Meetings

TM5 Annual Meeting 2021

Virtual Meeting

November 3~5, 2021

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (known as ‘’Partners”) met online on November 3-5, 2021, for the TM5 Annual Meeting hosted by the CNIPA. The meeting was also attended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as an observer.

At the closed session on November 3-4, the Partners discussed 16 ongoing projects and 2 new projects proposed by the CNIPA and the EUIPO. With their goals achieved, 2 projects on Comparative Analysis on Examination Results and Product Names were successfully concluded. New projects concerning Trademark Protection in Opposition and Appeal (Review) Procedure and Trademark Archives Management and Administration were adopted. In addition, the Partners exchanged information on improvement and optimization of the TM5 operation mechanism, in order to further enhance the efficiency of the forum. The Partners also discussed the ‘2021 Joint Statement of the TM5 Partners’ and reached consensus on the texts. The document will be published on the TM5 website after each Partner’s clearance process is completed.

At the user session on November 5, the user representatives from the five countries/regions were informed of each Partner’s progress and the different cooperative projects. The users were invited to share their views with the Partners on the challenges presented by the pandemic and their expectations. The Partners described the measures they had taken to minimise the effects of the pandemic and to meet users’ needs.

The EUIPO will act as Secretariat for the group upon conclusion of the 2021 Annual Meeting and will serve in the role until the end of the 2022 Annual Meeting.

2021 Joint StatementPDF

2021 Annual Meeting Record of DiscussionPDF

TM5 IT Support for Trade Mark Examination Project Experts Meeting

On 26-27 July 2021, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) hosted a virtual IT Expert meeting among the TM5 Partners in the framework of the IT Support for Trade Mark Examination Project.

During this meeting, the Partners exchanged views on technologies used to examine goods and services, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, and teleworking. Among other things, CNIPA presented on its Goods/Services Dictionary Database, the EUIPO on its Harmonised Database and IP Register in Blockchain, KIPO on its AI-aided figurative mark search, JPO on its efficiency tools building on Agile Development, and the USPTO on new Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline workflows and its Automated Specimen Analysis Product (ASAP).

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a regular observer at TM5 meetings, also participated in the meeting and gave a presentation on the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS).

TM5 Mid-term Meeting 2021

(Hosted by CNIPA)

The TM5 Midterm Meeting took place online on 25-26 May 2021, organised by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the host of this year’s meetings.

The TM5 discussions focused on cooperative projects, including new project proposals on opposition and review procedures – proposed jointly by CNIPA and EUIPO – and on archive management practices, proposed by CNIPA. In terms of ongoing projects, Partner offices exchanged on fraudulent solicitations, bad faith, non-traditional marks, trade mark infringement, and user involvement and communication, and Partners shared experiences and tips regarding recent filing trends. Discussions will continue in August during the Working Level Meeting.

The Partner offices also discussed preparations for the 2021 TM5 Annual Meeting, which may take place virtually or in person depending on the global health situation.