Support to the State Office for Industrial Property

Objectives The overall objective of the contract is to assist the State Office of Industrial Property (SOIP) and to provide support for drafting the National strategy on Intellectual Property 2020-2025 and to assist State Office of Industrial Property to provide support for development of a Dedicated e-network for the exchange of data between the institutions in the IPR system in the Republic of North Macedonia and e-filing solution for trademarks, patents, industrial designs and e-services Activities: The activities are organized in two components: Component 1 - Development of National Strategy for Intellectual Property for the next five years Support the drafting of a strategic document in the field of IPRs - "the National Strategy on Intellectual Property Rights and combat Counterfeiting" and the corresponding Action Plan, in order to further strengthen the development of the intellectual property rights system in North Macedonia; Component 2 - Development of e-network for exchange of Intellectual property data among the institutions in North Macedonia and e-filing system for trademarks, patents and industrial designs and e-services Two ICT systems were developed under this component including the respective e-services: 2-1. The e-network for exchange of Intellectual property data among the institutions in North Macedonia is a platform for law enforcement institutions to exchange data on IPR. This platform is operated by SOIP but used by other institutions involved in Intellectual and related property rights protection. The e-network for exchange of Intellectual property data among the institutions in North Macedonia consists of two main subsystems which were developed under the assignment: Exchange module system consisting of: Modules for data exchange and collaboration between institutions; Module for collecting Statistical data from various institutions based on Methodology for collecting statistical data; Communication and collaboration module, and Module for supporting activities for the Coordination Body. e-Learning Management System. The following services were provided by the project: Software development The following tasks were covered: preparing a detailed User Requirement Specification for the proposed and agreed software solution, considering the requirements of all users (three levels of access; ensuring that the system has appropriate security levels and controls of access/change for confidential information) and presenting the features of the system to meetings of users; securing agreement to the performance parameters of the system; ensuring that the system meets the requirements of E-Government; developing the software accordingly; agreeing maintenance terms as necessary. System testing and acceptance Supervise testing of the entire system on a limited scale and then on a full scale. Conduct acceptance testing of all aspects of the system. With the approval of the clients and the Contracting Authority, recommend acceptance or modification as necessary. The following tasks were covered: leading and guiding the beneficiaries in preparing and loading back information and in introducing current and on-going information as required by the system. Ensuring that there is sufficient history for any comparative aspects of the system to function within a reasonable time of launch. Conducting checks on live data to ensure that the system is producing the correct analysis and information, and that all access and security controls are working effectively. Training in system use After testing and acceptance, the team conducted detailed training in each institution that will be actively involved in use of the system. Ensure that all institutions understand their role in the system and that they can participate as intended. Ensure that all agencies have nominated trainers sufficient to maintain the knowledge of each institution in intention and use of the system and train current and future trainers as necessary. Ensure that the beneficiary and its partner organisations receive full documentation of the system in at least English and the official languages of North Macedonia (Macedonian and Albanian). Ensure that each participating institution has dedicated sufficient management and technical resource to ensure the maintenance of the system 2-2. As regards the e-filing system for trademarks, patents and industrial designs and related e-services, a Business Analysis report provided the results of the consultancy work done on the preparation for the e-filing system of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The design of the following systems has been provided including: Upgrade of storage and server system; Upgrade of security services infrastructure of SOIP; Upgrade of backup infrastructure; Upgrade / Repair services of computers, laptops, scanners; Consolidation of infrastructure and existing applications.