On October 29th to 30th, 2020, the Sixth ID5 Annual Meeting was held online, which consists of Industrial Design Five (ID5), namely, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The Meeting was hosted by the USPTO, and Mr. Taniyama, Director-General of the Patent and Design Examination Department of the JPO, attended the Meeting.

Photo: Participants at the online ID5 Annual Meeting
(Center: Mr. Taniyama, Director-General of the Patent and Design Examination Department of the JPO)

At the Meeting, the world’s largest IP offices, which constitute the cooperative frameworks of the ID5, achieved the following outcomes that might lead to strengthening international cooperation for the protection of designs; harmonizing design systems and practices globally; and improving the user-friendliness:
(1) Continued Initiatives toward International Harmonization of Design Systems
As an achievement of the “Study of Priority Document Exchange by ID5 Offices,” the EUIPO participated in the Digital Access Service (DAS) system of the WIPO in September this year. Thanks to this, exchanging priority documents electronically in the field of designs was achieved at all of the ID5 Offices. This has improved the user-friendliness in terms of submitting priority documents.
Also, at the Meeting, the Offices compiled the study results of the projects, i.e. “Study of Quality Management by ID5 Offices” and “Remedies and Relief for Industrial Design Infringement.”
And, discussion was also held on the “Study on the Admissibility of Internet Information as Legitimate Disclosure for Novelty Examinations,” which is a project co-led by the JPO and the CNIPA to conduct a comparative study on how the ID5 Offices are handling Internet information in their design examinations on novelty. The Offices agreed to start works on preparing “Recommended Practices of ID5 Offices for the Admissibility of Internet Information,” which is planned to be completed next year.
In addition, to improve access by users to information on ID5 activities, including these cooperative projects, the ID5 official website has been reformed.

(2)New Initiatives toward International Harmonization of Design Systems
The ID5 Offices adopted five new cooperative projects as follows, which will contribute to achieving international harmonization of design systems and improving the user-friendliness:
New ID5 Cooperative Projects (Tentative titles)
Exchange on New Technology
Deferment of Publication
Joint Communication Actions *
ID5 5 Year Review
A Study of Term of Protection
* Project that is designed for ID5 Offices to exchange information on communications with users at each Office and conduct actions for them, with the aim of strengthening communications between ID5 Offices and users.

(3) Publication of Outcomes at 2020 ID5 Annual Meeting
The outcomes achieved at this Annual Meeting will be published also on the ID5 website. Please be sure to view our updated website.
ID5 Officail Website (Link to external website)
The JPO, in order to establish a framework in which excellent designs can be more adequately protected and effectively utilized worldwide, will collaborate with other ID5 Offices more closely and continue advancing the cooperative initiatives, in response to the needs of users.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Source:http://www.iprchn.com/