Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

Summary

1 Background and purpose of Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

1.1 Background of Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

The JPO launched an electronic application system on December 1990.

*Application for a patent or utility model on-line or by floppy disk become possible.

* As of 1996, 67 % of applications were filed on-line, 29 % by floppy disk, and 4 % by paper (about 900 electronic application terminals)

The current electronic application system operates by the following process:

(1) JPO makes the specifications for electronic application public.

(2) Vendors develops products according to the specifications.

(3) Users obtain/use the products.

The breakdown by application means shows that 96% are filed by electronic means and 67% on-line, namely, indicating a fair prevalence of electronic application. However, the electronic application terminals that are the currently available products for on-line application are expensive and dedicated to a single purpose because of the system operation process stated above and the intrinsically narrow market.

**Current situation (1990-)**

1.2 Purpose and course of action of Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

In order to solve these problems of the electronic application terminals and to make it possible for applicants to further expand their information systems (using intra-nets and the like), the Electronic Application System Promotion Plan has set up the following course of action:

(1) The JPO is to develop and offer a general-purpose product for verification of application documents and conversion to the application format.

(2) De facto standard techniques and de facto standard products are to be actively utilized.

(3) The electronic application function is to be implemented through a combination of commercially available products.

(4) A system configuration is to be implemented that allows applicants to expand systems, such as in an intra-net.

Figure 1-2 Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

The Electronic Application System Promotion Plan aims at an increase in the ratio of on-line applications.

2 Outline of Electronic Application System Promotion Plan
2.1 Outline of Electronic Application System Promotion Plan

(1) Software

* Necessary: Windows 95

* Necessary: Electronic application common software, namely, PC Application Software, offered by the JPO

* Optional: Commercially available word processor product (for document creation)

* Optional: Extended software for electronic application

* Optional: Other commercially available product

Figure 2-1 Software configuration

(2) Hardware

* Necessary: Personal computer (Windows95 platform)

Recommended performance<>/p

CPU: Pentium processor of 100 MHz or over

Memory: 32 MB or over

HDD: 1 GB or over

* CD-ROM drive: To install the PC application software

* Necessary: Communication equipment (terminal adapter or ISDN board capable of synchronized 64-Kbps communication)

* Optional: Printer (compatible with Windows 95, with a resolution of 200 DPI or over)

* Optional: Image scanner (compatible with 32-bit TWAIN, with a resolution of 200 DIP or over)

[Notes]

* Creation/updating of procedural and other documents are to be carried out with a commercially available word processor product, drawing tools and the like.

* The interface between documents created with a commercially available word processor product and the PC application software is to be HTML.

3 Processing method of Electronic Application System
3.1 Processing method

The envisioned operation procedure and processing method are as follows:

(1) Create an HTML patent document by word processor (and describe its drawings in the HTML).

(2) Create an image data file for the drawings.

(3) Put the created document into the PC application software.

(4) If an error is found during the verification of the document, then; (4)-1 Indicate the error in detail and carry out steps (1) to (3) again.

(5) If no error is found during verification of the document, then automatically create the JPO-specified application format.

(6)-(7) Check the application format in detail and apply on-line for a patent.

Figure 3-1 Processing method of Electronic Application System

3.2 Creation of documents

(1) Creation of HTML documents (with an HTML add-on, commercially available word processor product and the like)

The applicant uses a commercially available word processor or another product to create a patent document in HTML, which is the input format of the PC application software.

To tag the data elements of the application document, the applicant uses the special tag ( [ ] ), according to the Regulations under the Patent Law:

(Example)

[Applicant for patent (in Japanese)]

[Address or residence (in Japanese)] XXXXX

[Name or appellation (in Japanese)] XXXXX

In the layout of the application document, HTML tags are to be used to create an HTML document as shown in Table 3-1.

HTML is riding the crest of the worldwide Internet boom and is starting to be supported on commercially available word processor/editor products.

* MS-WORD (Microsoft Corporation:a word processor product in worldwide use)

* Ichitaro (JUSTSYSTEM: the word processor product most used in Japan)

Judging from these product conditions, creating an HTML document will not require using any operations that differ from those of ordinary word processor use, with the exception of using the file name extender (.htm) when saving the document. The operations do not seem to be that difficult for the applicant.

The PC application software converts the HTML patent document into the JPO-specified application format (called the X format). The HTML specifications for a patent document which can be converted into the application format using the PC application software are shown below.

**Table 3-1 HTML specifications**

(2) Handling of patent drawings

Patent documents may contain drawings.Because HTML allows image data to be inserted (using the IMG tag), it was decided that drawings could be handled by converting them into image data (BMP, GIF) and inserting the image data by HTML(IMG tag).

There are the following ways to create image data:
*Creation of image data by personal computer software
* Conversion to image data by an image scanner

Specifications for image data formats
Of the image data formats, the following two will be supported for the present.

* BMP (Bit MaP)
* GIF (Graphic Interface Format)

Under the JPO specifications for electronic application, image data are binary data for of black and white values which are converted into MMR. The PC application software converts BMP/GIF into the MMR format and stores it in the application format specified by the JPO (X format).

(3) Handling of CWU (Complex Work Unit)

CWU (Complex Work Unit) has been handled as image data in the existing electronic application system. It was decided that it will also be handled as image data in Electronic Application System Promotion Plan.

**Figure 3-2 Schematic diagram of handling of CWU (Complex Work Unit)**

3.3 Verification of documents (a function provided in the PC application software)

A function for verifying the document created by the applicant is provided in the PC application software. The chief details of the verification are as follows:

* Checking the document for descriptive details (a check of the requirements as a patent document, for example, whether the specified document name and identifier are used)
* Checking character codes/control codes (a check of the character codes to see if they are as specified (JIS codes))
* Checking image data (a check of image data, for example, for the specified format, size, and matching to the text)

3.4 Conversion to JPO application format (a function provided in the PC application software)

JPO prescribes a format for on-line application called the X format. In the X format, the basic structure is divided into a header part and a body part. The header part stores bibliographical information, while the patent specification or other documents are stored in the body part. For the format of the body part, T.73 prescribed by ITU-T is used. T.73 is a protocol which prescribes the layout of a document with coexisting text and images, with the image data encoded by the MMR method.

**Figure 3-3 Structure of the X format**

The PC application software provides a function for converting an applicant-created patent document (HTML) into the electronic application format prescribed by JPO (the X format). The image data in BMP/GIF is encoded once again by the MMR method.

For management of the logical structure of the document, there is also logical structure information in the X format, which is used for searches at the JPO.

3.5 On-line transmission (a function provided in the PC application software)

The JPO will provide the applicant with a function in the PC application software for applying on-line to the JPO. ISDN will be used for the communication line, TCP/IP (bundled with Windows) for the communication protocol, and the JPO transaction protocol, which is used by the existing application terminals, for the computer application protocol.

In the Electronic Application System Promotion Plan, the communication protocols to be used will be Pp (JPO transaction processing protocol), TCP/IP and PPP, which will take the following structure.

**Figure 3-4 Structure of communication protocols**

* Adoption of existing Pp (JPO transaction processing protocol)

In drafting the Plan, a hearing/survey was conducted to assimilate the opinions/demands of users. The applicants did not want to use FTP or another commercially available ready-made communication product, but rather wanted to be able to apply by using one computer patent application product in which document check and document conversion are incorporated. In response to this demand of the applicants, it was decided to adopt the existing Pp (JPO transaction processing protocol).

* Private network

The network in the Electronic Application System Promotion Plan is to be a private network with direct connections, namely, not via another networks (for example, Internet).

* Use of ISDN as WAN (wide-area network)

As the communication line to be used in the Electronic Application System Promotion Plan, ISDN is to be adopted, which has been remarkable charge rate reductions and spreading usage owing to the Internet boom.

Use of telephone lines was also put forward as a candidate, but their adoption was withheld since, in comparison to ISDN, there is no large difference in cost and they have slower connection and transfer rates.

* Security

The same treatment is to be performed as in the security checks which the JPO has been practicing so far.

4 Development of PC application software

(1) Componentware

Reuse of software is a problem with a long history that has been discussed for more than 20 years. The concept of object-oriented reuse has recently been put forth, and the objects to be handled at first were source codes.

After reflection on this, the unit of reuse (the component) is to be the object code called a "plug-and-play software component."

Componentware is now being developed around compound documents (which are organically compounded of graphics and text) and the commercial implementation of components is gradually proceeding.

Figure 4-1 Concept of componentware

The parts to be developed in the PC application software will be developed according to this concept of componentware and offered in a reusable form.Therefore, it ill be possible for the applicant to reuse parts of the software and thereby build his own computer application system.

* To be developed in the Visual C++4.0 language.

* The developed software will be offered in a reusable form as .DLL or OCX (OLE control). The user or integrator can create new software in Visual Basic or other languages.

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