JP6220660B2 - Intellectual property rights management system and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to technology for managing intellectual property rights using a computer.

  As one of the management of intellectual property rights, there is procedure management, and the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as techniques relating to procedure management. In Patent Document 1, a client (for example, a company or an individual as a patent applicant or a right holder) and an intermediary (for example, an agent such as a patent office) include a case number, an application number, and the like. A technique for sharing case management information is disclosed (for example, paragraphs 0042 and 0056 to 0059). Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for managing procedures using data taken from an external document file (for example, paragraph 0006).

Japanese Patent No. 3949876 Japanese Patent No. 4370596

  According to Patent Document 1, the application number, application date, and the like included in the case management information are manually input by an agent (administrator) (paragraphs 0056 to 0059). The application number, application date, and the like are information obtained from the JPO before the requester by the agent who represents the case, and generally such information is often input by the agent.

  However, in the case of manual input, mistakes such as erroneous input may occur.

  According to Patent Literature 2, information is taken from external data such as an external document file in order to prevent mistakes caused by manual input.

One example of external data is agency data. Agency data is from the National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training:
It means at least one of publicly available data that can be obtained from INPIT, etc., and organized standardized data purchased by contractors from Japan Patent Information Organization (Japio), etc. Although publicly available data is accurate, it has fewer types of data items than standardized data. On the other hand, the standardized data is originally data that is internal to the JPO, so it has not been completely prepared externally (for example, data fields that have become unnecessary due to amendments to the law have numerical values for other purposes). Even if it is registered, there is no problem if it is recognized within the agency), and there are many types of data items. In addition, agency data includes data as of several weeks ago, and is not necessarily the latest data.

  As a method of importing information from external data such as agency data, (1) automatically update only unentered items using external data such as agency data, or (2) all items of agency data The method of updating with such external data can be considered.

  However, in the method (1), human input errors remain for items that have been manually input, and in the method (2), if there is an error in external data (for example, a specific item in the specification) In some cases, different data is mixed in), and the latest information already input may be overwritten with old information in the external data due to the delay in issuing external data. Such a problem is considered to be even greater in an environment in which different input persons (for example, a requester and an agent) share case management information as in Patent Document 1.

  As described above, just because the information in the external data is reflected in the management information of the intellectual property right, the management information is not always correct. Patent Document 2 does not consider the discrepancy between manual input and external data, but presupposes acquisition of publicly available data, and does not consider taking in standardized data.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to increase the certainty of making intellectual property right management information correct information.

  The intellectual property rights management system inputs external data related to intellectual property rights, and among the items that the entered external data has, input items that are not registered in the intellectual property rights management information The external input value that is the input value in the external data is registered in the management information, and for the items for which the input value has already been registered in the management information, the external input value and the existing input value are collated, and according to the collation result To control the handling of external input values. The input values already registered in the management information are not limited to manually input values, but may be values in data received from software (for example, application software), or may be already agency data. The input value reflected from the external data may be the same, but the intellectual property right management system also applies when updating such input values (values reflected from the software or external data) with the external data. Can be controlled.

The outline | summary of embodiment is shown. 1 shows a configuration of an IP management system. The structure of an IP management table is shown. The flow of processing performed when external data is downloaded is shown. The flow of processing performed when a verification log file is acquired is shown. The flow of the display and update process is shown.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the following description, information may be described using an expression such as “aaa table”, but the information may be expressed using a data structure other than a table or the like. In order to show that it does not depend on the data structure, “aaa table” or the like can be called “aaa information”.

  Further, in the following description, processing may be described using a program as a subject, but the program is executed by a processor (for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit)) so that a predetermined process is appropriately stored as a storage resource. Since the processing is performed using (for example, a memory) and / or a communication interface, the subject of the processing may be a processor. The processor may include a hardware circuit that performs part or all of the processing. The computer program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a storage medium that can be read by a computer.

  FIG. 1 shows an overview of the embodiment.

  The intellectual property right management system (hereinafter referred to as IP management system) 10 is realized by one or a plurality of computers. Typical examples of intellectual property rights to be managed include industrial property rights such as patent rights and utility model rights. Moreover, the intellectual property rights to be managed may include a right before the rights are granted, for example, a right to obtain a patent, a right to receive a utility model registration, a right to receive a design registration, a right generated by an application for trademark registration, and the like.

  The IP management system 10 communicates with a plurality of user computers 11 and 12 via a communication network 15. The user computer is a computer used by the user. The user may be at least one of a right holder and a representative of the right holder. The right holder is a person who has an intellectual property right, and is often a company, but may also be an individual. The agent is, for example, a patent office or a patent attorney, who performs a procedure with the administrative agency on behalf of the right holder or receives a notice from the administrative agency on behalf of the right holder. In this embodiment, a user computer (for example, a computer in a company) used by a right holder is referred to as a right holder computer, and a user computer (for example, a computer in a patent office) used by an agent is referred to as an agent computer. Further, in the present embodiment, the term “right holder” or “agent” may refer to a member of the organization when the right holder or the agent is an organization such as a company or a patent office. The IP management system 10 is, for example, an ASP (Application Service Provider), and communicates with the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12. Although there are a plurality of right holders and agents as users of the IP management system 10, hereinafter, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, attention is paid to one right holder and one agent. As a user, there may be a third party such as a pension management company. Further, in the present specification, the “administrative agency” is an organization that has jurisdiction over intellectual property rights, and is typically a patent office or a jurisdiction corresponding thereto.

  The IP management system 10 has a rights holder database (hereinafter, rights holder DB) 16. The right holder DB 16 stores an IP management table as management information of the intellectual property right of the right holder. The IP management table is a table shared by the right holder and the agent, and has a plurality of items relating to intellectual property rights. The plurality of items are an application number, an application date, and the like. The IP management system 10 provides a right owner's computer 11 with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) 18 for the right holder, and through the GUI 18, the registration information manually entered by the right holder is selected by the right holder. The received information is received, and the received information is registered in the IP management table in the right holder DB 16 for the selected item (S1A). Similarly, the IP management system 10 provides the agent computer 12 with a GUI 19 for the agent, and receives information on the registration target manually input by the agent with respect to the selection items selected by the agent via the GUI 19. The received information is registered for the selected item in the IP management table in the right holder DB 16. Hereinafter, the manually input information registered in the IP management table is referred to as “manually input value”.

  Further, the IP management system 10 takes in (downloads) the external data 13 including at least information related to the intellectual property right of the right holder. The source of the external data 13 may be a portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM or an external server computer. The external data 13 includes a plurality of items and input values (values corresponding to the items, hereinafter referred to as “external input values”) for each item regarding the intellectual property right. The external data 13 is, for example, agency data, and specifically, is at least one of the public data and the organization standardized data described above. When the external data 13 is captured (S2), the IP management system 10 determines how to handle the external input value corresponding to each item in the captured external data 13 (S3). The handling of external input values is determined accordingly. For example, the IP management system 10 registers the external input value in the external data 13 in the IP management table (S4A) for items for which there is no input value (manual input value or external input value) in the IP management table (S4A). For items that already have input values in the table, the result of the determination may be accumulated as a log and notified to at least one of the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12 in a manner such as a caution or warning (S4B and S4C) At least one). For the item corresponding to the latter, the IP management system 10 may overwrite the external input value on the IP management table when the right holder or the agent gives permission.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the IP management system 10.

  The IP management system 10 includes a communication interface device (communication I / F) 204, a storage device, and a processor 201 connected thereto. The storage device includes at least the memory 202 of the memory 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203. The memory 202 stores the IP management program 211, and the IP management program 211 is executed by the processor 201. The IP management program 211 provides the above-described GUIs 18 and 19 to the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12 through the communication I / F 204, and manually input values from the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12 through the GUIs 18 and 19. To receive. In addition, the IP management program 211 downloads the external data 13 from the source of the external data 13 (for example, a server computer) through the communication I / F 204. The auxiliary storage device 203 may be a storage device external to the IP management system 10. The auxiliary storage device 203 stores the right holder DB 16. The right holder DB 16 may exist for each right holder, and stores the IP management table 221, the access log file 222, and the verification log file 223 for the corresponding right holder.

  The IP management table 221 includes information on each of a plurality of items related to the intellectual property right of the right holder.

  The access log file 222 is a file that stores an access log of access (for example, reference or update) to the IP management table 221 for each access to the IP management table 221. The access log includes, for example, the ID of the user who performed the access, the access time, the access type (for example, reference or update), and the access content (for example, which input value of which item was updated to which input value) And may include. The IP management program 211 registers an access log in the access log file 222 every time the IP management table 221 is accessed. The user ID may be an ID assigned to a user (right holder or agent) as an organization, or may be an ID assigned to each person in the organization. In the latter case, an individual in the user (organization) can be specified.

  The collation log file 223 stores a collation log related to the collation result for each item corresponding to the external input value collated with the IP management table 221. The collation log includes, for example, the name of an item corresponding to an externally input value that has been collated with the IP management table 221 (a download item name described later), a value of a notification flag (described later) corresponding to the item, A value of a safety flag (described later) corresponding to the item, a collation time, an external input value, an existing input value 309, and a collation result (match or mismatch) may be included. The IP management program 211 registers a collation log in the collation log file 223 for items corresponding to the external input values collated with the IP management table 221.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the IP management table 221.

  The IP management table 221 has a record for each item related to intellectual property rights, and each record includes an identification code 301, an input person flag 302, a notification flag 303, a linkage flag 304, a safety flag 305, a download item name 306, a right. Information of a person item name 307, a supplement 308, and an input value 309.

  The identification code 301 is an identification code assigned to the item.

  The input person flag 302 indicates the source type of the input value 309. For example, “0” means that the source type of the input value 309 is the right holder, “1” means that the source type of the input value 309 is the agent, and “2” , Which means that the source type of the input value 309 is the external data 13. The IP management program 211 refers to the access log file 222 by using the identification information (for example, the identification code 301 or the download item name 306) of the item whose input person flag 302 is “0” or “1” as a key. The ID of the person who has input the input value 309 may be specified, and the specified ID may be notified to at least one of the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12.

  The notification flag 303 indicates whether or not to issue a notification when there is a difference between the input value 309 and the external input value, and what kind of notification is to be given if a notification is issued. For example, “1” means no notification, “2” means warning, and “3” means attention (notification with a weight lower than that of warning).

  The linkage flag 304 indicates whether or not to link an external input value, and how to link if linked. For example, “0” means no linkage (external input value is not adopted as input value 309), “1” means always overwrite (external input value is always registered as input value 309), and “ 2 ”is a collation if the value is overwritten when blank (if the input value 309 is blank), the external input value is registered as the input value 309. If the input value 309 already exists, the input value 309 and the external input value are registered. "3" means collation (the input value 309 is collated with the external input value even if the input value 309 is blank or the input value 309 is already present).

  The safety flag 305 indicates whether or not the corresponding input value 309 can be updated by the user. For example, “0” means non-updatable and “1” means updatable.

  The download item name 306 is an item name defined in the external data 13. The right holder item name 307 is an item name defined by the right holder. The supplement 308 represents supplementary information such as what kind of processing is performed at the time of collation. For example, the supplement 308 “Year Conversion” converts the year represented by the year into the year when at least one of the external input value and the input value 309 uses the year as the filing date. Means to match.

  The input value 309 is a value corresponding to the corresponding item. If the input value 309 is not Null, it is a manual input value by the right holder or the agent, or an external input value.

  Among the information shown in FIG. 3, the notification flag 303, the linkage flag 304, the safety flag 305, and the right holder item name 307 may be set in advance by the right holder through the right holder computer 11 and obtain permission from the right holder. It may be set through the agent computer 12 by an equivalent agent.

  FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing performed when the external data 13 is downloaded.

  The IP management program 211 performs the process of FIG. 4 for each item of the downloaded external data 13. Hereinafter, one item in the external data 13 is taken as an example, and the item is referred to as “target external item”. The IP management program 211 checks the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the target external item.

  When the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the target external item is “0” (S401: No), the IP management program 211 ends the process for the target external item. That is, the IP management program 211 does not register the external input value corresponding to the target external item as the input value 309 in the IP management table 221.

  When the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the target external item is “1” (S401: Yes, S402: “1”), the IP management program 211 has already been input even if the input value 309 corresponding to the target external item is blank (Null). However, the input value 309 is overwritten with the external input value corresponding to the target external item (S407).

  When the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the target external item is “2” (S401: Yes, S402: “2”), the IP management program 211 determines whether or not the input value 309 corresponding to the target external item is blank. (S403). When the input value 309 is blank (S403: Yes), S407 is performed. When the input value 309 has been input (S403: No), the IP management program 211 collates the input value 309 corresponding to the target external item with the external input value (S404). If there is no difference between the input value 309 and the external input value (S404: No), the process ends. If there is a difference between the input value 309 and the external input value (S404: Yes), the IP management program 211 determines whether or not to output a verification log corresponding to the verification result to the verification log file 223 (S405). If the verification log is not output (S405: No), the process ends. When outputting the verification log (S405: Yes), the IP management program 211 outputs the verification log corresponding to the verification result to the verification log file 223 (S406). Whether or not the collation log is output is determined based on, for example, a flag indicating whether or not to output the collation log when there is a difference between the input value 309 and the external input value. It may be determined, or may be determined based on whether the target external item is a predetermined item. Further, when there is a difference between the input value and the external input value (S404: Yes), the collation log may always be output (S405 may be omitted).

  When the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the target external item is “3” (S401: Yes, S402: “3”), the IP management program 211 performs S404 and subsequent steps without performing S403.

  The process of FIG. 4 is performed for each item of the external data 13. In addition, there may be a plurality of external input values (cases) for one item (for example, application number). In such a case, for each item, the external input values shown in FIG. Processing is performed. Each time the processing of FIG. 4 is completed for one external input value, the processing for that external input value is completed. Further, according to the processing of FIG. 4, the input value 309 of the item corresponding to the linkage flag 304 “0” is not always updated. In other words, in this embodiment, items whose input values are not updated can be explicitly set in advance. For example, if it is already known that there is a possibility that there is an error in the external input value of a specific item of agency data, there is a possibility that there is an error by setting the linkage flag 304 corresponding to the specific item to “0”. It is possible to avoid updating the registered input value with a certain external input value. Further, for example, by setting the linkage flag 304 corresponding to an item that is not important to the user to “0”, it is possible to avoid that the registered input value is updated with the external input value corresponding to the item. .

  FIG. 5 shows the flow of processing performed when the verification log file 223 is acquired.

  The verification log file 223 has a verification log for each item that becomes S405: Yes in FIG. The IP management program 211 acquires the verification log file 223 and performs the process of FIG. 5 for each item in the verification log file 223. Hereinafter, one item in the verification log file 223 is taken as an example, and the item is referred to as a “target item”.

  The IP management program 211 checks the notification flag 303 corresponding to the target item (S501). When the notification flag 303 is “3”, the IP management program 211 prepares a caution message as a display target (S502), and proceeds to S504. When the notification flag 303 is “2”, the IP management program 211 prepares a warning message as a display target (S503), and proceeds to S504. When the notification flag 303 is “1”, the IP management program 211 proceeds to S504 without performing any of S502 and S503.

  The IP management program 211 determines whether or not the user (right holder or agent) can update the input value 309 corresponding to the target item (S504). Specifically, the IP management program 211 determines whether the safety flag 305 corresponding to the target item is “1” or “0”. When the safety flag 305 is “1” (S504: Yes), the IP management program 211 prepares a check column (update check column) from which the user can select update as a display target (S505), and the safety flag 305 is “0”. "(S505: No), the IP management program 211 ends the process.

  With the processing of FIG. 5, there is no message or update check column as a display target for the target item, or there is either a caution message or a warning message and no update check column. There may be an update check field without any message. With the processing in FIG. 5, display data including a display target for each item is prepared for the verification log file 223.

  FIG. 6 shows the flow of display and update processing.

  The IP management program 211 provides (displays) a log reference / update screen based on the display data prepared by the processing of FIG. 5 to the user computer (at least one of the right holder computer 11 and the agent computer 12) (S601). The log reference / update screen has an item name for each item. Moreover, the screen has at least one of an update check column and a caution message or a warning message depending on the item. The screen may further include a screen component such as a button to be pressed when the user (at least one of the right holder and the agent) finishes the check operation. The user can select whether or not to enter a check in the update check column while confirming the item name, the presence or absence of a message, and whether the message is a caution message or a warning message. Whether the message is a caution message or a warning message indicates the importance of the item, it is easy for the user to decide whether or not to enter a check.

  The IP management program 211 confirms the end of the user's check work when a predetermined operation such as operating the screen component is performed (S602). Since a plurality of items can be checked on one screen, the user can operate efficiently. Thereafter, S603 and subsequent steps are performed for each item. That is, when a check is entered in the update check column (S603: Yes), the IP management program 211 registers the external input value corresponding to the item corresponding to the update check column as the input value 309 (S604). On the other hand, when no check is entered in the update check column (S603: No), the IP management program 211 does not register the external input value corresponding to the item corresponding to the update check column as the input value 309. As described above, since the safety flag 305 is prepared for the item, when the external input value is different from the input value 309, the external input value is not always registered, or is overwritten with the external input value only when the user permits. The user can confirm whether to do. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the input value 309 from being overwritten with the external input value unintentionally.

  According to the above embodiment, the external input value in the external data 13 is registered as the input value 309 for the item whose input value 309 is blank (Null), but for the item for which the input value 309 already exists, The existing input value 309 is compared with the external input value, and it is left to the user to determine whether or not to overwrite the input value 309 with the external input value. Thereby, the certainty of making the IP management table 221 correct information can be improved.

  Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

  For example, when the external input value is registered as the input value 309 because one of the right holder and the agent has entered a check in the update check column, the IP management program 211 updates the other of the right holder and the agent. You may notify that there was. In addition, in the IP management table 221, for each item, a notification destination user (for example, a user's e-mail address) when there is an update is registered, and an item whose input value 309 has been updated is updated. The notification destination user may be notified by the IP management program 211.

  Further, the user may be only at least one of the right holder and the agent. In that case, the IP management table 221 may be shared by a plurality of persons in the right holder or a plurality of persons in the agent.

  Further, when the safety flag 305 is “0”, neither the caution message nor the warning message may be raised. For example, for an item whose safety flag 305 is “0”, collation between the external input value and the input value 309 may be always skipped, or output to the collation log may be skipped even if collation is performed.

  Further, the types of notification are not limited to cautions and warnings, but may be two or more types instead of or in addition to at least one of them.

  In addition, the log reference / update screen may have an input field for receiving the next and subsequent processing from the user for each item. The IP management program 211 registers the processing (for example, no message is required even if there is a difference with the external input value) entered in the right holder DB 16 for the item, and the item is registered from the next time onward. Process. Alternatively, the IP management program 211 may update the corresponding flag in the IP management table 221 according to the process input in the input field (for example, the safety flag 305 may be updated from “0” to “1”). ). The processing after the next time may be performed for each item (for example, application) instead of or in addition to each item, or may be applied to the same item in other items.

  When the external input value and the input value 309 are dates, if the external input value is a date after the input value 309, the external input value is overwritten regardless of the value of the link flag 304 of the corresponding item. May be. Alternatively, if the external input value is a date before the input value 309, overwriting with the external input value may always be avoided regardless of the value of the link flag 304 of the corresponding item. Further, there may be a difference of addition of items that can be added with input values later in the same item, such as IPC (International Patent Classification) (that is, external input values are all registered input values 309). However, if the difference is added, the external input value may always be overwritten on the registered input value 309 even if there is a difference.

  In addition, the external input value and the characters in the input value 309 may be collated by unifying them in full-width or half-width. Also, the identification code 301 and the identification code for each item in the external data 13 may be collated. Each time the IP management table 221 is updated, an update log is output to the update log file (or table 221). If the update log is an update time, automatic update (correction) or manual update, or an updater if the update is manual May include a trail such as who (for example, the name or user ID of the updater), whether it was confirmed by a human and updated with external data in the case of manual update.

10 ... IP management system

Claims (7)

An external data input unit for inputting external data related to intellectual property rights;
Among the plurality of items included in the input external data, for the items for which the input value is not registered in the intellectual property right management information, the external input value that is the input value in the external data is registered in the management information. For items whose input values have already been registered in the management information, an external input value and an existing input value in the management information are collated, and a collation log for a mismatched item for which the collation result is mismatched An external update control unit that displays on a user computer that is a computer used by the user, accepts whether or not to allow update from the user, and overwrites an existing input value with an external input value corresponding to the mismatched item ; Having intellectual property rights management system. Each item is associated with a first flag indicating whether or not the update by the user is possible when the result of matching does not match,
The external update control unit does not accept whether or not to allow an update from the user for the mismatched item associated with the first flag, which means that the update by the user is not possible. Do not overwrite existing input values with corresponding external input values,
The intellectual property right management system according to claim 1 . For each item, there is associated a second flag indicating the type of message for the user when the result of matching does not match,
The external update control unit displays a message of a type corresponding to the second flag corresponding to the mismatched item as a display of the verification log for the mismatched item.
The intellectual property right management system according to claim 1 or 2 . When the external input value corresponding to the mismatched item and the existing input value are dates, the external update control unit updates from the user if the date of the external input value is later than the date of the existing input value. Overwrite the existing input value over the existing input value without accepting whether to allow,
The intellectual property right management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The intellectual property right management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the external update control unit outputs a verification log for a mismatched item in which the verification result is mismatched. Enter external data related to intellectual property rights using a computer,
For an item whose input value is not registered in the management information of the intellectual property right among a plurality of items of the input external data by the computer, the external input value that is the input value in the external data is set as the management information. For items for which input values have already been registered in the management information, the external input value is compared with the existing input value in the management information, and the result of the verification is a mismatch Displaying a verification log on a user computer that is a computer used by a user, accepting whether or not updating is permitted from the user, and overwriting an existing input value with an external input value corresponding to the mismatched item ,
Intellectual property rights management method. Enter external data on intellectual property rights,
Among the plurality of items included in the input external data, for the items for which the input value is not registered in the intellectual property right management information, the external input value that is the input value in the external data is registered in the management information. For items whose input values have already been registered in the management information, an external input value and an existing input value in the management information are collated, and a collation log for a mismatched item for which the collation result is mismatched , Displayed on a user computer that is a computer used by the user, accepting whether or not updating is permitted from the user, and overwriting the existing input value with the external input value corresponding to the mismatch item ,
A computer program that causes a computer to execute the operation.

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