JP7620193B2 - Intellectual property management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an intellectual property management device that manages inventions and designs.

In general, when developing a product or conducting research and development, the technical department and the intellectual property department work together to liaise with the developer on the invention or design (referred to as invention, etc.) proposed by the developer and to brush up on the invention, etc. Conventionally, in order to carry out product development, etc. efficiently, a device is known that creates a database on a management server accessible from multiple clients and shares information (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this type of device, each department works together through their respective clients in accordance with the progress of development, and the schedule from development to sales and patent applications is managed in chronological order. It has also been proposed to display questions about intellectual property in a chat room and to carry out liaison with inventions, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Patent No. 5327365 Patent No. 6185209

In product development, for example, an invention and a design may be embodied in the same object, such as an invention relating to the groove shape of a tire and a design relating to the appearance of the tire's tread pattern. In such cases, the inventor and the designer are often different people, and there is a demand for a device that can efficiently manage these inventions and designs.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an intellectual property management device that can efficiently manage inventions and designs related to the same subject matter.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the intellectual property management device according to the present invention is for managing at least inventions and designs, and includes at least one client having a display unit for displaying various images, and a management server connected to the client via a communication line. The management server includes a content description recording unit for recording content description information about inventions and designs relating to the same object, a search recording unit for recording the results of a search for prior art and prior designs corresponding to the invention and design, respectively, a judgment recording unit for recording the judgment results of the patentability of the invention and the registrability of the design based on the invention and design and the prior art and prior design, an evaluation recording unit for recording evaluations divided into cases where the invention is patentable but the design is not registrable, where the invention is patentable but the design is both patentable and registrable, where the invention is not patentable but the design is registrable, and where the invention is patentable but the design is both registrable, and where the invention is patentable and the design is neither registrable, and a control unit for processing a database recorded in at least one of the content description recording unit, search recording unit, judgment recording unit, and evaluation recording unit, and generating an image to be displayed on the display unit of the client.

The intellectual property management device according to the present invention allows various information about inventions and designs relating to the same subject matter to be easily shared between clients, enabling effective management of these inventions and designs.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of an intellectual property management device. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the management server and the client of the intellectual property management apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information recording unit of the management server shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between each department having clients and a schedule. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a business theme having the schedule and business consultation shown in FIG. 4 displayed on a screen. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a database in which the names and email addresses of each person in charge are stored. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure that is executed. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure that is executed. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a received email. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure that is executed. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a received email. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure that is executed. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description does not limit the present invention. Furthermore, the components in the following description include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalent. In the following, an example of a configuration with multiple clients and one management server as an intellectual property management device will be described, but the present invention may also be applied to a configuration in which one of the multiple clients has the functions of a management server. Furthermore, it is sufficient to have a client and a management server, and other components can be added or removed as necessary.

The configuration of the intellectual property management device 10 will be described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Here, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of an example of an intellectual property management device, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of the management server and client of the intellectual property management device shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the information recording unit of the management server shown in Figure 2.

The intellectual property management device 10 is a device that manages information related to research, development and applications for products related to inventions and designs, which are intellectual property. Here, inventions refer to inventions as defined by the Patent Act, but may also include devices as defined by the Utility Model Act. Furthermore, designs refer to designs as defined by the Design Act. The inventions and designs managed by the intellectual property management device 10 may be embodied, for example, in the appearance of the same object, and may be in a relationship in which one of the inventions and designs is implemented while the other is implemented at the same time. Specifically, the managed inventions and designs belong to the tire technology field, and examples include inventions and designs related to tire tread patterns or side patterns. Of course, the managed inventions and designs are not limited to this, and may belong to a technical field other than tires, or each may be embodied in a different object.

As shown in FIG. 1, the intellectual property management device 10 has multiple clients 12, a management server 14, a mail server 15, a WAN (Wide Area Network) 16, a patent design search system 18, a competitor product research system 19, a firewall 20, the Internet 22, an external client 24, and a legal database 26.

The client 12 is an information terminal that enables the user of the intellectual property management device 10 to input, search, or view information, and is configured as a personal computer (PC), mobile phone, smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. The detailed configuration of the client 12 will be explained in detail later.

The management server 14 is an information terminal that manages information related to inventions and designs input through the client 12. Information managed by the management server 14 includes, for example, technical content information indicating the contents of the inventions and designs, information indicating the results of judgments regarding the patentability of inventions and the registrability (also called registrability) of designs, and information regarding the application schedules for inventions and designs. In addition, the management server 14 processes each piece of information based on control instructions (requests) sent from the client 12, and sends the processing results to the client 12. The configuration of the management server 14 will be explained in detail later.

The mail server 15 is an information terminal that transmits and receives e-mail between each client 12 and between the client 12 and the external client 24. The mail server 15 transmits e-mail to the target client 12 or external client 24 based on a control instruction (request) sent from the client 12. In addition, under the control of the management server 14, when the mail server 15 receives e-mail that matches preset conditions (e.g., contains a predetermined keyword), it has the function of automatically sending (replying to) the target client 12 or external client 24 an e-mail containing a preset text. The configuration of the mail server 15 will be described in detail later.

The clients 12, management server 14, and mail server 15 are each located in a closed space, such as on the same premises or in the same building. Each client 12, management server 14, and mail server 15 are connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network). If the client 12 is, for example, a mobile phone or a smartphone, it is preferable that the client 12 is wirelessly connected to the LAN.

WAN 16 is a wide area communication network that connects LANs located at geographically distant locations using telephone lines or dedicated lines. WAN 16 is a closed communication network that exchanges data between specific information terminals.

The patent design search system 18 is a search system connected to the WAN 16. The patent design search system 18 stores technical literature related to inventions and designs, searches the stored technical literature based on instructions input from the client 12 or the management server 14, and sends the search results to the client 12 or the management server 14. Specifically, the client 12 or the management server 14 inputs the publication date (publication date), keywords, technical field, developer (inventor, person who created the design), presenter, etc. as search conditions, and the patent design search system 18 detects technical literature that matches the search conditions from the stored technical literature and sends information on the detected technical literature to the client 12 or the management server 14. These technical literature includes, for example, patent documents, design publications, papers, etc. The information on the technical literature to be sent to the client 12 or the management server 14 may be the data of the technical literature, or may be information that can identify the technical literature, such as the number of the technical literature, or may send only a summary of the technical literature or a part of the drawings, etc.

The competitor product research system 19 is connected to the WAN 16, and based on instructions input from the client 12 or management server 14, it researches products published by others (individuals and corporations), including competitors. Specifically, it uses keywords, product names, etc. input from the client 12 or management server 14 as research (search) conditions to research, such as published news releases, new products, catalogs, etc., and sends the results of this research to the client 12 or management server 14.

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned patent design search system 18 and other companies' product research system 19 are configured to search for technical documents and other companies' products based on instructions input by a user such as predetermined keywords, but may also be configured to have a search function equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and to search for technical documents and other companies' products related to technologies being researched and developed by the company using a learning model previously trained by the artificial intelligence.

The firewall 20 is placed between the WAN 16 and the Internet 22, and is a system that prevents intrusion into the WAN 16 network from the outside (information terminals placed in the WAN 16) via the Internet 22.

The Internet 22 is a communications network that connects information terminals on a computer network. The Internet 22 is connected to external clients 24 and a legal database 26, and is connected via a firewall 20 to clients 12 in the WAN 16, the management server 14, the mail server 15, the patent and design search system 18, and the other company's product research system 19. The Internet 22 exchanges data between the connected information terminals.

The external clients 24 are information terminals connected to the Internet 22, and perform authentication such as password entry, and exchange information with the management server 14 and clients 12 connected to the WAN 16 via the firewall 20. The external clients 24 also send and receive e-mails with the mail server 15 connected to the WAN 16 via the firewall 20. These external clients 24 are installed, for example, in related companies (other companies) with which the company has business partnerships or joint research, universities, research institutes (joint researchers), research companies, patent offices, etc.

The law database 26 is an information providing device connected to the Internet 22, and provides information on desired laws based on instructions input from the management server 14 and client 12 connected to the WAN 16 via the firewall 20. This law database 26 includes at least the current laws (old laws and each revised law) of intellectual property rights (patent law and design law) of Japan. It is also preferable to include the current laws (old laws and each revised law) of intellectual property rights (patent law and design law) of foreign countries, and, for example, the current treaties (old treaties and revised treaties) of intellectual property rights treaties (Paris Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, etc.). With this configuration, even if laws are revised, inventions and designs can be properly managed in accordance with the current laws, allowing appropriate business consultation and improving user convenience.

Next, the configurations of the client 12, management server 14, and mail server 15 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 2, the client 12 has a client main body 30, an operation unit 32, and a display unit 34.

The client main body 30 is a device equipped with various processing functions, and has a control unit 40, a memory unit 42, an input detection unit 44, an image generation unit 46, and a communication unit 48. The control unit 40 is a processing device such as a CPU, and exchanges information between the memory unit 42, the input detection unit 44, the image generation unit 46, and the communication unit 48, and controls the operation of each unit.

The storage unit 42 is a hard disk, a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores data and various programs run by the control unit 40. The control unit 40 reads the data and programs stored in the storage unit 42 to process various data and execute programs to start software.

The input detection unit 44 detects operations input to the operation unit 32 and sends the detected input operations to the control unit 40. The image generation unit 46 generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 34 based on data sent from the control unit 40, and sends the generated image data to the display unit 34. The communication unit 48 connects to other clients 12, the management server 14, the mail server 15, and the Internet 22 via the LAN and/or WAN 16, and transmits and receives data.

The operation unit 32 is an input mechanism through which the operator inputs operations, and includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel overlaid on the display unit 34. The operation unit 32 detects the operator's keyboard presses and/or mouse movements and presses (clicks), operations on the touch panel (for example, taps, slides, swipes, etc.), or character input to the touch panel, and sends the detected operations to the input detection unit 44. The operation unit 32 also includes, for example, a microphone, and can also send operations indicated by voice input through this microphone to the input detection unit 44. Inputting instructions regarding operations by voice allows, for example, a visually impaired person to easily perform each operation.

The display unit 34 is a display mechanism that displays various images based on the image signal generated by the image generation unit 46. Note that various display mechanisms such as a liquid crystal display and an organic electroluminescence display can be used as the display unit 34.

2, the management server 14 has a control unit 50, a storage unit 52, a communication unit 54, and an information recording unit 56. The control unit 50 is a processing device such as a CPU, and exchanges information between the storage unit 52, the communication unit 54, and the information recording unit 56 to control the operation of each unit. For example, the control unit 50 has a function of processing a database recorded in the information recording unit 56 to generate each image, and this image (screen, schedule display screen, management screen) is sent to the target client 12 and displayed on the display unit 34 of the client 12. The storage unit 52 is a hard disk, ROM, or RAM, and stores data and various programs driven by the control unit 50. The control unit 50 reads the data and programs stored in the storage unit 52 to process various data, execute programs, and start software. The communication unit 54 connects to the client 12 and the Internet 22 via the LAN and/or WAN 16, and transmits and receives data.

The information recording unit 56 is a large-capacity recording device having a hard disk or the like, and records various information related to the inventions and designs to be managed. If the operation of the information recording unit 56 is controlled by the control unit 50 of the management server 14, it does not need to be provided integrally with the management server 14, and part or all of the information recording unit 56 may be configured separately from the management server 14. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the information recording unit 56 has a content description recording unit 60, a research recording unit 61, a judgment recording unit 62, an evaluation recording unit 63, an application recording unit 64, a schedule recording unit 65, a consultation recording unit 66, a contract recording unit 67, a product information recording unit 68, a business theme recording unit 69, and an experiment data recording unit 70.

The content description recording unit 60 records information on the technical content of the invention and design (content description information). Specifically, the information on the technical content includes the technical content description of the invention and various drawings of the design, and if there is a test product of the invention or design, it includes images (still images or videos) of the test product. In addition, the content description recording unit 60 records information on the technical content of the design when filing an application for design registration, which is classified as the overall design, partial design, set, or related design. In this case, it is preferable to associate the overall design with the partial design, the main design with the related design, and the related designs with each other by the internal serial number and/or application number. It is preferable to record such information classified as the overall design, partial design, set, or related design not only in the content description recording unit 60 but also in the application etc. recording unit 64.

The search record section 61 records the results of a search for prior art and prior designs related to inventions and designs. It is preferable that the search results are, for example, those requested and received from a search company. In addition, a member of the intellectual property department may use the patent and design search system 18, the Japan Patent Office digital library, or search software to search for prior art and prior designs and record the search results. In addition to human search, a search for prior art and prior designs may be conducted using artificial intelligence and the search results may be recorded.

The judgment recording unit 62 records the judgment results of the patentability of the target invention and the registrability of the design based on the investigated prior art and prior designs. Specifically, the judgment recording unit 62 records the patentability of the invention and the registrability of the design. These judgments of the patentability of the invention and the registrability of the design may be made by one or more members of the intellectual property department in consultation with a patent attorney, or may be made by multiple members of the intellectual property department in consultation with each other.

The evaluation recording unit 63 records an evaluation based on a combination of the judgment results of the patentability of the invention and the registrability of the design. Specifically, this evaluation is divided into four cases: (A) the invention is patentable but the design is not registrable, (B) the invention is both patentable and the design is registrable, (C) the invention is not patentable but the design is registrable, and (D) neither the invention is patentable nor the design is registrable, and these evaluations are recorded in the evaluation recording unit 63. Here, an invention is patentable but the design is not registrable when, for example, the internal structure of an article is patentable but there is a publicly known design that is identical or similar to the appearance of the article. In addition, an invention is not patentable but the design is registrable when, for example, the technical idea of the invention is publicly known, but the appearance of the article is not publicly known and registrable, or when there is a publicly known product that is identical or similar to the entire article, but there are some parts that are not similar, and registrability as a partial design is recognized.

Based on the above evaluation, the application etc. recording unit 64 records whether the invention and design have been decided to be applied for as a patent, a design registration, know-how, or not adopted. Specifically, if the invention is evaluated as having both patentability and the design as having registrability, a decision can be made to apply for a patent and a design registration. Even if the invention is evaluated as having both patentability and registrability, a decision can be made to protect the technology as know-how without applying for a patent etc. If either one of the invention and the design is evaluated as having patentability or registrability, a decision can be made to apply for a patent or a design registration for the one evaluated as having patentability or registrability. Also, if the invention is evaluated as having neither patentability nor registrability, a decision can be made to protect the invention as know-how or not adopted. In this embodiment, the application etc. recording unit 64 is provided with a patent application recording unit 64A, a design registration application recording unit 64B, a know-how recording unit 64C, and a non-adoption recording unit 64D, which record information corresponding to the decision contents separately. When filing a design registration application, information classified as the overall design, partial design, set, or related design is recorded in the application record section 64 (design registration application record section 64B). In this case, it is preferable to link the overall design and partial design, the main design and related designs, and each related design to the other by the internal serial number and/or application number.

Furthermore, in the application etc. record section 64 (design registration application record section 64B), it is preferable that, as necessary, information on the presence or absence of a secret design request in Japan, and information on the publication postponement procedure (e.g., the planned publication date) in foreign countries (e.g., the European Community (EPC: European Patent Convention contracting states) are input and recorded. The operator of the client 12 may manually input the information on the presence or absence of a secret design request and the information on the publication postponement procedure of a foreign design application. In addition, after receiving, for example, an e-mail (procedure completion report e-mail) sent from a patent office, the control section 50 may input information on the presence or absence of a secret design request and information on the publication postponement procedure of a foreign design application obtained by searching this e-mail into the application etc. record section 64. In this case, it is preferable to record the internal reference number and/or application number in association with the presence or absence of a secret design request and the planned publication date. According to this configuration, it is easy to manage designs when a design registration application is filed, so that the timing of publication of the applied design can be adjusted and the applied design can be prevented from being published before the actual product is released or announced.

The schedule recording section 65 records the research and development schedule for inventions and designs, and the application schedule for filing patent applications and/or design registration applications. The research and development schedule includes the design schedule, the prototype schedule, the commercialization decision meeting schedule, and the mass production test schedule. In addition, the schedule recording section 65 records, for example, an application schedule for filing a design registration application within a specified period from the patent application date after the patent application, or an application schedule for filing a patent application and a design registration application on the same day, when filing a patent application and a design registration application for the same object (product). Normally, a patent application is published one year and six months after the application, but a design registration application may be published earlier than a patent unless a secret design is claimed. In this case, it is preferable to file a patent application before a design registration application, since there is a problem that the novelty of the invention related to the patent is lost when the design is published. However, if the date of public knowledge such as the announcement date or the sales date is approaching, both may be filed on the same day. In this configuration, an application schedule is stored for filing a design registration application on the same day as the patent application or after the patent application within a specified period from the patent application date, so that it is possible to prevent a design registration application from being registered and the registration gazette from being published significantly earlier than the patent application is published, and to minimize the discrepancy between the publication of a patent application and the publication of a design registration application. Note that if a design registration application is registered earlier than expected, it is preferable to use a secret design, for example.

In addition, the schedule recording unit 65 preferably further records the announcement time (scheduled announcement date) and sales time (scheduled start date of sales) of products using the invention and design. In addition, if it is desired to file a patent application and/or design registration application earlier than planned, it is advisable to set (adjust) the filing date or product announcement time so that the publication date of the gazette (patent publication or design registration gazette) is after the announcement or sales time of the product that is the subject of the application, i.e., so that the product is not disclosed in advance by the publication of the gazette. In addition, if the publication of the design is to be postponed, it is advisable to record in the schedule recording unit 65 the schedules for the secret design request in Japan and the publication postponement procedure in foreign countries (e.g., the European Community).

The consultation record section 66 records the contents of consultations between the inventor, the designer, the intellectual property department staff, or the related parties input through the client 12. The consultation contents are mainly related to intellectual property, such as consultations on the application of inventions and designs, but also include not only intellectual property but also consultations on changes in development schedules, re-investigations due to specification changes, inquiries on sales quantities, inquiries on export countries, etc. The related parties refer to employees belonging to related departments that cooperate with each other in product development and applications for inventions and designs. The related parties may include a research company that investigates prior art (prior designs) and a patent office that is entrusted with application work. The consultation contents may be input manually using the operation section 32 (e.g., a keyboard or a touch panel) of the client 12, or internal email information may be automatically input from a mobile information terminal as the client 12. The consultation contents may be input and stored as voice information, or may be converted from voice to text information and input and stored. The consultation contents are recorded, for example, as text data. In this case, a known text mining device (not shown) may be used to create example answers to frequently used words in the consultation content using standard documents, lists, charts, etc. For example, if there are many inquiries about costs, domestic and international application costs, search costs, registration costs, pension costs, etc. may be compiled into a list and made available for reply or viewing by the inquirer. The same applies when the answer to the consultation content has been decided; for example, if the inquiry is about a foreign design system, a response document may be created and automatically sent when the consultation is entered.

The contract recorder 67 stores contracts related to inventions and designs. These contracts are for implementing a series of procedures and tasks when developing inventions and designs, and include, for example, non-disclosure agreements, joint research agreements, joint application agreements, license agreements, know-how agreements, contract agreements, and consignment agreements. The contract recorder 67 records the name of the contracting party (company, university, etc.), and is preferably configured to be able to refer to past data so that it can be displayed whether the contract is a new contract or a renewal contract. Here, if a joint application contract is concluded, the applicant listed in the application for patent application or design registration application can be checked from the text data, so that erroneous filing of a single application can be prevented. In addition, when dealing with inventions and designs arising from contract agreements or consignment agreements, if the inventor or designer is a member of the contracting company, it is preferably configured to be able to compare the contract data with the application data so that the bibliographic information of the application can be checked. In addition, if there are any check items requiring caution in non-disclosure agreements or joint research agreements, you can set them up in advance and input the data. For example, in the case of handling intellectual property, you can investigate whether there is any match between the specification data of the invention related to the subject of the contract and the trade secret disclosure information or the contents of the joint research. This makes it possible to avoid breaches of contract.

The product information recording unit 68 records product information of the company and other companies related to inventions and designs. Product information of the company and other companies may be input by scanning catalogs, etc., or information publicly available on the Internet. It is also possible to use artificial intelligence to search and classify product information and compare this product information. In this case, it is desirable to input comparative information between the company's products and one or more products of other companies.

The business theme recording unit 69 records the business themes that have been set (decided). A business theme is a business unit set by the operator, and is set for each product, field, etc., regarding the inventions and designs being developed. In addition, various information (items) can be entered into the business theme as information to be added to each business theme. For example, information regarding the person in charge of the business theme, serial number, product name, and product contents. All business themes may be entered into the business theme recording unit 69, or only important themes may be entered.

The experimental data recording unit 70 records experimental data related to inventions and designs. The experimental data is data from each experiment conducted during the development of the invention and design. The experimental data is not limited to inventions, and may be, for example, experimental data related to the visibility of designs, and may include the opinions of panelists. In this case, it is preferable to score the visibility of each candidate design for the design and compare these.

The control unit 50 processes the databases recorded in the content description recording unit 60, the investigation recording unit 61, the judgment recording unit 62, the evaluation recording unit 63, the application recording unit 64, the schedule recording unit 65, the consultation recording unit 66, the contract recording unit 67, the product information recording unit 68, the business theme recording unit 69, and the experiment data recording unit 70 of the information recording unit 56, and generates each image to be displayed on the display unit 34 of the client 12. In particular, the control unit 50 processes the databases recorded in the schedule recording unit 65 to generate a schedule display screen, and displays this schedule display screen image on the display unit 34. It is preferable that this schedule display screen displays at least the in-house reference number and/or application number, the filing date, and the publication date of the invention and design for each business theme. In this embodiment, each client 12 can easily grasp the progress of product development, patent applications, and design registration applications related to inventions and designs, and can effectively manage these inventions and designs.

The mail server 15 includes a control unit 80, a storage unit 82, a communication unit 84, and a mail analysis unit 86. The control unit 80 is a processing device such as a CPU, and exchanges information between the storage unit 82, the communication unit 84, and the mail analysis unit 86 to control the operation of each unit. For example, the control unit 50 has the mail analysis unit 86 analyze the received mail to search for whether the title or body of the received mail contains a specified keyword. The received mail also contains data entered using LINE (registered trademark), an existing communication application. The keyword to be searched for is entered by a member of the intellectual property department or the like via the client 12. When the target keyword is found, the control unit 80 automatically sends a specified email to a pre-set destination. Specifically, when the control unit 80 searches for, for example, "Application Completion Report," "Serial Number," "Patent Application Number," and "Patent Application Date" in the title or text, it determines whether this email has been sent to the person in charge of design registration of the design application related to this patent application, and if not, forwards this email to the person in charge of design.

In addition, when the control unit 80 searches for, for example, "application completion report," "serial number," "patent application number," and "patent application date" in the title or text, it adds, for example, "serial number," "application request date," and "desired application date" to a design application request email in a predetermined format that has been prepared in advance, and sends the email to a predetermined patent office. In this case, it is preferable that the contents of the design registration application (application form and drawings) have been prepared in advance, and the timing of the design registration application is instructed to the patent office.

The storage unit 82 is a hard disk, a ROM, or a RAM, and stores data and various programs driven by the control unit 80. The control unit 80 reads out the data and programs stored in the storage unit 82 to process various data and execute programs to start software. The storage unit 82 also stores email address information for the inventor, creator, and each person in charge of patents and designs of the same object. The storage unit 82 may also store email address information for the patent office (patent attorney in charge) that is delegated to represent each application. The storage unit 82 also stores sent and received emails. The storage unit 82 also stores design application request emails created in a specified format. The communication unit 84 connects to the client 12 and the Internet 22 via the LAN and/or WAN 16 to send and receive data and emails. The email analysis unit 86 analyzes the received email based on the instructions of the control unit 80 and searches for specified keywords in the title and text of the received email. In this case, the email analysis unit 86 searches for patent applications and design registration applications by their internal serial numbers, for example, and records the patent application date or design registration application date listed in the email from the patent office. For example, since the serial number is often displayed in the title (heading) of an email, it is possible to perform a number search using existing (commercially available) text data mining software, determine whether date data is included, investigate the patent application date or design application date, and send (forward) the email to each person in charge based on that. The patent application date or design registration application date can also be recorded in the management server 14.

The control unit 50 and memory unit 52 of the management server 14 store and run software for managing inventions and designs. The invention and design management software is described below. The invention and design management software has a business theme management function, a business document management function, a schedule management function, a business consultation management function, an email management function, etc.

By starting the invention design management software, the control unit 50 manages data entered by the operator from the client 12, data acquired from the mail server 15, data acquired from the patent design search system 18, data acquired from the other company's product research system 19, and data acquired from external sources, and performs schedule management (application schedule, research and development schedule), business document management, business consultation management, and email management for each business theme.

The business theme management function of the control unit 50 manages information (data) for each business theme, and notifies the person in charge of the business theme (client 12) of various information based on the settings. The business material management function is a function that records information on associated materials for each business theme in the research recording unit 61 and business theme recording unit 69 of the information recording unit 56, and manages the relationship between the business theme and the business materials. Examples of business materials include documents that describe the developed product, drawings, patent documents, design documents, papers, etc. related to the developed product.

The schedule management function is a function for managing schedules for product development and schedules for procedures for intellectual property rights. For example, the date and time when a product development plan was submitted (registered), the planned date and time when a prototype was developed, the date and time when the prototype was actually created, the planned date and time of release, etc., in other words, the planned date and time of work for each process and the date and time when each process was actually completed, are stored and managed in the schedule recording section 65 of the information recording section 56. In addition, for example, the date of meetings with patent attorneys for patent applications and design registration applications, the date of receipt of the application manuscript, the patent application date, the date when the patent application was published, the design registration application date, and the planned date of issuance of the registration gazette are stored and managed in the schedule recording section 65.

The consultation management function is a function that manages comments registered by operators. For example, when a question comment is input, the control unit 50 notifies other related operators that a comment has been input. When the operator who has been notified of the comment inputs a comment in response to the notified comment, the control unit 50 sends the answering comment to the operator who input the question comment. The comment is input from the client 12. The consultation management function of the control unit 50 stores and manages the input comment (business consultation) in the consultation record section 66 of the information record section 56.

The email management function is a function that manages emails sent by an operator. For example, the control unit 50 causes the mail server 15 to search whether or not a specific keyword is included in the title or body of a received email. Then, when the target keyword is found, the control unit 50 causes the mail server 15 to send a specific email to a pre-specified destination.

The business consultation management software also has a search function that searches the information managed by these various functions based on search criteria entered by the operator.

Next, the operation of the control unit 50 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between each department having a client and a schedule, and Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a business theme having the schedule and business consultation shown in Fig. 4 displayed on a screen. In the example shown below, a client 12 is installed in each of the product planning department, intellectual property department, technology department, technology headquarters, and factory, and each department can input operation instructions and display the screen of the patent design management software. In addition, an external client 24 is installed in each of the research company and patent office, and operation instructions from the intellectual property department are sent to the external client 24. It is also assumed that each department is performing operations for one business theme. In addition, in the example of the screen display shown in Fig. 5, business consultations and schedules are displayed in chronological order.

First, to develop a product that will become a business theme, as shown in Figure 4, the Product Planning Department prepares a plan (Product Proposal A), the Technology Department designs and improves the product, and tests are carried out in the factory. In parallel with this, the Intellectual Property Department commissions a research company to investigate prior art and prior designs, and the Technology Headquarters reviews the application based on the results of the investigation into prior art, etc., and based on the results, the Intellectual Property Department requests the filing of the application from a patent office.

In this way, a schedule is set for the processes carried out in each department at the start of development, and development is carried out according to that schedule. The control unit 50 manages this input schedule and makes it possible to display the plans for each process in chronological order, as shown in Figure 5. Specifically, if the deadline for the review results is June 1, 2XX1, the display screen will show "Technology Headquarters Review 2XX1.6.1", as shown in Figure 4. Note that once information on the completion of each process is input, the completion date and time for each process may be displayed. Also, both the planned date and time and the completion date and time may be displayed.

In addition, when a comment (business consultation) is input from each department in relation to a process, the business consultation and the process are associated and displayed. Specifically, when the product planning department inputs comment A to notify other departments at the planning stage, the control unit 50 displays comment A in the relevant part of the business theme. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the technology department inputs comment B in relation to the product design proposal, the intellectual property department inputs comment C in relation to the prior art design search report, the technology headquarters inputs comment D in relation to the adoption of the application based on the product design proposal and the prior art design search report, and the factory inputs comment E in relation to the prototype, and the control unit 50 displays that a comment has been input for each process. In the example shown in FIG. 5, an instruction to display comment C has been input by the intellectual property department client 12, so the details of comment C are displayed as "There is prior art from another company. Avoid it by paying attention to patent No. 000000." In addition, as this comment C, for example, it is possible to display comments regarding the patentability and registrability of designs of inventions related to the same product, i.e., comments regarding the suitability of patentability and design registrability, such as "both patentable and registrable," "patentable but not registrable," "not patentable but registrable," or "neither patentable nor registrable."

In this embodiment, the schedule has been mainly described as being related to development, but in parallel with this development, it may also be possible to input a schedule for obtaining intellectual property rights, such as the date for requesting a prior art design search based on the product design proposal, the planned date for a meeting for patent and design registration applications, and the planned filing date for patent and design registration applications. In addition, when a patent and design registration application has been filed, it is preferable to also display as a schedule the planned publication date of the patent application, the deadline for filing a priority application based on the patent application and/or design registration application, etc.

As described above, the intellectual property management device 10 allows the input of information related to intellectual property rights and business consultations (comments) from the client 12 of the intellectual property department, etc., in addition to the development status of each department, and thus makes it possible to share information about intellectual property rights during product development. Here, information about intellectual property rights means information necessary for business consultation, information about intellectual property rights that are subject to judgment as to whether they will hinder business (e.g., development), and intellectual property rights information generated from development work, etc. In other words, it is information about intellectual property rights of others that may be an obstacle to development, and information about intellectual property rights invented (or devised, created, selected, or produced) by oneself. Therefore, information about intellectual property rights does not include things that are merely displayed, such as registered trademarks included in product names to indicate objects, copyrighted photographs published in product catalogs, and copyrighted newspaper articles that are quoted. In addition, information about intellectual property rights is not limited to information about patents and designs, but also includes information about trademarks, copyrighted works, trade secrets, and other information related to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. This allows products to be developed while clearly understanding the intellectual property rights that are obstacles to product development and the status of those intellectual property rights.

In addition, the Intellectual Property Department (the department that handles intellectual property) can carry out work related to the product's intellectual property rights (patents, design rights, etc.), applications, and patent circumvention work, while keeping track of the progress of product development and the product's shape, capabilities, etc. In addition, because they can keep track of the announcement date and time of the developed product and design changes to the developed product, they can more easily plan schedules for intellectual property rights acquisition work, such as application plans. This allows work related to intellectual property rights and product development to be carried out more smoothly.

In addition, since each client 12 can view the information, information can be shared without having to hold a meeting or conference. This improves work efficiency and allows business to proceed smoothly. Also, a single intellectual property management device 10 can simultaneously manage both development processes and intellectual property rights processes. This allows management of development processes and intellectual property rights processes to be carried out at the same time. Also, since users only need to input information into a single device, the effort required for input can be reduced.

Also, by allowing access to external clients 24, information can be shared with external companies, universities, research institutes, research companies, and patent offices, making it possible to efficiently conduct joint research and development. In addition, the exchange of various contracts, research reports, patents, and design documents can also be carried out smoothly.

As shown in Figure 5, by displaying the schedule in chronological order, it is easier to understand the progress of the development process and intellectual property work process, and when and at what time each person in charge should work. It is also possible to check whether there are any inconsistencies in the order of the development process and intellectual property work process. Note that, although the example shown in Figure 5 shows the work themes in chronological order, the present invention is not limited to this, and data can be displayed in various screen configurations as needed.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, an image is shown that shows only the correspondence between the schedule and the comments, but the method of displaying the processes registered as a schedule is not limited to this. Here, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the horizontal axis may be the time axis, the time scale may be displayed in months, and the duration of each process may be displayed with an arrow aligned with the time axis. Here, in FIG. 6, a schedule display screen (image) may be displayed that separates development-related processes from intellectual property-related processes.

The schedule display screen shows, for example, the time required for each process of "Product A design proposal", "Product A review prototype", "Product A test", "Product A prototype", "Product A mass production", and "Product A sales preparation" as a product development schedule. In addition, the time required for each process of "Product A prior art search", "Product A prior design search", "Patent application preparation", "Design registration application preparation", "Patent application", and "Design registration application" as a schedule for patent applications and design registration applications are shown. Note that, for example, in the above-mentioned processes, the process of "Product A sales preparation" indicates that the sale of Product A will start at the end of this preparation process. In addition, "Patent application preparation" and "Design registration application preparation" each include the time period for the internal review of the application adoption, the review of the application contents, meetings with patent attorneys, etc., and the preparation of application documents. In the example of FIG. 6, the patent application and design registration application are scheduled so that the sale of Product A will be completed days before the start date, and the design registration application will be filed within a specified period after the patent application date.

In this way, by recording and managing the development process and the intellectual property right process in one database, the relationship between the product and the intellectual property right can be understood more clearly. In addition, by displaying each process along a timeline, schedule management can be made easier. For example, when the "Product A sales preparation" process is completed, sales of Product A begin, so in principle, it is easy to manage the schedule so that patent applications and design registration applications for Product A are completed by the time the "Product A sales preparation" process is completed. Also, when multiple people (business divisions) are working in parallel (for example, "patent applications" and "design registration applications"), each person in charge can recognize this, making it easier to exchange information and manage cross-departmental meetings.

In addition, in this embodiment, the patent application schedule and design registration application schedule for Product A, which are the same object, are displayed side by side, making it possible to grasp and manage, for example, the publication dates of the patent application and design registration application for Product A. For example, if a design registration application for Product A is registered and a registration bulletin is issued before the publication of a patent application for Product A, there is a risk that part of the contents of the patent application (portions in common with the design registration application) will be made public. In this case, by filing a secret design request for a specified period of time for a design registration application for which a registration decision has been made, it is possible to prevent the contents of the design registration application from being made public before the patent application is published.

The arrows showing each process change colour depending on the person performing the process, whether an update has been made, and whether processing has been completed. In this way, by switching the colour of the arrows, the operator can easily identify changes, the process in which they are involved, and the progress of the process.

In addition, it is preferable that the intellectual property management device 10, when the operator designates one of the various arrows shown in FIG. 6, displays a business consultation related to the process indicated by the arrow. In this case, the business consultation may be displayed in a speech bubble or by switching the screen. By displaying the business consultation in this way, it is possible to easily grasp the relationship between each process and the business consultation.

In addition, while FIG. 6 shows an example of displaying a schedule leading up to filing an application, this is not limiting. The intellectual property management device 10 may also display the progress up until the intellectual property right is granted or until the expiration of the term of validity, or may display the progress up until the product goes on sale or until sales end.

Here, it is preferable that the intellectual property management device 10 notifies the relevant departments and personnel when, for example, the contents of the business theme, schedule, business materials, etc. are updated or newly registered. In this way, by notifying that various information such as the business theme, schedule, business consultation, etc. has been updated or newly registered, the relevant departments and personnel can respond more quickly. Specifically, the personnel can know that the product schedule has changed, that the design has been changed, or that the target literature has changed, and can respond quickly. For example, if the shipment, sale, or announcement of a product is accelerated, it can respond to carry out intellectual property acquisition work more quickly.

In addition, it is preferable that the intellectual property management device 10 notifies the relevant departments and personnel when a change in the design of a product is input or when the design of the product is updated. In this way, by making a notification when a design change is detected, even if the operator forgets to input a business consultation or if there is a missed communication, the relevant parties can quickly learn of the design change, and can more quickly respond to the change in the production plan or the intellectual property acquisition business plan, for example, an increase in patent applications, etc., in accordance with the change. Specifically, by notifying the personnel, the personnel can notice the design change, compare the product with the design change and the prior art, and quickly determine whether the product with the design change infringes the patent right of another person. This makes it possible to prevent delays in response. In addition, by notifying the design change, the intellectual property rights personnel can consider filing a patent application or design registration application for the technology related to the design change. As a result, even if the developer forgets to file an application, the intellectual property rights personnel can carry out work related to the application work and business consultation, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to file an application.

When a business consultation is input for a specific department (person in charge), the intellectual property management device 10 preferably notifies the client 12 of the department corresponding to the business consultation that the business consultation has been input. The notification method may be to display the notification on the screen, or to output a voice from the client 12. An example of a business consultation will be described below with reference to Figures 7 to 9. Here, Figures 7 to 9 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the display unit. The screens in Figures 7 to 9 do not display information related to the schedule, but only display items related to the business consultation.

Figure 7 is an example of the product planning department inputting a business consultation to the intellectual property department. In the example shown in Figure 7, the product planning department first inputs the business consultation, "I would like to request a search for prior designs for product proposal A. If there is prior art, I would like to discuss it with you." and attaches technical documents (drawings and text) for product proposal A to the business consultation. This technical document is stored in the content description recording unit 60 in association with the business theme, registration date and time, business consultation, etc. Also, at the beginning of the consultation, the answer content shown in Figure 7 is left blank.

In this way, when a business consultation is input by the product planning department, the control unit 50 notifies the intellectual property department (client 12 used by the department) that a consultation has been input. The intellectual property department recognizes that a consultation has been input through the notification, reviews the content of the consultation, and inputs the results of the review as a response. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the intellectual property department inputs, for example, "We will request a design search from a research company. The expected delivery date is 2xx1.3.1." When a business consultation (in this case, a response to a request) is input by the intellectual property department in this way, the control unit 50 notifies the product planning department that a business consultation has been input. This allows the product planning department to know the response to the request.

Next, Figure 8 shows an example of the intellectual property department of Company A inputting a business consultation to research company B. First, the intellectual property department inputs the business consultation, "Please conduct a prior search of domestic designs," and attaches technical documents (design-related drawings and documents) to the business consultation. In this state, the response content shown in Figure 8 is left blank.

In this way, when the intellectual property department inputs the business consultation, the control unit 50 notifies research company B (the external client 24 used by it) that the consultation has been input. Research company B recognizes that a consultation has been input through the notification, reviews the content of the consultation, and inputs the results of the review as a response. In the example shown in Figure 8, research company B inputs, "We did not find any similar designs from other companies. Reference materials are attached." When the research company inputs the business consultation (in this case, a response to a request) in this way, the control unit 50 notifies the intellectual property department that a business consultation has been input. This allows the intellectual property department to know the response to the request.

Next, Figure 9 shows an example of the product planning department inputting a business consultation regarding application costs to the intellectual property department. First, the product planning department inputs the business consultation, "We would like to apply for product A in China, America, and Europe. How much will it cost?" and attaches technical documents (drawings and text) for product A to the business consultation. This technical document is stored in the content description recording unit 60 in association with the business theme, registration date and time, business consultation, etc. Also, at the beginning of the consultation, the answer content shown in Figure 9 is left blank.

In this way, when the product planning department inputs the business consultation, the control unit 50 notifies the intellectual property department (the client 12 used by the intellectual property department) that the consultation has been input. The intellectual property department recognizes that the consultation has been input through the notification, reviews the content of the consultation, and inputs the results of the review as a response. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the intellectual property department inputs, for example, "I will send you an estimate for the cost of filing an overseas application," and attaches the estimate to the business consultation. For example, the cost of filing an overseas application, search costs, registration costs, pension costs, etc. may be compiled in a list, and made available for reply or viewing by the person making the inquiry. When the intellectual property department inputs the business consultation (in this case, a response to a request) in this way, the control unit 50 notifies the product planning department that the business consultation has been input. This allows the product planning department to know the response to the request.

In this way, by using the intellectual property management device 10, business can be advanced without having to meet in person to discuss matters. Furthermore, by providing notifications, the relevant person can know that a business consultation has been entered without having to constantly check the contents. Furthermore, by allowing business documents to be attached, the trouble of having to search for documents separately can be eliminated. Furthermore, by having the control unit 50 manage the business consultation, people other than the relevant person can also be aware of the information exchange, can systematically learn information related to the business theme, and can share necessary information.

In the above embodiment, the business consultation (comment) related to intellectual property rights is an example of a comment on the relationship between prior documents and the developed product (in the above example, the results of a search for prior designs, etc.), but the business consultation related to intellectual property rights can also include information such as whether to file a joint application, the need for an application (for example, whether to file a patent application or to make it know-how), the type of application (to file a patent application and/or a design registration application), whether the application is patentable and whether it is registrable, documents that are expected to be obstacles, the presence or absence of information provision, the necessity or absence of early publication and priority examination procedures, whether or not a secret design application has been filed, and the timing of such applications, license information, invention evaluation information, comments from the person in charge, and information on applications by other companies that have rejected the application. For example, if the inventor (creator) is a foreigner and was born in a foreign country, it is also possible to input business consultation such as in which country the application should be filed.

Information on patent documents and other documents provided by the company (itself) that provided information on the relevant prior art can also be input. The information on these documents may be automatically extracted and attached by the control unit. For procedures that will be made public after a certain period of time, such as patent applications, design registration applications, early publications, secret design requests, and procedures for postponing publication in foreign countries (e.g., the European Community), it is preferable to input and manage these as schedules along with the business consultation. Timing information may also be extracted from the business consultation input and managed as a schedule by the control unit 50. This makes it possible to adjust the application schedules for both patent and design applications for the same product, for example, and to appropriately and easily manage the schedule. The application status and information on various documents may also be input as the content of the business theme. Business consultations related to intellectual property rights are not limited to patents, utility models, and designs, but may also include business consultations on the Unfair Competition Prevention Act related to trademarks, service marks, copyrighted works, and product forms.

Here, the configuration of the screen displayed on the display unit 34 is not particularly limited, and may be displayed in various configurations. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. For example, when displaying business themes as items, the planned schedule and the end schedule may be compared for each business theme, the progress of the business theme may be calculated, and the business theme and the progress may be displayed as shown in FIG. 10. In this case, if the end date and time are inputted more than a certain period before the planned schedule, "progress is fast" is displayed, if the end date and time are inputted within a certain period (for example, within one week) of the planned schedule, "progress is normal" is displayed, and if the end date and time are inputted more than a certain period after the planned schedule, or if the end date and time are not inputted even after the planned schedule has passed, "progress is slow" is displayed.

In this way, by displaying the progress status for each business theme, the progress status of each business theme can be grasped. The displayed color may be changed according to the progress status. In other words, business themes with fast progress may be displayed in blue, business themes with normal progress in yellow, and business themes with slow progress in red. By color coding in this way, the operator can clearly grasp the state of each business theme. In addition to or instead of color coding, business themes with fast progress may be displayed with ◎, business themes with normal progress in ○, and business themes with slow progress in △ in parallel with the display of the business theme according to the progress status of the business theme. In this way, by displaying symbols, it is possible to make it visually easy to understand. Furthermore, without being limited to symbols, characters such as "fast", "normal", and "slow" may be displayed, or patterns, figures, etc. may be displayed. Furthermore, photographs, pictures, and videos may be used. For example, when the progress is fast, an image of a car that travels at a high speed, such as a racing car, is displayed; when the progress is normal, an image of a normal passenger car is displayed; when the progress is slow, an image of a bicycle or a pedestrian is displayed; when the work is stopped or frozen, an image of a wrecked car, an image of an animal or a person sleeping may be displayed. Also, as an image, a moving image, for example, a moving image of a moving car may be displayed. In this way, by changing the display according to the progress, it is possible to visually grasp the progress. Furthermore, the progress may be output by voice or sound. By outputting the progress by voice or sound, the progress can be properly communicated even when a visually impaired person operates. It is preferable that the schedule management function of the control unit 50 sends a notification or a warning message to the client 12 of the person in charge (department in charge) when scheduled information is not registered at the registered scheduled date and time, or when the scheduled date and time approaches a certain period of time. The notification may be displayed on the operation screen of the operator of the client 12, or may be sent by email to a preset destination.

Next, the email management function of the intellectual property management device 10 will be described. This email management function is a function for managing emails sent by an operator. The management server 14, for example, causes the mail server 15 to search whether or not a specific keyword is included in the title or text of a received email. Then, when the target keyword is searched, the management server 14 causes the mail server 15 to execute processing according to the search results. FIG. 11 is an example of a database that stores the name and email address of each person in charge. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure that is executed. In the example of FIG. 12, a process is executed to forward a received email to a specific destination. The database of FIG. 11 is stored in the memory unit 82 of the mail server 15.

First, when the mail server 15 receives an email (step S11), the mail analysis unit 86 of the mail server 15, under the control of the management server 14 (control unit 50), determines whether or not a patent reference number is included in the title or body of the received email (step S12). This patent reference number is used to identify patent applications used within the company, and is composed of, for example, a string of letters and numbers.

If the email analysis unit 86 determines that the patent application date is not written in the received email (step S12; No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the patent application date is written in the received email (step S12; Yes), the email analysis unit 86 subsequently determines whether the patent application date is written in the title or text of the received email (step S13). This patent application date is for identifying that the patent application process has been completed, and determines whether there is a character string for identifying the date (year, month, and day) in addition to the character string for the patent application date. In this determination, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the patent application date is not written in the received email (step S13; No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the patent application date is written in the received email (step S13; Yes), the patent application date is notified to the management server 14, and the patent application date is recorded in the schedule recording unit 65 described above in association with the patent application number (step S14). In this case, it is preferable to record the patent application date in association with the patent serial number not only in the schedule recording unit 65 but also in the application recording unit 64 (patent application recording unit 64A). With this configuration, for example, by searching for the patent application date corresponding to the patent serial number from the patent application completion notification email, the searched patent application date can be easily recorded in the schedule recording unit 65. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the work of patent personnel and reduce the workload.

Next, the control unit 50 of the management server 14 searches for the design serial number corresponding to the patent serial number and the name of the person in charge of design using, for example, the application record unit 64 (step S15). Here, the design serial number, like the patent serial number, is used to identify the design registration application used within the company, and is composed of, for example, a string of English letters and numbers. In addition, the design serial number corresponding to the patent serial number refers to the design serial number that is linked to this patent serial number in advance, for example, the design serial number related to the design embodied in the same product (object) as the invention related to the patent serial number. Therefore, in this embodiment, when a patent application completion notification email is received, the design serial number and the name of the person in charge of design of the design related to the same product as the invention related to the patent application that is linked to the patent serial number of this patent application in advance are searched for. The searched name of the person in charge of design is notified to the mail server 15.

Next, the mail analysis unit 86 of the mail server 15 determines whether the address of the received main mail includes the name of the notified design person (step S16). In this case, the mail analysis unit 86 may determine whether the address of the main mail includes the email address of the design person obtained from the database (FIG. 11) stored in the memory unit 82. In this determination, if it is determined that the address of the received main mail includes the name of the design person (step S16; Yes), the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the address of the received main mail does not include the name of the design person (step S16; No), the control unit 50 of the management server 14 has the mail server 15 forward the main mail to the design person (step S17) and ends the process.

In this configuration, the completion report email for the patent application related to the patent serial number is forwarded to the design staff in charge of the design serial number case corresponding to that patent serial number, so the design staff can know that the related patent application has been completed even if they do not receive any contact from the patent staff. This makes it possible to adjust the filing timing of the design registration application depending on the filing timing of this patent application.

In this embodiment, the completion report email of the patent application is searched to notify the design person in charge of the completion of the patent application, but it is also possible to search for patent application meeting emails and emails sending patent manuscript drafts to send an email to the design person in charge of the preparation of the patent application. In this case, it is not limited to filing a design registration application after a patent application, but the patent application and the design registration application may be filed on the same day. In addition, if the design registration application is filed first and the patent application is filed later, the order of filing is reversed from this embodiment, but in this case, the patent person in charge can contact the design person in charge to request a secret design for the registered design. In addition, in this embodiment, the completion report email of the patent application is forwarded to the design person in charge, but it may be forwarded to at least one of the design person in charge and the design creator.

Next, FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure that is executed. In the example of FIG. 13, in response to a patent application completion report email, a request is made to a patent office to carry out the corresponding design registration application procedure. First, when the mail server 15 receives an email (step S21), the mail analysis unit 86 of the mail server 15, under the control of the management server 14 (control unit 50), determines whether or not a patent serial number is included in the title or body of the received email (step S22).

In this judgment, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the received email does not contain a patent reference number (step S22; No), it ends this process. On the other hand, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the received email contains a patent reference number (step S22; Yes), it then determines whether or not the patent application date is mentioned in the title or body of the received email (step S23). This patent application date is used to identify that the patent application process has been completed, and it determines whether or not there is a character string to identify the date (year, month, and day), not just a character string for the patent application date. In this judgment, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the received email does not contain a patent application date (step S23; No), it ends the process.

On the other hand, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the patent application date is included in the received email (step S23; Yes), it determines that the patent application has been completed and notifies the management server 14 of the patent serial number.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) searches for the design serial number and the person in charge of design corresponding to the patent serial number, for example, using the application etc. recording unit 64 (step S24). The searched design serial number and the name of the person in charge of design are notified to the mail server 15.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) determines whether or not the design registration application corresponding to the design serial number has been filed (step S25). Specifically, the management server 14 (control unit 50) can determine whether or not the design registration application has been filed based on whether or not the design registration application date for the corresponding design serial number is recorded in the application etc. recording unit 64 (design registration application recording unit 64B) or the schedule recording unit 65.

In this judgment, if the design registration application has been filed (step S25; Yes), the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the design registration application has not been filed (step S25; No), the management server 14 notifies the designated patent office of the delegation of the design registration application (step S26) and terminates the process. Specifically, a designated design application request email format is prepared in advance in the storage unit 82 of the mail server 15, and the design person adds, for example, the "design serial number," "application request date," and "desired application date" to this request email, and the mail server 15 sends it to the designated patent office. In this case, the desired application date is before the announcement date of the product corresponding to the design registration application, and the date on which the application will be completed within a specified period calculated from the product announcement date (specified period before the announcement date) is stated. In addition, the request email clearly states the name of the design person, and it is preferable that the request email is sent to related parties such as the design creator, patent person, and inventor. It is also advisable to prepare the contents of the design registration application (application documents and drawings) in advance and instruct the patent office on the timing of the design registration application.

According to this configuration, after a patent application is completed, by requesting the filing procedure of a corresponding design registration application, the filing timing of the design registration application can be adjusted according to the filing timing of the patent application. In addition, since the design application request email states that the filing is requested to be completed before the announcement date of the product corresponding to the design registration application and within a specified period calculated from the product announcement date, it is possible to postpone the filing timing of the design registration application until just before the product announcement date, for example. For example, if a design registration application is filed in a foreign country that does not have a publication postponement system, there is a possibility that the design registration application in this foreign country will be published before the product is announced. With this configuration, the above-mentioned disadvantages can be avoided by adjusting the filing timing of the design registration application.

Next, FIG. 14 shows an example of a received email, and FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure that is executed. In the example of FIG. 15, when the product related to the application is released earlier than planned, the application status is checked and the planned publication date is updated. Generally, when the product is released earlier than the application schedule at the time of application (for example, when the product is exhibited at an exhibition before being sold, or when monitor tests are conducted before being sold), the novelty of the design is lost. For this reason, when information that the release will be brought forward (early publication information) is obtained, it is necessary to contact the patent officer, design officer, inventor, and design creator by email, etc.

First, when the mail server 15 receives an email (step S31), the mail analysis unit 86 of the mail server 15, under the control of the management server 14 (control unit 50), determines whether or not a specific business theme is described in the title or body of the received email (step S32). This business theme is set for each product or field related to the invention and design being developed. In this determination, if the specific business theme is not described in the received email (step S32; No), it is not the target email and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the received email contains a specific business theme (step S32; Yes), the email analysis unit 86 further determines whether the email title or text contains content that will be released earlier than the scheduled release date (step S33). In this case, the presence or absence of content can be determined by extracting character strings such as "release date," "release date," "announcement date," "advance," "advance," "before," and "change." For example, the received email in FIG. 14 contains the text, "The release date of product A is 2xx1/06/01, but product A will be exhibited at the foreign exhibition XX from 2xx1/05/01, prior to the release date." Therefore, it can be determined that the email contains content that will be released earlier than the scheduled release date.

In this determination, if the received email does not contain any content to be released early (step S33; No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the received email contains content to be released early (step S33; Yes), the business theme and the new planned release date are notified to the management server 14.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) searches for the patent serial number, patent officer, design serial number, and design officer corresponding to the business theme, for example, using the business theme recording unit 69 and the application etc. recording unit 64 (step S34). The searched patent serial number, name of the patent officer, design serial number, and name of the design officer are each notified to the mail server 15.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) determines whether the patent application corresponding to the patent serial number has been filed (step S35). Specifically, the management server 14 (control unit 50) can determine whether the patent application has been filed based on whether the patent application date of the corresponding patent serial number is recorded in the application etc. recording unit 64 (patent application recording unit 64A) or the schedule recording unit 65. If the patent application has been filed in this determination (step S35; Yes), the process proceeds to step S36, and if the patent application has not been filed (step S35; No), the management server 14 (control unit 50) has the mail server 15 resend the email to the patent officer (step S37).

In the example of FIG. 14, the received email was originally sent to the patent officer, so it is resent. However, for example, it may be determined whether the address of the received email includes the name of the patent officer, and if the address does not include the name of the patent officer, the mail server 15 may forward the email to the patent officer. This allows the patent officer to recognize that the announcement of Product A related to the invention has been brought forward, and therefore the patent application procedure can be carried out before the new, brought forward publication date.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) determines whether the design registration application corresponding to the design serial number has been filed (step S36). Specifically, the management server 14 (control unit 50) can determine whether the design registration application has been filed based on whether the design registration application date of the corresponding design serial number is recorded in the application etc. record unit 64 (design registration application record unit 64B) or the schedule record unit 65. In this determination, if the design registration application has been filed (step S36; Yes), the process proceeds to step S38, and if the design registration application has not been filed (step S36; No), the mail server 15 is made to resend the email to the design person in charge (step S39). In this case, as in the above, it is determined whether the address of the received email includes the name of the design person in charge, and if the address does not include the name of the design person in charge, the mail server 15 may be made to forward the email to the design person in charge. This allows the design professional to recognize that the announcement of Product A related to the design has been brought forward from the original plan, and therefore allows the design registration application to be filed before the new, brought forward publication date.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) updates the product announcement date (scheduled release date) recorded in the schedule recording unit 65 to the new, accelerated planned release date (step S38). This allows the accelerated schedule to be notified to the client 12 used by the patent officer, inventor, design officer, or design creator. In this case, if the filing schedule for a patent application or design registration application is accelerated, it is preferable that the filing schedule in the schedule recording unit 65 is updated when the filing procedure is completed.

Next, FIG. 16 shows an example of a received email, and FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure that is executed. In the example of FIG. 17, a secret design claim is proposed when a design registration application is registered. First, when the mail server 15 receives an email (step S41), the mail analysis unit 86 of the mail server 15, under the control of the management server 14 (control unit 50), determines whether or not a design reference number is written in the title or body of the received email (step S42). This design reference number is used to identify a design registration application used within the company, and is composed of, for example, a string of letters and numbers.

If the email analysis unit 86 determines that the received email does not contain a design reference number (step S42; No), it terminates the process. On the other hand, if the email analysis unit 86 determines that the received email contains a design reference number (step S42; Yes), it then determines whether or not the title or body of the received email contains any description of the design registration application being registered (step S43). In this case, for example, the presence or absence of such description can be determined by extracting character strings such as "design registration application," "registration assessment," and "design registration." The received email in Figure 16 contains, for example, the statement "design will be registered," so it can be determined that the email contains information about the design registration application being assessed for registration.

In this determination, if the received email does not contain any description of the design registration application being registered (step S43; No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the received email contains any description of the design registration application being registered (step S43; Yes), the design serial number is notified to the management server 14, and the process proceeds to step S44.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) determines, for example, using the application etc. recording unit 64 and the schedule recording unit 65, whether a secret design request is required and whether the confidentiality period has been determined for the design registration application corresponding to the design serial number (step S44). In this case, specifically, the management server 14 (control unit 50) can determine whether a secret design request is required and whether the confidentiality period has been determined for the design registration application with the design serial number corresponding to the application etc. recording unit 64 (design registration application recording unit 64B) or the schedule recording unit 65, depending on whether these are recorded.

In this judgment, if the management server 14 (control unit 50) judges that the design registration application needs a secret design request and the confidentiality period have been determined (step S44; Yes), the process proceeds to step S45. On the other hand, if the management server 14 (control unit 50) judges that the design registration application needs a secret design request and the confidentiality period have not been determined (step S44; No), the mail server 15 forwards this email to the design person in charge and the design creator of the design registration application corresponding to the design serial number (step S46). In this case, it is judged whether the destination of the received email includes the names of the design person in charge and the design creator, and if the destination includes the name of the design person in charge and the design creator, the mail server 15 may be made to resend this email. In addition, if there is a patent serial number corresponding to the design serial number, the email may be forwarded (resent) to the patent person in charge and the inventor of the patent application corresponding to this patent serial number.

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) accepts input from the design person or the design creator as to whether or not a confidential design request is required and the confidentiality period (step S47). This input determines whether or not a confidential design request is required and the confidentiality period, and the management server 14 (control unit 50) records this decision in the application etc. recording unit 64 (design registration application recording unit 64B) and schedule recording unit 65 (step S48).

Next, the management server 14 (control unit 50) notifies the designated patent office of the need for the decided secret design request and the delegation of the procedure regarding the confidentiality period (step S45), and ends the process. Specifically, the format of a designated procedure request email is prepared in advance in the storage unit 82 of the mail server 15, and for example, the design person adds the "design reference number," "design registration application number," "need for secret design," and "confidentiality period" to this request email, and the mail server 15 sends it to the designated patent office. In this case, the management server 14 (control unit 50) may be configured to extract the items recorded in the application etc. record unit 64 (design registration application record unit 64B) and the schedule record unit 65 and create the designated request email.

In this embodiment, when a design application is registered, the person in charge of design or the designer can be inquired about whether a secret design claim is required and the period for which the claim should be made, thereby preventing the registered design from being unintentionally made public.

In addition, if a design registration application is approved and the period between the date of approval and the date of release of the product corresponding to the design registration application is longer than a specified period, the management server 14 may send (notify) the design person or the design creator an email proposing the procedure for filing a secret design claim. In this case, it is possible to prevent the registered design from being made public before the date of release of the product.

In this case, for example, if there is a period of more than one year between the date of registration assessment and the date of product announcement (publication date), it is advisable for the technology department and the intellectual property department to decide in advance that a secret design claim will be made. This will prevent the registration bulletin from being issued before the public announcement date and the design from being counterfeited. In addition, if there are circumstances in which it is not possible or is not possible to decide in advance, as described above, the need for a secret design claim can be determined by sending this email to the design officer and the design creator of the design registration application corresponding to the design serial number. In this case, it is preferable to record the decision in at least one of the schedule recording unit 65, application etc. recording unit 64, or consultation recording unit 66.

In addition, in the example of Figure 17, a case in Japan was described, but the same processing can be done when a foreign design application is filed in a country that has a system for deferred publication, and the period from the time when the foreign design application is published to the announcement date of the product corresponding to the foreign design application is longer than a specified period. In this case, when a foreign design application is filed after a design registration application is filed in Japan, the foreign design application date (priority date) is determined if it is within the priority period, so if the announcement date of the product (planned publication date) is determined, the period between the two is calculated, and if it is longer than the specified period, a publication deferral procedure can be carried out in countries that have a system for deferred publication (for example, the European Community).

In this embodiment, one intellectual property management device 10 simultaneously manages both the process related to the invention and the process related to the design. This allows, for example, management of each process for an invention and a design related to the same object at once. In this case, the inventor and the designer are often different for the invention and the design, and the patent officer and the design officer within the intellectual property department may be different. Also, when one of an invention and a design related to the same object is disclosed, there is a high possibility that the other will also be disclosed. For this reason, it is important to manage the progress of inventions and designs related to the same object, including the publication of patent applications and design registration applications (publication of patent application publication bulletins and design registration bulletins), not to mention product announcements.

Next, we will explain the management screen for managing the progress of inventions and designs related to the same object. Figures 18 to 22 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the display unit. In this embodiment, in order to effectively manage inventions and designs related to the same product (object), the progress of all inventions and designs related to the same product are displayed (together) on the same screen, as shown in Figure 18.

In the example of Figure 18, the product theme decision date is displayed in the upper left of the management screen, and the product launch date and the current date are displayed in the upper right, with a time bar displayed between the product theme decision date and the product launch date. This time bar shows the flow of time from the product theme decision date to the product launch date, with the right end of the time bar showing the current date. In addition, below the product theme decision date, the inventions and designs are displayed for each case, for example, Invention 1 Tread Pattern, Invention 2 Side Pattern, Design 1 Tread Pattern, etc. In the area to the right of each case, multiple numbered arrow-shaped icons are displayed in a row, showing the progress of each case.

Specifically, the icon with the number (1) indicates the meeting period, the tip of the arrow of which indicates the date of the hearing with the patent attorney (patent office), and the icon with the number (2) indicates the manuscript preparation period, the tip of which indicates the date of the preparation of the application manuscript. The icon with the number (3) indicates the confirmation period, the tip of which indicates the date of the inventor or the designer's response to the manuscript content confirmation, and the icon with the number (4) indicates the application preparation period, the tip of which indicates the application date. These icons are examples, and the period indicated by each icon can be changed as appropriate. In the example of FIG. 18, different numbers are assigned to the icons to indicate each period, but each period can also be displayed in a different manner, for example, by using different colors or patterns. In addition, the size of each icon is displayed to be the same, but the size can also be changed depending on the relative relationship with other periods.

In this embodiment, the control unit 50 of the management server 14 processes the database recorded in the schedule recording unit 65 and the application etc. recording unit 64, and displays the above-mentioned management screen on the display unit 34. In this case, the control unit 50 does not display the corresponding icon unless the specified date data is entered at the tip of the icon. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19, the progress of each invention and design case as of the current date can be visually confirmed, so that inventions and designs can be effectively managed.

In the example of Figure 19, the case of Invention 1 Tread Pattern has an icon with the number (3) displayed, indicating that the inventor has responded and that the application is being prepared. In addition, the cases of Invention 2 Side Pattern, Design 1 Tread Pattern, Design 2 Side Pattern, and Design 3 Overall Tire have an icon with the number (1) displayed, indicating that the hearing has been completed and the manuscript is being prepared.

In this way, the progress status of all inventions and designs related to the same product is displayed on the same management screen, making it easy to manage delays or stagnation in the progress of specific cases. Note that in the examples of Figures 18 and 19, the inventions and designs are displayed up to the application stage, but it is also possible to display the date on which the patent and design were registered, and the confidential design period requested for the design (the period of deferred disclosure in foreign countries).

Here, if there are only a few inventions and designs relating to the same product (approximately five in total), patent applications and design registration applications will be filed at similar times, so it is conceivable that, for example, in order to postpone the registration of the design registration application, the design registration application will be filed after all the patent applications. However, if there are more than a certain number of inventions and designs relating to the same product (for example, ten in total), for example, additional applications may be filed for the same product, and not all cases will progress at the same rate, making management difficult.

For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, when the total number of inventions and designs exceeds a predetermined number (predetermined value), the control unit 50 displays a management screen on the display unit 34 in a reduced size to display all of the items. In the example of FIG. 20, for each design proposal, the arrow following the icon of the application preparation period indicated by the number (4) indicates the secret design period.

In the example of Figure 20, it can be seen that the group of tread patterns from invention 3 to invention 7 started later than the earlier patent applications and design registration applications. For this reason, for example, a design officer can determine that a secret design claim needs to be filed at the stage when the design registration application has been approved, allowing for effective management of inventions and designs.

When the total number of inventions and designs exceeds a predetermined number (predetermined value), the control unit 50 may not only reduce the display to display all of the inventions, but may also be able to switch between displaying a management screen for all inventions and a management screen for all designs, as shown in Figs. 21 and 22. In this case, it is preferable to display each management screen in a scrollable manner.

In addition, when filing a U.S. patent application and a U.S. design application for an invention and a design, the control unit 50 of the management server 14 can be configured to display a schedule display screen showing an application schedule for claiming priority based on the patent application for the invention and the design registration application for the design, as shown in FIG. 23, and for obtaining combined priority. In this case, various data related to the U.S. patent application and the U.S. design application are recorded in the application record unit 64. When the invention and the design relate to the same product, if the design application is filed first when filing an application in the U.S., there is a risk that the later patent application will be rejected due to self-first filing. For this reason, it is preferable to combine the patent application and the design application into one application with combined priority. In this case, in order to delay the publication of the design, the design application can be divided after the notice of patent allowance and the registration can be delayed by keeping it pending examination.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it is preferable to respond to legal amendments when providing various types of business consultations. For example, the amendment to the Design Act will allow designs that are similar only to related designs to be registered. As a result, designs that have not been applied for in the past will be able to be applied for in the future, making it possible to provide business consultations. In addition, the period for applying for related designs will also be revised, so by digitizing the changes in the procedural period, it is possible to increase convenience for users.

In addition, in this embodiment, the created design has been described as a design under the Design Act, but it may also be protected as a three-dimensional trademark under the Trademark Act or a work under the Copyright Act. In this case, in countries where designs are protected under the Copyright Act, protection under copyright can be sought, and in countries where designs can be protected under both the Design Act and the Copyright Act, protection under both may be sought. Furthermore, if the design does not fall under a design or applied art but falls under a three-dimensional trademark, protection based on a three-dimensional trademark under the Trademark Act may be sought.

10 Intellectual property management device 12 Client 14 Server 16 WAN
Description of the References 18 Literature search system 20 Firewall 22 Internet 24 External client 26 Law database 30 Client main body 32 Operation unit 34 Display unit 40 Control unit 42 Memory unit 44 Input detection unit 46 Image generation unit 48 Communication unit 50 Control unit 52 Memory unit 54 Communication unit 56 Information recording unit 60 Content description recording unit 61 Investigation recording unit 62 Judgment recording unit 63 Evaluation recording unit 64 Application etc. recording unit 65 Schedule recording unit 66 Consultation recording unit 67 Contract recording unit 68 Product information recording unit 69 Business theme recording unit 70 Experimental data recording unit 80 Control unit 82 Memory unit 84 Communication unit 86 Email analysis unit

Claims (20)

An intellectual property management device that manages at least inventions and designs, comprising at least one client having a display unit that displays various images, and a management server that is connected to the client via a communication line,
The management server includes:
a description recording section for recording description information about inventions and designs relating to the same object;
a search record section for recording the results of searches of the prior art and prior designs corresponding to the invention and the design, respectively;
a judgment recording unit for recording the judgment results of the patentability of the invention and the registrability of the design based on the invention and the design, the prior art, and the prior design;
If the invention is patentable but the design is not registrable,
If the invention is patentable and the design is registrable,
If the invention is not patentable but the design is registrable,
an evaluation record section for recording evaluations of the invention and the design when the invention and the design are neither patentable nor registrable;
and a control unit that processes a database recorded in at least one of the content description recording unit, the investigation recording unit, the judgment recording unit, and the evaluation recording unit, and generates the image to be displayed on the display unit of the client. The management server includes:
2. The intellectual property management device according to claim 1, further comprising: an application etc. recording unit which records whether the invention and/or the design has been applied for as a patent, applied for a design registration, known know-how, or rejected based on the evaluation; and a schedule recording unit which records a schedule for filing the patent application and/or the design registration application. The intellectual property management device according to claim 2, wherein the content description recording unit or the application etc. recording unit records information regarding the overall design, partial design, set, or related design when the design registration application is filed. The intellectual property management device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the application etc. record section records, when the design registration application is filed, whether or not there is a secret design request, or the planned publication date based on publication postponement information. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control unit processes the database recorded in the schedule recording unit to generate a schedule display screen, and displays the schedule display screen on the display unit. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein, when the patent application and the design registration application are filed for the invention and the design, respectively, the schedule recording unit records an application schedule for filing the design registration application within a predetermined period from the patent filing date after the patent application, or an application schedule for filing the patent application and the design registration application on the same day. Further comprising a mail server for sending and receiving mail,
7. The intellectual property management device according to claim 2, wherein said schedule recording section records information regarding the filing date of said patent application searched from the received emails of said mail server. Further comprising a mail server for sending and receiving mail,
The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein after receiving the completion report email for the patent application, the mail server forwards the completion report email for the patent application to at least one of the design officer and the design creator of the design registration application corresponding to the patent application. Further comprising a mail server for sending and receiving mail,
The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the mail server automatically sends an application request email for a design registration application corresponding to the patent application to a designated patent office after receiving the completion report email for the patent application. The intellectual property management device according to claim 9, wherein the application request email states that the application is to be completed before the announcement date of the product corresponding to the design registration application and within a predetermined period calculated from the announcement date of the product. If a U.S. patent application and a U.S. design application are filed for the invention and design,
The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the control unit displays on the display unit a schedule display screen showing an application schedule for claiming combined priority based on a patent application for the invention and a design registration application for the design. If the announcement of said invention and said design is made earlier than planned,
The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the control unit notifies the client used by the patent officer, the inventor, the design officer, or the design creator of the accelerated application schedule based on the determination result of whether the patent application for the invention and the design registration application for the design have been completed. Where the design application for said design has been granted a registration and the period between the date of grant of registration and the date of publication of the product corresponding to said design application is longer than the prescribed period,
The intellectual property management device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit notifies the client used by the design person or the design creator of a proposal for a secret design claim procedure. Where the design is filed in a foreign design application in a country that has a deferred publication system, and the period between the publication of the foreign design application and the release date of the product corresponding to the foreign design application is longer than the prescribed period;
The intellectual property management device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit notifies the client used by the design person or the design creator of the proposal for the postponement of the disclosure procedure. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 2 to 11, wherein the control unit processes a database recorded in the schedule recording unit or the application etc. recording unit, and displays on the display unit a progress management screen showing at least the current date, product announcement date, patent application date, and design registration application date in chronological order for the invention and the design . The intellectual property management device according to claim 15, wherein the control unit displays the management screen in a reduced size to display all the inventions and designs when the total number of the inventions and designs exceeds a predetermined value. The intellectual property management device according to claim 15, wherein the control unit, when the total number of the inventions and the designs exceeds a predetermined value, makes it possible to switch between the management screen for the inventions and the management screen for the designs, and displays each of these management screens in a scrollable manner. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the management screen further includes a display of the secret design request period or disclosure postponement period, and the design registration date. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the invention and design each belong to the field of tire technology. The intellectual property management device according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the invention and design relate to a tire tread pattern or side pattern, respectively.

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