The Intellectual Property Department is planning to develop an e-Patent system, allowing individuals and companies to apply for patent protection or access information on intellectual property rights via the Internet.
The director of the department's Patent Office, Seksant Boonsuwan said the e-Patent system would help the department keep documents on patents and petty patents in document image processing and image data entry form, and on digital files, so that it could provide e-services to the public and speed up access to information.
As a first step, the department will develop a prototype that will allow people to apply for patents and petty patents as an e-service from the Office of Commercial Affairs in each province. The information will then be sent directly to the Intellectual Property Department via the Internet. Individuals and companies will not need to waste time travelling to the department in Bangkok to submit to applications and supporting documents. At the same time, the new system will allow individuals or companies to access patent and other intellectual-property information online.
Seksant said that from next year the department would allow people to submit patent applications anywhere and anytime over the Internet and pay associated service fees via banks. People wishing to submit patent or petty patent applications will also be able to register with the department online in order to create business identification.
"We want to adopt and use information technology to enhance our e-services to the public, to increase the productivity of e-government services and to reduce human error. At the same time, the department will be able to keep all this information in a digital database," he said.
Seksant said the new system would also help to reduce the time taken to process patent applications. The department currently has about 20,000 patent applications from individuals and companies that are in the process of approval. Each application takes about three years from submission to final patent approval.
It is expected that the new electronic system will help the department reduce that time from three years to just one year.
"The e-Patent system has an important role, far more than simply providing a paperless office. It will help to develop the economy, because the timely approval of patents and petty patents will enable businesses to generate revenue from their intellectual property and create business efficiency," Seksant said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jirapan Boonnoon
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 30.07.20009
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