application:

o applicant name(s) o application no.

o international application no.

o international filing date o international publication no.

o application no.

o application filing date o publication date of the request to record • Priority details (copied from the priority details of designated patent application):

o Country/Territory/Area o priority application no.

o Priority application filing date

The generated request to record Web page 25b is sent to the client system 3 for display in the browser 31. Since all fields are editable, the user has the option to make required changes to the populated data and to add a reference for the user's own records in the 'User reference' field. By default, the generated Web page 25b assumes that the applicant details of the request to record are the same as the applicant details of the identified designated patent application and populates the applicant field accordingly.

The request to record Web page 25b includes a query as to whether the applicant of the request to record is the same as the applicant of the designated patent application. Initially, this query is indicated as 'yes'. If the user makes any change to the data in the applicant name(s) field, the Web page 25b changes the answer to the applicant name query to 'no' and prompts the user to select the reason for the change and to upload documentary evidence of the change. Three reasons are provided by default, namely 'change of ownership', 'change of name', and 'correction of error'. There is also an option for the user to specify a different reason in the 'other' data field in the event some other circumstance led to the change. A change of ownership requires the user to upload a digital copy of an assignment document. A change of name requires the user to upload a digital copy of evidence of the change such as an official change of name certificate or extract from the patent register of the designated patent application. A correction requires the user to upload evidence that the correction has also been applied for with the patent office of the designated patent application. If the user makes any changes to the data in the inventor(s) fields, the Web page also prompts the user to select the reason for the change and to upload documentary evidence of the change.

If a pending parent Hong Kong standard patent application is connected to the identified designated patent application, the earlier Hong Kong standard patent application section is populated with the relevant data from the patent database 15. The user is prompted to indicate whether divisional status is requested. By default, the answer to the query is indicated as 'yes' because there is no disadvantage in requesting divisional status. The user is given this choice because it is possible to file a request to record in Hong Kong without choosing the request to record to be a divisional patent application (even if the possibility for filing a divisional application exists).

The supporting documents section includes respective hyperlinks to the location of a copy of the required downloaded documents which, depending on whether the designated patent application is derived from an international patent application, may be the identified designated patent application as published, a copy of the international patent application as published, and a copy of an extract from an official register of patents for the designated patent application e.g. European Patent Register for a designated European patent application, each stored in the server system memory 11. The total number of pages is indicated next to each document as determined by the server system 1.

The deadline section is populated with the calculated filing deadline, as determined by the deadline module 21. If a deadline is determined to be after the current date, the Web page 25b includes a warning to the user but will still allow the user to proceed with the request if desired. If the request to record Web page 25b is also populated with data of a pending parent Hong Kong standard patent application and the deadline is determined to be the stage 1 deadline, the Web page displays only this stage 1 deadline. If the latest deadline is calculated to be the stage 1 divisional deadline, the Web page 25b will display both the stage 1 deadline and the stage 1 divisional deadline together with an alert that the later deadline is only possible if divisional status is requested. Accordingly, if the current date is determined to be after the stage 1 deadline but on or before the stage 1 divisional deadline, the user is prompted to ensure the divisional status query is indicated as 'yes'. In each case, to facilitate the user's ability to verify the deadline, a notification is displayed together with the deadline to explain to the user how the deadline has been calculated.

In a third step 203, the user checks the data in the Web page 25b displayed on the client system 3 to verify the data is correct and then selects the 'add to cart' option to transmit the filing request to the server system 1 together with any changes or additions and supporting evidence.

Since not all information populated in the Web page 25b is required to secure a filing date for a request to record, the user has the option to omit certain data fields. However, the following information is required for a request to record to be assigned a filing date:

• information identifying the applicant; and • a reference to the designated patent application, including— o the application number assigned to it by the designated patent office; and o the publication number (if any) assigned to it by the designated patent office, and the date (if any) of its publication by the designated patent office.

Accordingly, the request to record Web page 25b will not allow an order for a request to record to be added to the cart unless this minimum information is included. In the event the required fields (as indicated by an asterisk) are not accurately populated with data, the Web page 25b prompts the user to complete these fields before adding to cart.

Referring to Figures 7A-7B, the verification section of the request for registration and grant Web page 25c comprises the following editable data fields:

• Server system reference • User reference • Applicant name(s) • Applicant address(es) • Title of invention • Details of designated patent:

o applicant name(s) o publication number o grant date o territory (China, Europe, or UK) • Details of corresponding Hong Kong standard patent application:

o application no.

o publication no.

o publication date • Filing deadline (determined by server section) • Supporting documents o Copy of designated patent as published o Evidence of change of applicant o Evidence of any other requested change

In the same way, the server system 1 generates a request for registration and grant Web page 25c when a stage 2 filing request is received and transmits the Web page 25c to the client system for display in the browser and verification by the user. For a stage 2 filing request, the server system 1 may be configured to check the language of proceedings of an existing request to record (English or Chinese) and to use data from the patent database in the correct language when preparing the Web page 25c or to translate the data into the language of proceedings when populating the data fields of the Web page 25c. Since a stage 2 request requires less information than a stage 1 request, the following fields are populated by the server system 1 using data from the patent database 15 and/or appropriate patent system databases 7 when generating the Web page 25c:

• Server system reference • User reference (if already stored in memory) • Applicant name(s) • Applicant address(es) • Title of invention • Details of designated patent:

o application no.

o publication no.

o publication date • Filing deadline (determined by server section)

As with a stage 1 request, the user checks the data in the request for registration and grant Web page 25c displayed on the client system 3 to verify the data is correct and then selects the 'add to cart' option to transmit the filing request to the server system 1 together with any changes or additions and supporting evidence.

Again, since not all information populated in the Web page 25c is required to secure a filing date for a request for registration and grant, the user has the option to omit certain data fields. However, the following information is required for a request for registration and grant to be assigned a filing date:

• information identifying the applicant;

• the publication number assigned to the designated patent by the designated patent office, and the date of its publication; and • the publication number assigned to the request to record by the Registrar.

Accordingly, if any of these data fields are empty or incomplete, the Web page 25c prompts the user to complete the fields before the order can be added to the cart.

For both a stage 1 and stage 2 request, in a fourth step 204, in response to a request to add an order to the cart, the server system 1 stores details of the order in the order database 19 and transmits a shopping cart Web page to the client system 3 for display in the browser 31. The shopping cart Web page includes a summary of any filing requests that have been added to the cart and the option to proceed to payment or to add a further filing request to the cart via a fifth step 205.

In a sixth step 206, if the user selects to add a further filing request to the cart, the server system 1 transmits the patent filing Web page 25a to the client system 3 to start a new order request as outlined above. When the user has added all desired orders to the cart and selected the proceed to payment option, the server system 1 transmits a payment Web page with a summary of the order, total amount to pay, and payment options including the option to pay with credit card, with stored credit associated with the user's account, or some other electronic payment means such as cryptocurrency. The payment Web page allows the user to conduct final checks of the order and provide confirmation to proceed with filing in a seventh step 207.

Upon confirmation of the order and submission of payment, in an eighth step 208, for each filing request, the server system 1 processes the patent data into structured data into the XML format of the relevant e-Form required by the remote patent filing system, creates a batch zip file as outlined above and places the batch file in the /Outgoing folder of the FTP server of the patent filing system 5.

The patent filing system 5 processes each of the electronically submitted forms and returns a response file to the /Incoming folder of the FTP server. The response file includes the validation results, the application numbers for the new applications, a copy of the submitted electronic forms in PDF, and metadata for further automatic processing by the server system

1. The server system 1 polls the /Incoming folder to determine the presence of the response file and proceeds to download the response file to be stored in memory 11.

In a ninth step 209, for each filing request, the server system 1 extracts and stores the data in the appropriate entry in the patent database 15 and order database 17, stores any associated files in memory 11 and stores respective links to the files in the patent database 15. The server system 1 uses the filing data to generate a client facing filing receipt with relevant details such as filing date, applicant name and filing number, and transmits the filing receipt to the client system 3 via e-mail together with a PDF copy of each of the document received in the response file from the patent filing system 5.

By automating the filing process and directly sourcing data for the electronic forms from the official patent databases 7, advantageously, the server system 1 eliminates human involvement between the user and the patent filing system 5 and, therefore, increases the efficiency of filing and reduces the likelihood of errors. Furthermore, the server system 1 allows filing of patent applications at any time of day on which an application may be submitted and, therefore, in practical terms, extends the deadline by which users can safely submit patent applications to the patent filing system 5, even if local agents in Hong Kong are no longer open for business. The server system 1 also provides fast feedback to the user with the filing results and filing details, thereby quickly providing peace of mind and improving the efficiency with which the user can process data in its own systems 3. It is envisaged the server system 1 may transmit the filing data to the client system 3 in a format suitable for the client system 3 to automatically process the filing data, thereby further minimising human involvement and improving efficiencies.

To reduce the likelihood of a filing deadline being missed, the server system 1 includes a patent filing alert module 23 to automatically alert users or potential users of an upcoming stage 1 or stage 2 filing deadline as determined by the deadline module 21.

Each week the patent database is updated with newly published designated patents and patent applications, and Hong Kong standard patent applications, the filing alert module 23 automatically generates a filing deadline alert for all newly added patents and patent applications to be transmitted to a relevant recipient. The recipient may be the applicant of a designated patent or patent application or Hong Kong standard patent application, or the responsible agent for the designated patent or patent application. The filing alert includes identifying information about the patent to which the deadline relates, a unique reference number from the locally stored patent database 15 to enable the patent or patent application to be identified by the server system 1, the calculated filing deadline, and an activable hyperlink.

The activable hyperlink includes data identifying the patent or patent application so that, when the user activates or clicks the hyperlink to send a Web page request to the server system 1, the server system 1 can use the identification data to fetch relevant data for the identified patent or patent application from the patent database 15 and send the request to record or request for registration and grant Web page 25b, 25c to the client system 3 for data verification and patent filing request. Accordingly, this avoids the need for the user to request the initial patent filing Web page 25a and manually enter patent application or patent identification information (because the server system can determine from the identified designated patent or patent application if the filing request is for a stage 1 or stage 2 filing). An example hyperlink URL in which the identification information is the server reference for a patent or patent application is provided below:

https://www.serversystemwebs)te.com/patent.php?id=[SERVER REFERENCE)

The server system 1 can use the id reference from the URL to fetch patent data for the identified patent or patent application from the patent database 15 and populate a Web page 25b, 25c accordingly. It will be apparent that any suitable id reference might be used such as a unique, server system generated, reference, the designated patent application number, designated patent publication number, or Hong Kong standard patent application number.

Advantageously, the patent filing alert module 23 brings filing deadlines to the attention of relevant instructing users and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of a hard deadline being missed. Furthermore, by providing an activable hyperlink that includes the data necessary for the server system 1 to generate and transmit an appropriately populated request to record or request for registration and grant Web page 25b, 25c to the user's client system 3, there is no need to request the user to identify the type of filing and patent application concerned, thereby reducing the workload for the user, minimising the chance of input error and improving efficiencies.

The above embodiment is described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

For example, for users wishing to submit multiple filing requests, rather than require the user to individually add each case to the cart and repeat the validation process, the server system 1 may be configured to allow a user to import a csv file with a list of cases to be recorded. The server system 1 may be configured to extract details of each case listed in the csv file and display corresponding patent data for each case in a summary page on the user's remote computing device for verification. The summary page may display only the minimum required information necessary to obtain a filing date so that the user can quickly verify the correct patent data is displayed in respect of each case to be recorded. The server system 1 may be configured to provide a bulk add to cart button to enable the user to select multiple cases for recordal. Upon selection and verification, the user may submit the required payment and provide confirmation for the server system 1 to proceed with bulk submission. Upon payment and confirmation, the server system 1 may be configured to create an appropriate e-form for each verified case, format the data into the appropriate XML format as outlined above, and to generate a batch zip file including the required header XML file for onward transmission to the FTP server of the patent filing system 5. Advantageously, a user may quickly file multiple 5 cases in one go, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing time.

Claims

1. A patent application submission system comprising one or more computing devices for receiving data remotely from a user over the Internet via a web page from the patent application submission system, said data identifying one or more patents or patent applications to be recorded, a processor and memory configured to perform the steps of:

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to determine a date based upon the retrieved data, said date corresponding to a deadline for submission of the minimum required data to one or more receiving computing devices of the patent filing system.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to indicate to the user of the system if the calculated deadline is after the current date.

4. The system as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to automatically transmit an alert message to a remote computing device of a user via a telecommunications network, upon publication of a patent or patent application whose data may be processed by the patent application submission system and submitted to a patent filing system for further processing.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said alert includes an activable hyperlink for accessing a web page of the patent application submission system, said hyperlink including data for identifying the patent or patent application in a database storing details of a plurality of patents or patent applications.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor and memory are further configured, upon activation of the hyperlink by a user, to extract identifying data from the hyperlink to automatically identify the patent or patent application in the database and retrieve data associated with the identified patent or patent application for display to the user.

7. The system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to perform the step of formatting retrieved data into a required format for processing by one or more receiving computing devices of the patent filing system.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein formatting retrieved data includes preparation of a compressed file containing one or more data files comprising at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application.

9. The system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices of a patent filing system for further processing comprises transferring one or more data files including the at least minimum required data to an FTP server of the patent filing system via a telecommunications network.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to automatically retrieve a response file from the FTP server, following transmission of at least minimum required data, extract and store data from the response file, and transmit extracted data from the response file to the user via a telecommunications network.

11. The system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the step of displaying retrieved data comprises transmitting the retrieved data via a communication channel to a remote computing device of the userfor display on a display of the computing device.

12. A method of submitting to a patent filing system a request to record or register one or more patents or patent applications by a patent application submission system comprising the steps of:

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of determining a date based upon the retrieved data, said date corresponding to a deadline for submission of the at least minimum required data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of indicating to the remote user of the system if the calculated deadline is after the current date.

15. The method of any of claims 12 to 14, further comprising the step of automatically transmitting an alert message to a remote computing device of a user via a telecommunications network, upon publication of a patent or patent application whose data may be processed by the patent application submission system and submitted to a patent filing system for further processing.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of receiving identifying data associated with one or more patents or patent applications comprises obtaining identifying data from a hyperlink, included in the alert message, that has been activated by the remote user to access the patent application submission system.

17. The method of any of claims 12 to 16, further comprising the step of formatting retrieved data into a required format for transmission to, and subsequent processing

5 by, one or more receiving computing devices of the patent filing system.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein formatting retrieved data includes the step of preparing a compressed file containing one or more data files comprising at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application.

10

19. The method of any of claims 12 to 18, wherein transmitting at least minimum required data associated with the or each identified patent or patent application to one or more receiving computing devices of a patent filing system for further processing comprises the step of transferring one or more data files including the at least minimum required data to an FTP server of the patent filing system via a telecommunications network.

15

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of automatically retrieving a response file from the FTP server, following transmission of at least minimum required data, extracting and storing data from the response file, and transmitting extracted data from the response file to the remote user via a telecommunications network.