JP6359712B2 - Time limit management device, time limit management method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a time limit management apparatus, a time limit management method, and a program capable of centrally managing a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship with respect to a case in which a time limit for a procedure is set among matters relating to intellectual property rights.

In Japan, the person who receives the registration of the establishment of the patent right or the patentee shall, as the patent fee, for each year from the date of registration of the establishment of the patent right until the expiration of the term, You have to pay the amount. The same applies to intellectual property rights other than patent rights, specifically utility model rights, design rights, trademark rights, etc. For each case, a prescribed amount (hereinafter referred to as “pension” including patent fees) must be paid.
Furthermore, in principle, the right holder must pay the pension within a predetermined period stipulated by the Patent Law, etc., that is, within the period from the start to the end (due date) where payment is possible. If the deadline for payment is passed, intellectual property rights cannot be acquired or maintained.

For this reason, management related to pension payments (hereinafter referred to as “pension management”) is performed on behalf of the right holder, such as periodically checking the payment deadline for each project, in order to prevent overtime. Services have emerged in recent years. As one of such pension management services, there has conventionally been a service that notifies a right holder in a unit of a case of a payment deadline at a predetermined timing.
Conventionally, such notification has been performed manually, such as manually sending an E-Mail, but recently, as described in Patent Document 1, it is automatically performed by a computer or the like. It has become to.

JP 2000-227932 A

  However, the conventional pension management services including Patent Document 1 are premised on the management of each project. For this reason, the right holder has requested that pension management services be provided in units of multiple projects that have a predetermined relationship, but this is not enough. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to centrally manage a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship with respect to a case in which a deadline for a procedure is set among cases relating to intellectual property rights. Objective.

In order to achieve the above object, a time limit management device according to an aspect of the present invention is provided.
It is a time limit management device that manages the time limit for a case where the time limit of the procedure is set among the matters related to intellectual property rights,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. A deadline matter identification means to identify as a deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline case specified by the deadline case specifying means;
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying other cases that include the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying means as related cases, from the database,
The past of at least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with bibliographic information of the relevant matter identified by the due matter specifying means and the related matter specifying means. Information indicating the judgment result of the manager of the case information extracting means for extracting and outputting the information from the database;
Is provided.

The time limit management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
Necessity information acquisition means for acquiring necessity information including an instruction on necessity of procedure for at least one of the deadline case and the related case from which the bibliographic information is extracted by the case information extraction means;
Based on the necessity information acquired by the necessity information acquisition means, updating means for updating at least a part of the bibliographic information of the deadline case or the related case in the database;
Can further be provided.

In the time limit management apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The case information extraction unit can output the past necessity information as information indicating a judgment result of the past manager.

In the time limit management apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The database stores the bibliographic information of each item related to a plurality of intellectual property rights with different owners,
The case information extracting means can further extract bibliographic information of a case of a holder different from the deadline case and having a predetermined relationship with the deadline case from the database.

The time limit management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
Of the deadline case and related cases from which the bibliographic information has been extracted by the case information extraction means, a procedure is instructed in the necessity information, but for each case where the procedure is incomplete, based on the deadline information A procedural matter identification means for identifying a procedural matter for which a procedure is possible, or a pending matter for which a procedure is suspended because a procedural time has not yet arrived;
A procedure processing unit that executes a procedure for a case identified as a procedural matter by the procedural matter identification unit, and a procedure processing unit that suspends the procedure processing for a case identified as a suspended case by the procedural matter identification unit; ,
With
The procedure matter identification means re-identifies the matter as a matter that can be handled when the time when the matter identified as a pending matter has arrived in the past, and the procedure processing means executes the processing of the procedure for the matter. ,
be able to.

In the time limit management apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention,
The procedural matter identification means collectively identifies cases that are due for proceeding within a predetermined period as procedural matters,
The procedure processing means collectively executes a procedure for the case specified as a case that can be processed by the procedure case specifying means.
be able to.

In order to achieve the above object, the time limit management method according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A deadline management method executed by a deadline management device that manages a deadline for a case in which a deadline for a procedure is set among matters relating to intellectual property rights,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. Deadline matter identification step to identify as deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying step for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline item specified by the processing of the deadline item specifying step;
A bibliographic information specifying step for identifying other cases including the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying process as bibliographic information from the database,
At least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with the term matter identified by the processing of the term matter specifying step and the bibliographic information of the related matter specified by the processing of the related matter specifying step A matter information extraction step for extracting and outputting information indicating the judgment result of the past manager about the matter from the database;
including.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided.
For a case where the deadline of the procedure is set among the matters related to intellectual property rights, the computer that manages the deadline,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. A deadline matter identification means to identify as a deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline case specified by the deadline case specifying means;
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying other cases that include the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying means as related cases, from the database,
The past of at least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with bibliographic information of the relevant matter identified by the due matter specifying means and the related matter specifying means. Information indicating the judgment result of the manager of the case information extracting means for extracting and outputting the information from the database;
And make it work.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a service for centrally managing a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship with respect to a case for which a deadline for a procedure is set among cases relating to intellectual property rights.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of a process of the pension management payment apparatus as one Embodiment of the term management apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the patent family as an example of the unit of management by the pension management payment apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the hardware of the pension management payment apparatus of FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure for performing annuity management payment process among the functional structures of the annuity management payment apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the structure of the pension database mounted in the pension management payment apparatus of FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing details of a functional configuration of the pension management payment device in FIG. 4 and showing a functional configuration for executing a pension notification process; It is a figure which shows an example of the bibliographic information extracted from the pension database about the example of FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing details of a functional configuration of the pension management payment device of FIG. 4 and showing a functional configuration for executing a response necessity reception process. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing details of a functional configuration of the pension management payment device of FIG. 4 and showing a functional configuration for executing pension payment processing. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the pension management payment process which the pension management payment apparatus of FIG. 3 which has the functional structure of FIG. 4 performs. It is a flowchart explaining the detailed flow of an annuity notification process among the annuity management payment processes of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the detailed flow of a response necessity reception process among the pension management payment processes of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the detailed flow of an annuity payment process among the annuity management payment processes of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of processing of an annuity management payment apparatus according to an embodiment of a time limit management apparatus of the present invention.
The pension management payment device 1 is connected to each of the right holder device 2 and the patent office device 3 via a network (not shown).
Here, although not shown, the operator of the pension management payment device 1 is a pension management service provider, the operator of the right holder device 2 is a right holder of an intellectual property right, etc. The operator is a staff member of the Japan Patent Office.
The recipient of the pension is not limited to the Japan Patent Office, and there are foreign patent offices depending on the case. Therefore, although not shown in the figure, the JPO device operated by the staff of the foreign patent office is also connected to the pension management payment device 1 via the network, and can perform the payment processing described later. It has become. However, for the convenience of explanation, hereinafter, only the processing of the pension payment procedure is performed for the device 3 in the JPO of the Japan Patent Office.

The pension management payment device 1 includes a pension database DB for pension management of a plurality of cases, for example, notification to the right holder device 2 of the due date of pension payment, pension payment procedure for the device 3 in the JPO, etc. ing.
The pension database DB includes, for example, an ID (Identify) that uniquely identifies a case, an application number of the case, a pension payment deadline for the case, and a group (in this embodiment, a patent family) to which the case belongs. Information and the like are stored for each of a plurality of cases. The various information stored for each item stored in the pension database DB will be collectively referred to as “bibliographic information” hereinafter.

The pension management payment device 1 executes the following series of processes based on bibliographic information for each item stored in the pension database DB.
That is, first, the pension management payment device 1 identifies a case where the payment due date of the pension comes within a predetermined period (for example, one year) at a predetermined timing such as a predetermined day at the beginning of the year, for example.
Next, the pension management payment device 1 identifies one or more cases having a predetermined relationship with the due date case, for example, cases belonging to the same group clustered from a predetermined viewpoint as related cases.
Then, the annuity management payment device 1 collectively extracts the bibliographic information of the due date items and one or more related items belonging to the same group, and transmits them to the right holder device 2.

The right holder device 2 receives and stores the bibliographic information of the deadline item and the one or more related items in the same group transmitted from the pension management payment device 1 in this way.
As a result, the right holder or the like operates the right holder device 2 and appropriately refers to the bibliographic information of the deadline case and one or more related cases in the same group, so that not only the deadline case but also the related matters in the same group. Since the project can be grasped collectively, various judgments can be made from the comprehensive viewpoint of the entire group.
The right holder or the like operates the right holder apparatus 2 to instruct the necessity of a response to the JPO, such as the necessity of payment of the pension, such as the necessity of payment of the pension (hereinafter referred to as “necessity information”). ). The right holder device 2 transmits the necessity information to the pension management payment device 1 at a predetermined timing.

When the necessity management information from the right holder device 2 is received, the pension management payment device 1 updates the contents of the pension database DB according to the contents of the necessity information.
Then, the pension management payment device 1 sends a request to the Patent Office device 3 by the due date for payment of a matter in which the pension payment is required in the necessity information (hereinafter referred to as “response required” instruction). Pension payment procedure.

  The JPO device 3 receives the pension payment procedure of the case by the pension management payment device 1 and outputs the payment result to the pension management payment device 1.

  When the pension management payment device 1 receives the payment result of the case from the JPO device 3, the pension management payment device 1 transmits the fact to the right holder device 2 and updates the bibliographic information of the case in the pension database DB.

  In this way, the pension management payment device 1 notifies the right holders of the bibliographic information of the deadline cases and one or more related cases belonging to the same group, and appropriately performs the payment procedure of those pensions according to the instructions of the right holders. By executing this, instead of the conventional management in units of matters, centralized management in units of groups is performed on behalf of right holders.

Here, with reference to FIG. 2, a patent family will be described as an example of a group that is a target of centralized management.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a patent family.

A “patent family” refers to a group consisting of a basic application and one or more separate applications when one or more separate applications based on the basic application are filed based on a predetermined patent application for one invention. .
Here, as another application based on the basic application, for example, a new patent application (hereinafter referred to as “division application”) that is divided from the basic application with the original application as the basic application, There is a patent application claiming priority based on the basic application (hereinafter referred to as “priority claim application” regardless of whether it is the same country as the basic application).
In addition, for example, an international application based on the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is filed, and then a national transition procedure is carried out with respect to the designated country within the prescribed period. The international application corresponds to the basic application, and the domestic application corresponds to another application based on the basic application.

In the example of FIG. 2, an international application based on PCT is adopted as the basic application A0.
Applicants who use PCT are required to submit a domestic application in each of the n countries (n is an integer value of 1 or more) that are desired to be licensed within the specified period after filing one basic application A0, which is an international application. Perform transition procedures. Accordingly, the basic application A0 is handled as n domestic transitional applications A1 to An.
A group to which these basic application A0 and n domestic transitional applications A1 to An belong is centrally managed as a patent family.

Accordingly, the annuity management payment apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 executes the following series of processes, for example, in the case of centralized management of the patent family in the example of FIG.
That is, first, the annuity management payment apparatus 1 searches the annuity database DB to identify a predetermined one among n domestic transitional applications A1 to An as a due date matter.
Next, the pension management payment device 1 searches the pension database DB to identify the basic application A0 of the deadline case, and further, the domestic transfer applications A1 to An (deadline) belonging to the patent family for the basic application A0. (Excluding project items).
Then, the pension management payment device 1 extracts the bibliographic information of the basic application A0 and the n domestic transitional applications A1 to An (including deadline cases) in this patent family in a lump from the pension database DB. 2 to send.
Then, when the necessity information regarding the patent family is transmitted from the right holder device 2, the pension management payment device 1 receives the necessity information and updates the pension database DB. The pension management payment device 1 performs the payment procedure of the pension with respect to the JPO device 3 by the due date for payment for the case where the response is required. Then, the pension management payment device 1 receives the payment result of the case from the device 3 within the JPO, transmits the result to the right holder device 2, and updates the bibliographic information of the case in the pension database DB.
In this way, unified management in units of patent families in FIG. 2 is realized instead of conventional management in units of cases.

  Further details of the configuration and processing of the pension management payment apparatus 1 will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the pension management payment device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The pension management payment device 1 is configured as a computer for a server, for example, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, and an input / output interface. 15, an input unit 16, an output unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20.

  The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 18 to the RAM 13.

  The RAM 13 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to each other via a bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to the bus 14. An input unit 16, an output unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

The input unit 16 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and inputs various types of information according to user instruction operations.
The output unit 17 includes a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs images and sounds.
The storage unit 18 is configured with a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores various types of information such as pension data.
The communication unit 19 controls communication with other devices such as the right holder device 2 and the patent office device 3 via a network including the Internet.

  A removable medium 31 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately attached to the drive 20. The program read from the removable medium 31 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. The removable medium 31 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same manner as the storage unit 18.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for executing the pension management payment process among the functional configurations of the pension management payment device 1 of FIG.
Here, the “pension management payment process” means that after the pension management payment device 1 identifies a due date item at a predetermined timing, the bibliographic information of each item in the same group including the due date item is stored in the right holder device 2. To the JPO device 3 for the cases for which “right to respond” is instructed from the right holder device 2 among the cases in the same group until the processing is executed thereafter A series of processes.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the pension management payment process is executed, the pension notification processing unit 51, the response necessity reception processing unit 52, and the pension payment processing unit 53 function in the CPU 11.
The pension database DB is stored in one area of the storage unit 18. That is, the storage location of the pension database DB is not particularly limited, and any storage device outside the pension management payment apparatus 1 may be used. However, in this embodiment, the pension database payment apparatus 1 is inside.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the structure of the pension database DB.
In the pension database DB in the example of FIG. 5, one predetermined line is associated with one predetermined case. The predetermined line of the pension database DB includes “ID”, “right holder”, “country code”, “four laws”, “application number”, “application date”, Bibliographic information consisting of items such as “registration number”, “registration date”, “counting date”, “yearly”, “payment deadline”, “duration”, “basic application”, “basic ID” is stored. ing.
Note that FIG. 5 shows only some items of the pension database DB, and in the present embodiment, there are also items not shown which will be described later.
Here, each item in the range illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described.
In the item “ID” of a predetermined row, an identifier (ID) for uniquely specifying a case associated with the row is stored.
In the item “right holder”, the name or name of the right holder of the case is stored.
The item “country code” stores a code for specifying the country in which the application of the case is filed. The item “Country Code” stores, for example, “TW” indicating Taiwan, “CN” indicating China, “KR” indicating Korea, “FR” indicating France, “JP” indicating Japan, and the like. .
In the item “four methods”, a code indicating the type of jurisdiction of the application of the case is stored. For example, “P” indicating an application (patent application) based on the Patent Law is stored.
In the “application number” item, the application number of the case is stored.
The application date of the case is stored in the “application date” item.
The item “registration number” stores the registration number of the case.
The item “registration date” stores the registration date of the case.
In the item of “starting date”, the starting date of the payment due date of the case is stored.
The “yearly” item stores the year since the setting registration of the matter.
In the “payment due date” item, the payment due date of the pension of the project is stored.
In the item “lifetime”, the life time of the right of the case is stored.
In the item “basic application”, the application number of the basic application for the application of the case is stored.
The item “basic ID” stores an identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the basic application for the application of the case.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the pension notification processing unit 51 executes a series of processes until the bibliographic items of the due date item and one or more related items are extracted from the pension database DB and transmitted to the right holder device 2. Hereinafter, in the “pension management payment processing”, such processing by the pension notification processing unit 51 is referred to as “pension notification processing”.

  When the necessity information is received from the right holder device 2, the response necessity reception processing unit 52 performs a series of processes until the bibliographic information of each case indicated by the necessity information is updated in the pension database DB. Run. Hereinafter, in the “pension management payment process”, such a process by the response necessity reception processing unit 52 is referred to as a “response necessity reception process”.

  The pension payment processing unit 53 executes a pension payment procedure for the apparatus 3 in the JPO and a series of processes related to the case for which “response required” is instructed in the necessity information. Hereinafter, in the “pension management payment processing”, such processing by the pension payment processing unit 53 is referred to as “pension payment processing”.

  As described above, the pension management payment process can be roughly divided into three processes: a pension notification process, a response necessity reception process, and a pension payment process. Therefore, in the following, details of the functional configuration necessary for executing each of these three processes for the pension management payment device 1 will be described individually.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing details of a functional configuration for executing the pension notification process in the functional configuration of FIG. 4 of the pension management payment device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the pension notification process is executed, as the pension notification processing unit 51 in the CPU 11, the due date case specifying unit 71, the bibliographic information specifying unit 72, the related case specifying unit 73, and the case information The extraction unit 74 and the notification control unit 75 function.

The term matter specifying unit 71 specifies a matter that has a due date for payment within a predetermined period, as the term matter, by “ID” of the pension database DB.
In the following, in order to facilitate understanding of each functional block, in FIG. 5, an example in which a case where “ID” is “B003” on the fifth line from the top is specified as a deadline case (hereinafter, “ The example of FIG. 5 is referred to as appropriate.

The bibliographic information specifying unit 72 specifies related information capable of specifying another case having a predetermined relationship with the deadline case as bibliographic information such as the deadline case from the pension database DB.
For example, in the example of FIG. 5, “basic ID” is adopted as related information that can identify another case having a predetermined relationship that belongs to the same patent family as the deadline case. For this reason, the bibliographic information specifying unit 72 specifies “B006” as the “basic ID” of the term matter.

Based on the related information specified by the bibliographic information specifying unit 72, the related case specifying unit 73 specifies one or more related cases belonging to the same group (patent family in this embodiment) as the deadline case.
In the example of FIG. 5, the related item specifying unit 73 has another item having “basic B006” as “basic ID” as related information, specifically, “B0021”, “B0022”, “B0023” as “ID”. ”,“ B0024 ”,“ B0025 ”,“ B0004 ”, and“ B008 ”are identified as related cases belonging to the patent family.

  The case information extracting unit 74 extracts each bibliographic information of the due date specified by the due date specifying unit 71 and one or more related items specified by the related item specifying unit 73 from the pension database DB.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of bibliographic information extracted from the pension database DB for the example of FIG.

The notification control unit 75 executes control for notifying the right holder and the like by transmitting each extracted bibliographic information to the right holder device 2 via the communication unit 19.
Here, the form of notification to the right holder or the like is not particularly limited, and the table shown in FIG. 7 may be used, or it is processed again into a format (not shown) according to the right holder or the like. There may be. Also, the types of bibliographic information to be notified to the right holder or the like may be all types shown in FIG. 7, or may be some types.

The functional configuration for executing the pension notification process of the pension management payment process has been described above for the pension management payment apparatus 1. Next, regarding the annuity management payment apparatus 1, a functional configuration for executing the response necessity reception process in the annuity management payment process will be described.
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing details of the functional configuration for executing the response necessity reception process in the functional configuration of FIG. 4 of the pension management payment apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when a response necessity reception process is executed, a response necessity reception processing unit 52 in the CPU 11 includes a response necessity reception unit 91, a target case identification unit 92, and a target case information update. The part 93 functions.

  The response necessity receiving unit 91 determines whether the necessity information from the right holder device 2 has been received. Necessity information includes instructions from right holders regarding the necessity of payment of pension for at least one of the deadline cases and one or more related cases notified to right holder device 2 by the above-mentioned pension notification processing, Specifically, for example, an instruction of “response required” such as “pay the case of registration number: ◇◇◇◇ 0” is included.

The target case specifying unit 92 specifies a case for which “response required” is instructed as a target case by using “ID” from the pension database DB.
In the example of FIG. 5, when an instruction to “pay the case of registration number: ◇◇◇◇ 0” is given, the target case specifying unit 92 first sets the “registration number” to “◇◇◇◇ 0. Is identified from the pension database DB (corresponding row of the pension database DB, that is, the fifth row from the top is identified), and stored in the item “ID” of the identified case (corresponding row) Is identified as “B003”.
Then, the target case information update unit 93 indicates information indicating whether or not a response is necessary among the bibliographic information stored in the line (the fifth line from the top in the example of FIG. 5) in which the target case is associated with the pension database DB. Update. In the example of FIG. 5, the information indicating whether or not a response is required is not drawn for convenience of drawing, but as one of the bibliographic information, an item “response required” is actually provided for each row (for each case). In this item, “response required” or “response not required” is stored.

The functional configuration for executing the response necessity reception process in the pension management payment process has been described above for the pension management payment apparatus 1. Next, regarding the annuity management payment apparatus 1, a functional configuration for executing the annuity payment processing out of the annuity management payment processing will be described.
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration for executing the pension payment processing among the functional configurations of the pension management payment device 1 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the pension payment processing is executed, the payment case specifying unit 101, the hold information adding unit 102, and the payment processing unit 103 function as the pension payment processing unit 53 in the CPU 11. .

The payment item specifying unit 101 refers to the pension database DB, and selects a “response required” item (not shown in FIG. 5) from among a plurality of items belonging to the same group (a patent family in this embodiment). Specify the case where “response required” is stored as a candidate for payment.
Next, the payment item specifying unit 101, among the candidates for payment, the item for which payment of the pension payment procedure at that time (hereinafter referred to as “payable time”) has arrived. As “ID”. Then, the payment case specifying unit 101 notifies the payment processing unit 103 of the “ID” of the payment available case.

Here, the pension database DB stores information indicating the payment status of the pension as bibliographic information for each case. Note that the information indicating the payment status of payment is not drawn for convenience of drawing in the example of FIG. 5, but as one of the bibliographic information, an item of “payment status” is actually provided for each line (for each case). In this item, “paid” or “unpaid” is stored.
In this case, even if the “response required” item (not shown in FIG. 5) is stored in the “response required” item (not shown in FIG. 5), the “payment status” item (not shown in FIG. 5) Items for which “paid” is stored are excluded from candidates for payment.

  Further, the payment item specifying unit 101, among the candidates for payment, the item for which the “payable time” has not arrived, that is, the item whose payment is to be suspended because the pension payment procedure is not yet possible (hereinafter, (Referred to as “pending case”) by “ID”. Then, the payment case specifying unit 101 notifies the hold information adding unit 102 of the “ID” of the hold case.

The hold information adding unit 102 specifies the bibliographic information of the hold case from the pension database DB based on the “ID” of the hold case notified from the payment case specifying unit 101 (specifies the line associated with the hold case). Then, information indicating that the pension payment procedure is put on hold until the payment time comes (hereinafter referred to as “holding information”) is generated.
Then, the hold information adding unit 102 adds hold information as bibliographic information of the hold case in the pension database DB. Although the hold information is not drawn for convenience of drawing in the example of FIG. 5, the item of “hold information” is actually provided for each line (for each case) as one of the bibliographic information. For this item, “pending” is stored in this item, and nothing is stored for other items (no data).

  Note that the payment item specifying unit 101 monitors whether or not it is possible to pay the pending case for which the pending information is added in the pension database DB. Then, the payment case specifying unit 101 acquires the “ID” of the pending case for which payment is possible from the pension database DB, and notifies the payment processing unit 103 of the “ID” of the payment case. As a result, what has been a pending case is changed to a payable case, and the pension payment procedure is automatically performed.

  The payment processing unit 103 performs a pension payment procedure for the apparatus 3 in the JPO with respect to a payable item. Thereafter, the payment processing unit 103 receives a payment result (feedback) transmitted from the JPO apparatus 3. And the payment process part 103 updates the content of the payment condition (not shown in FIG. 5) among the bibliographic information of the said payment possible case in pension database DB.

Next, the flow of the pension management payment process executed by the pension management payment apparatus 1 having the above functional configuration will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of pension management payment processing executed by the pension management payment device 1 of FIG. 3 having the functional configuration of FIG.

In step S1, the pension notification processing unit 51 performs pension notification processing. In other words, the pension notification processing unit 51 identifies the deadline cases and one or more related cases belonging to the same group (in this embodiment, patent family), extracts bibliographic information of these cases from the pension database DB, and Transmit to device 2.
The details of the pension notification process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S2, the response necessity reception processing unit 52 executes a response necessity reception process. That is, when the necessity information is transmitted from the right holder device 2 that is the transmission destination of the due date case and one or more related matters, the response necessity reception processing unit 52 receives the necessity information, and receives the pension database. Update DB.
Details of the response necessity reception process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S <b> 3, the pension payment processing unit 53 refers to the pension database DB and determines whether or not there is a case that can be paid.
If there is a case that can be paid, it is determined as YES in step S3, and the process proceeds to step S4.
In step S4, the pension payment processing unit 53 executes a pension payment process. That is, the pension payment processing unit 53 performs a pension payment procedure for a payable item, and holds a payment procedure for other suspended items.
The details of the pension payment process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In this way, when the pension payment process in step S4 is completed, or if it is determined that there is no case at which payment is possible and NO in step S3, the process proceeds to step S5.
In step S5, the pension payment processing unit 53 determines whether or not the next pension notification time has come.
If the next pension notification time has not yet arrived, it is determined as NO in step S5, the process returns to step S3, and the subsequent processes are executed. That is, until the next pension notification time comes, the loop process of steps S3, S4, and S5 is repeatedly executed, and each case designated as “response required” is identified as a payable case. In addition, pension payment procedures are executed sequentially.
Thereafter, when the next pension notification time comes, it is determined as YES in step S5, and the pension management payment process is ended. Then, the next pension management payment process is started again, and the new processes of steps S1 to S5 described above are executed.

Further, the details of the annuity management payment process of FIG. 10 will be described in detail in the order divided into the annuity notification process, the response necessity reception process, and the annuity payment process.
First, the detailed flow of the pension notification process executed by the pension management payment device 1 of FIG. 3 having the functional configuration of FIG. 6 will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the pension notification process of step S1 in the pension management payment process of FIG.

  In step S11, the term matter specifying unit 71 specifies the term matter from the pension database DB.

  In step S12, the bibliographic information specifying unit 72 specifies related information (“basic ID” of the basic application in the present embodiment) as the bibliographic information of the term matter specified in the process of step S11 from the pension database DB.

  In step S13, the related item specifying unit 73 specifies one or more related items belonging to the same group as the term item (patent family in the present embodiment) based on the related information specified in the process of step S12.

  In step S14, the case information extraction unit 74 extracts from the pension database DB bibliographic information of the deadline case specified in the process in step S11 and the related case specified in the process in step S13.

In step S <b> 15, the notification control unit 75 transmits the bibliographic information of the deadline case and related cases extracted in the process of step S <b> 14 to the right holder device 2 via the communication unit 19.
As a result, the pension notification process in step S1 in FIG. 10 ends, and the process proceeds to a response necessity reception process in step S2.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the response necessity reception process of step S2 in the annuity management payment process of FIG.
The response necessity reception process is executed by the annuity management payment apparatus 1 of FIG. 3 having the functional configuration of FIG.

In step S <b> 21, the response necessity receiving unit 91 determines whether the necessity information has been received from the right holder device 2.
If the necessity information has not been received, it is determined as NO in Step S21, and the process returns to Step S21 again. That is, until the necessity information is received, the determination process of step S21 is repeatedly executed, and the response necessity reception process is in a standby state. Thereafter, when the necessity information is received, it is determined as YES in Step S21, and the process proceeds to Step S22.

In step S <b> 22, the target case specifying unit 92 determines whether the “response required” instruction is included in the necessity information.
If the “response required” instruction is included, it is determined as YES in step S22, and the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S <b> 23, the target case specifying unit 92 specifies a case for which “response required” is instructed as a target case by using “ID” from the pension database DB.

In this way, when the necessity information includes the instruction “response required” and it is determined YES in the process of step S22 and the target case is specified in the process of step S23, or the necessity information Does not include the “response required” instruction, and if it is determined NO in the process of step S22, the process proceeds to step S24.
In step S24, the target case information update unit 93 updates the bibliographic information on the necessity of response in the pension database DB. In other words, “response required” is stored as the bibliographic information indicating whether or not a response is required for the case identified as the target case in the process of step S23, and “response not required” is stored for the other cases.
As a result, the response necessity reception process in step S2 of FIG. 10 ends. Thereafter, as described above, if there is a case in the pension database DB for which payment is possible, YES is determined in step S3, and the process proceeds to the pension payment process in step S4.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the annuity payment process of step S4 in the annuity management payment process of FIG.
The annuity payment process is executed by the annuity management payment apparatus 1 of FIG. 3 having the functional configuration of FIG.

In step S31, the payment item specifying unit 101 distributes each item belonging to the same group (family group in this embodiment) to a payable item, a pending item, or a paid item in the pension database DB.
The paid case refers to a case in which the pension payment procedure has been completed by the process of step S35, which will be described later, of the pension payment process up to the previous time.

In step S32, the payment case specifying unit 101 determines whether there is a pending case in the distribution in the process of step S31.
If there is one or more pending cases, YES is determined in step S32, and the process proceeds to step S33.
In step S33, the hold information adding unit 102 adds hold information as the bibliographic information of the hold case in the pension database DB.

In this way, when the hold information is added and the process of step S33 ends, or when it is determined that there is no hold case and NO in step S32, the process proceeds to step S34.
In step S34, the payment processing unit 103 executes batch payment processing. That is, the payment processing unit 103 collects one or more payable items and performs the payment procedure for the pensions on the apparatus 3 within the JPO at once.
By executing such a lump sum payment process, unified pension management of the same group (here, patent family) becomes possible.
Furthermore, as described above, since the loop process of steps S3 to S5 in FIG. 10 is repeatedly executed until the next pension notification time, the batch payment process of step S34 may be executed a plurality of times. At that time, even if the case is a pending case before the previous time, when the time when it can be paid comes, it becomes a case that can be paid in the next round and becomes a target of the batch payment process in step S34. As a result, even if the payment due dates of the projects belonging to the same group (here, the patent family) are different, the payment procedure of the pension is surely performed without omission.

In step S <b> 35, the payment processing unit 103 determines whether or not a payment result has been received from the patent office apparatus 3.
If the payment result has not yet been received, NO is determined in step S35, and the process returns to step S35 again. That is, until the payment result is received, the determination process of step S35 is repeatedly executed, and the pension payment process is in a standby state.
Thereafter, when the payment result is received, it is determined as YES in Step S35, and the process proceeds to Step S36.

In step S36, the payment processing unit 103 updates the contents of the payment status (not shown in FIG. 5) in the bibliographic information of the payable item in the pension database DB.
Thereby, the pension payment processing is completed. That is, the process of step S4 in FIG. 10 ends, and the process proceeds to step S5.

As described above, the pension management payment device 1 is configured to manage the deadline of the case where the deadline of the procedure is set among the cases relating to the intellectual property right, as shown in FIG. 71, a bibliographic information specifying unit 72, a related case specifying unit 73, and a case information extracting unit 74.
The deadline case specifying unit 71 specifies deadline information (for example, “payment deadline” in FIG. 5) that can specify the deadline of the case, and other cases having a predetermined relationship with the case (for example, a relationship belonging to the patent family). A case with a predetermined deadline is specified as a deadline case from the pension database DB in which bibliographic information including possible related information (for example, “basic ID” of the basic application in FIG. 5) is stored for each case.
The bibliographic information specifying unit 72 specifies at least related information from the pension database DB among the bibliographic information of the deadline items.
The related item specifying unit 73 specifies other items including the related information in the bibliographic information as related items from the pension database DB.
The case information extraction unit 74 extracts the bibliographic information of the deadline case and the related case from the pension database DB and outputs it to the right holder device 2.
In this way, a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship, for example, a plurality of cases grouped from a predetermined viewpoint, more specifically, for example, a plurality of cases belonging to a patent family, etc. can be centrally managed. . In other words, the intellectual property right owner or the like can collect a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship and determine whether or not the intellectual property right needs to be maintained or renewed by a single examination. As a result, the right holder or the like can easily consider necessity determination and can reduce the number of examinations.

Furthermore, the pension management payment device 1 further includes a response necessity reception unit 91 and a target case information update unit 93.
The response necessity receiving unit 91 acquires necessity information including an instruction on necessity of the procedure for at least one of the deadline case and the related case from which the bibliographic information is extracted by the case information extraction unit 74.
The target item information update unit 93 updates at least a part of the bibliographic information of the due date item or the related item in the pension database DB based on the necessity information acquired by the response necessity reception unit 91.
Thereby, the pension management payment apparatus 1 can centrally manage the judgment results (instructions on the necessity of the procedure) of the right holder, etc., for a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship. As a result, the pension management payment device 1 can efficiently execute the processing of the procedure such as payment of the pension, for example, in a group clustered from a predetermined viewpoint, specifically, for example, a unit such as a patent family.

Furthermore, the pension management payment device 1 further includes a payment item specifying unit 101 and a payment processing unit 103.
The payment case identification unit 101 sets a deadline for each case where a procedure is indicated in the necessity information among the deadline cases and related cases from which the bibliographic information has been extracted by the case information extraction unit 74, but the procedure is incomplete. Based on the information, identify the procedural matters that are available for processing or those that are suspended because the time for processing has not yet arrived.
The payment processing unit 103 executes a process for a case that is specified as a procedural item by the payment case specifying unit 101, and performs a process for a case that is specified as a pending case by the payment case specifying unit 101. Hold.
Then, when it is time to proceed with a case that has been identified as a pending case in the past, the payment case specifying unit 101 re-specifies the case as a procedural item. The payment processing unit 103 executes a procedure for the case.
In this way, the pension management payment device 1 unifies comprehensive management including not only the management of sending bibliographic items to the rights holder device 2 but also the pension payment procedure for a plurality of cases having a predetermined relationship. can do.
Furthermore, the pension management payment device 1 forgets to pay for multiple cases with a predetermined relationship by managing related cases that are due for payment at a time that is different from the deadline for the deadline, as pending cases. Can be done efficiently and reliably.

Further, the payment item specifying unit 101 collectively specifies items whose procedure is due within a predetermined period as a case that can be processed. The payment processing unit 103 collectively executes a procedure process for a case that is specified as a case that can be processed.
In this way, the pension management payment apparatus 1 can collectively process the cases whose procedure deadlines are close, so that the pension payment procedure can be performed more efficiently and reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The deformation | transformation in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, improvement, etc. are included in this invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, only the bibliographic information of the due date case and one or more related cases is transmitted from the pension management payment device 1 to the rights holder device 2, but various information is also transmitted together with the bibliographic information. Also good.
Specifically, for example, the case information extraction unit 74 (FIG. 6) displays the right holder device in the past necessity information, for example, the previous (one year ago) pension management payment processing together with the bibliographic information of the deadline case and related cases. The necessity information transmitted from 2 may be output to the notification control unit 75. The storage location of the past necessity information is not particularly limited, and may be in the pension database DB or may be a storage device outside the pension management payment apparatus 1.
As a result, the right holders of intellectual property rights, etc. are eligible for the current pension management payment process while referring appropriately to the judgment results they made in the previous pension management payment process, etc. It becomes possible to make appropriate instructions on the necessity of procedures, such as pension payment procedures, for the deadline projects and related projects.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the storage location of the pension database DB is the storage unit 18 (FIG. 3). However, as described above, the storage location is not particularly limited to this, and may be, for example, the removable medium 31 or communication. It may be in an external device that can communicate with the unit 19.

  Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the pension database DB has a structure for storing bibliographic information for each case in a lump, but the structure is not particularly limited thereto. For example, the pension database DB stores only the minimum necessary bibliographic information such as project IDs and registration numbers, and other bibliographic information such as bibliographic information for identifying deadline projects and related projects is acquired from the outside. You may make it have a structure. In this case, as an external acquisition source, for example, a database of a patent office that discloses information on intellectual property rights may be used.

  Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the related cases are identified and extracted as they are based on bibliographic information (such as “basic ID” of the basic application) having a predetermined relationship with the deadline case. It is not limited. For example, the annuity management payment device 1 uses a case specified based on bibliographic information having a predetermined relationship with a deadline case as a candidate case for the related case, and further a past trend (for example, whether or not there is a past necessity of response in each country). Items narrowed down from candidate projects based on the above tendency) may be extracted as related projects.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, related cases held by the same right holder or the like are extracted as the cases having a predetermined relationship with the deadline cases, but the invention is not particularly limited thereto.
For example, the pension database DB may store the bibliographic information of each item related to a plurality of intellectual property rights with different holders (right holders, etc.). Then, the case information extraction unit 74, together with the bibliographic information of the deadline case, the bibliographic information of the case that is a holder (right holder, etc.) different from the deadline case and has a predetermined relationship with the deadline case, You may make it extract and output from annuity database DB.
In this case, since the “predetermined relationship” is not particularly limited, the owner of the due date item (right holder, etc.) can choose any relationship that he / she desires, such as a relationship in which the due date for payment of the pension comes at the same time as the due date item, You can specify various relationships. As a result, the owner of the deadline item (right holder, etc.) appropriately determines whether or not the procedure for the deadline item is necessary, while taking into account the trend of the other person's desired relationship (for example, a competitor). It is possible to make decisions and issue instructions.
Furthermore, the holder (right holder, etc.) of the term matter can use the bibliographic information of the matter having a predetermined relationship with the term matter for other purposes such as license negotiation. In this way, it is possible to contribute to the reliable and early achievement of other purposes.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the related item is identified by another item in the patent family to which the due date item belongs based on the single bibliographic information (the “basic ID” of the basic application). The specific method is not particularly limited to this. In other words, it is sufficient that the related item has some relationship with the due date item and can be specified based on the relationship. Therefore, as a method for identifying related cases, for example, a method of identifying based on any bibliographic information such as “person in charge” or “type of invention” can be adopted, and an arbitrary number of arbitrary types can be adopted. It is also possible to adopt a method of specifying based on the combination of the bibliographic information.
In other words, in the above-described embodiment, the deadline case and the related case are the cases that belong to the patent family. However, the case is not particularly limited to this, for example, a group in which right holders are clustered in an administrative aspect, specifically, For example, the item may belong to a group clustered in a predetermined unit such as an intellectual property group related to a new product or a research and development department.

  Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the management target is a matter related to the pension payment procedure, but is not particularly limited thereto. That is, an arbitrary case can be managed if a deadline for the procedure is set among the cases related to the intellectual property right. Specifically, for example, a case in which the time limit specified in the notice of reasons for refusal or the time limit for requesting the appeal of refusal to be rejected is set as the management target. Furthermore, the term “time limit” here is a broad concept that includes not only those stipulated by law or the like but also those personally determined by the right holder or the like.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software.
In other words, the functional configuration in FIG. 4 and the like is merely an example, and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient if the pension management payment apparatus 1 has a function capable of executing the above-described series of processes as a whole, and what kind of functional block is used to realize this function is particularly illustrated in the example of FIG. It is not limited.
In addition, one functional block may be constituted by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof.
Furthermore, the pension management payment device 1 only needs to be able to execute the above-described series of processes, transfer all or part of its functions to another device, and can use (control) the functions exhibited by the other devices. All you need is an environment. In other words, at least a part of the functions of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 4 and the like may be exhibited outside the pension management payment device 1, for example, any device in the cloud.

When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. The computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

  The recording medium including such a program is not only configured by the removable medium 31 of FIG. 3 distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance. It is comprised with the recording medium etc. which are provided in this. The removable medium 31 is composed of, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. The optical disk is composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The magneto-optical disk is configured by an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. In addition, the recording medium provided to the user in a state of being preliminarily incorporated in the apparatus main body includes, for example, the ROM 12 in FIG. 3 in which the program is recorded, the hard disk included in the storage unit 18 in FIG.

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in time series along the order, but is not necessarily performed in time series, either in parallel or individually. The process to be executed is also included.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pension management payment apparatus, 2 ... Rights holder apparatus, 3 ... Patent office apparatus, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 16 ... Input part, 17 ... Output , 18 ... storage unit, 18 ... communication unit, 20 ... drive, 31 ... removable media, 51 ... pension notification processing part, 52 ... response necessity reception processing part, 53 ... Pension payment processing unit, 71 ... Deadline item specifying unit, 72 ... Bibliographic information specifying unit, 73 ... Related item specifying unit, 74 ... Item information extracting unit, 75 ... Notification control , 91 ... Response necessity reception part, 92 ... Target case specifying part, 93 ... Target case information updating part, 101 ... Payment case specifying part, 102 ... Holding information adding part, 103 ... Payment processing department, DB ... Pension database

Claims (8)

It is a time limit management device that manages the time limit for a case where the time limit of the procedure is set among the matters related to intellectual property rights,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. A deadline matter identification means to identify as a deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline case specified by the deadline case specifying means;
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying other cases that include the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying means as related cases, from the database,
The past of at least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with bibliographic information of the relevant matter identified by the due matter specifying means and the related matter specifying means. Information indicating the judgment result of the manager of the case information extracting means for extracting and outputting the information from the database;
A deadline management device comprising: Necessity information acquisition means for acquiring necessity information including an instruction on necessity of procedure for at least one of the deadline case and the related case from which the bibliographic information is extracted by the case information extraction means;
Based on the necessity information acquired by the necessity information acquisition means, updating means for updating at least a part of the bibliographic information of the deadline case or the related case in the database;
Further comprising
The time limit management apparatus according to claim 1. The matter information extraction means outputs the past necessity information as information indicating the judgment result of the past manager.
The time limit management apparatus according to claim 2. The database stores the bibliographic information of each item related to a plurality of intellectual property rights with different owners,
The case information extraction means further extracts a bibliographic information of a case that is a holder different from the deadline case and has a predetermined relationship with the deadline case from the database, and outputs the bibliographic information.
The term management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Of the deadline case and related cases from which the bibliographic information has been extracted by the case information extraction means, a procedure is instructed in the necessity information, but for each case where the procedure is incomplete, based on the deadline information A procedural matter identification means for identifying a procedural matter for which a procedure is possible, or a pending matter for which a procedure is suspended because a procedural time has not yet arrived;
A procedure processing unit that executes a procedure for a case identified as a procedural matter by the procedural matter identification unit, and a procedure processing unit that suspends the procedure processing for a case identified as a suspended case by the procedural matter identification unit; ,
With
The procedure matter identification means re-identifies the matter as a matter that can be handled when the time when the matter identified as a pending matter has arrived in the past, and the procedure processing means executes the processing of the procedure for the matter. ,
The time limit management apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The procedural matter identification means collectively identifies cases that are due for proceeding within a predetermined period as procedural matters,
The procedure processing means collectively executes a procedure for the case specified as a case that can be processed by the procedure case specifying means.
The time limit management apparatus according to claim 5. A deadline management method executed by a deadline management device that manages a deadline for a case in which a deadline for a procedure is set among matters relating to intellectual property rights,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. Deadline matter identification step to identify as deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying step for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline item specified by the processing of the deadline item specifying step;
A bibliographic information specifying step for identifying other cases including the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying process as bibliographic information from the database,
At least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with the term matter identified by the processing of the term matter specifying step and the bibliographic information of the related matter specified by the processing of the related matter specifying step A matter information extraction step for extracting and outputting information indicating the judgment result of the past manager about the matter from the database;
Deadline management method. For a case where the deadline of the procedure is set among the matters related to intellectual property rights, the computer that manages the deadline,
From the database in which bibliographic information including the deadline information that can specify the deadline of the case and the related information that can identify other cases that have a predetermined relationship with the case is stored for each case. A deadline matter identification means to identify as a deadline matter,
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying at least the related information from the database among the bibliographic information of the deadline case specified by the deadline case specifying means;
Bibliographic information specifying means for specifying other cases that include the related information specified in the bibliographic information specifying means as related cases, from the database,
The past of at least one of the past due matter or the related matter together with bibliographic information of the relevant matter identified by the due matter specifying means and the related matter specifying means. Information indicating the judgment result of the manager of the case information extracting means for extracting and outputting the information from the database;
Program to make it work.

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