Pension management system and right management system used therefor and consignee system

Abstract

To provide a further reliable pension management system by including years prior to those that should normally be managed.SOLUTION: A pension management system 1 has a claimant system 10 and a consignee system 30. The claimant system 10 notifies the consignee system 30 of updated case identification information and updated pension-specific information. When the consignee system 30 determines that pension management of the case is possible due to the update of pension-specific information in the claimant system 10, it identifies and notifies the starting year for case management, and the consignee system 30 begins managing the pension payment status for the starting year and all previous years. The claimant system 10 then notifies the consignee system 30 of information about the pension payment status for the previous years.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pension management system, a rights management system used therein, and a trustee system.

Background Art

[0002] The management of industrial property rights annuities for maintaining patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, and trademark rights has different payment start dates, payment years, etc. set for each country, and the management is very complicated. On the other hand, accuracy is required for the management. For this reason, as in Patent Document 1, it is common for right holders to use external operators such as pension management companies for pension management. The principal, such as the right holder, contacts the trustee company such as the pension management company with the number of the right for which the management of the pension is to be entrusted and the year for which the management is desired, and the trustee company undertakes the management of the pension after the year for which the management is desired.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in recent years, a system has been provided that digitizes the procedures from the application to the registration of industrial property rights and centrally manages the documents and data generated in these procedures. Using such a system, for example, when a procedure such as the issuance of a patent gazette occurs and it is determined that pension management is required when there is an update to pension-specific information, it is considered to automatically order pension management from the pension management company from the system. The pension management company can identify the updated pension-specific information and the year when management starts based on the law, and can start managing subsequent pensions. However, if the past pensions have not been properly paid, even if the pension for the current year to be managed is properly paid, the rights cannot be maintained. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a more reliable pension management system by also managing the years prior to the year that should originally be the management target.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, A pension management system for managing the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, A rights management system that acquires information related to industrial property rights and can manage at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights, A trustee system that is connected to the rights management system via a network and manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining the industrial property rights, and The rights management system collects pension-specific information including the type of rights, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, The pension payment status, and can record it in the management database, When the information in the management database is updated, the rights management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information, When the trustee system determines that the pension management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, the trustee system, based on a legal database in which the payment year and the start date of the payment deadline of the pension for each country and jurisdiction are recorded, and the information of the case, identifies the start year when the management of the case starts, The trustee system notifies the rights management system of the start year, The trustee system starts managing the pension payment status for the start year and the past years before it. The rights management system provides a pension management system that notifies the trustee system of information regarding the past annual pension payment status.

[0006] In the pension management system described above, When the rights management system determines that the updated information is pension-specific information, it may notify the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated pension-specific information.

[0007] In the pension management system described above, When the trustee system determines that the updated information is pension-specific information, it may determine whether pension management of the case is possible due to the update of the pension-specific information.

[0008] In the pension management system described above, The trustee system acquires information regarding the past annual pension payment status from the rights management system, and may notify the unconfirmed years in which payments could not be confirmed in the past annuals if there are any.

[0009] In the pension management system described above, The trustee system specifies the year in which the payment due date is reached after the grace period from the current time as the start year, The trustee system calculates the payment due date of the year immediately preceding the start year, which is the immediately preceding year, based on the start year and the legal database, When the trustee system determines that the payment due date of the immediately preceding year is within a predetermined period before or after the current time and the information indicating completion of payment for the immediately preceding year is not included in the information regarding the past annual pension payment status acquired from the rights management system, it may request input of information regarding the payment status of the immediately preceding year or inquire of the rights management system whether payment for the immediately preceding year is desired.

[0010] In the pension management system described above, After notifying the rights management system of the starting fiscal year from the trustee system, the rights management system obtains the judgment of the rights holder or the filing agent on whether to entrust the annuity management of the case corresponding to the starting fiscal year to the trustee of the trustee system, and notifies the trustee system of the judgment result. When the judgment result is to entrust the annuity management, the trustee system may start managing the annuity payment status of the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years.

[0011] In the above-described annuity management system, The rights management system may be a rights holder system operated by the rights holder who holds the industrial property right.

[0012] In the above-described annuity management system, It acquires information related to the industrial property right and can manage at least the procedures from filing to obtaining rights, and further has a rights holder system operated by the rights holder who holds the industrial property right. The rights management system is an application agent system operated by an application agent who acts as an agent for the procedures for acquiring the industrial property right. When the information in the management database is updated, the application agent system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case, the updated information, and the customer information of the updated case. The trustee system may notify the rights holder system operated by the rights holder corresponding to the customer information of the start of management of the case and the starting fiscal year.

[0013] To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, A rights management system used in an annuity management system for managing the payment of annuities necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, The rights management system acquires information related to industrial property rights and can manage at least the procedures from filing to obtaining rights. The rights management system is connected via a network to a trustee system that manages the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights. The rights management system collects annuity specific information including the type of right, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, and can record it in a management database. When the information in the management database is updated, the rights management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information. When it is determined that the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and jurisdiction are recorded, and the information of the case, the starting year for starting the management of the case calculated by the trustee system is obtained from the trustee system. The rights management system provided notifies the trustee system of information on the annuity payment status for past years that are years before the obtained starting year.

[0014] To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, A trustee system used in an annuity management system that manages the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, wherein the trustee system manages the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights, is connected via a network to a rights management system that can acquire information related to industrial property rights and manage at least the procedures from filing to the establishment of rights, In the rights management system that collects annuity specific information including the type of right, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, and can record it in a management database, when the information in the management database is updated, the trustee system is notified of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information from the rights management system. When it is determined that the pension management of the case can be performed by updating the information in the rights management system, the trustee system identifies the starting fiscal year for starting the management of the case based on a legal database in which the payment fiscal year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the pension for each country and jurisdiction are recorded and the information of the case, notifies the rights management system of the starting fiscal year, starts managing the pension payment status for the past fiscal years that are the starting fiscal year and the previous fiscal years, A trustee system is provided that acquires information regarding the pension payment status for the past fiscal years from the rights management system.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, even fiscal years prior to the fiscal year that should originally be the management target are also made the management target, and a more reliable pension management system is provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] (First Embodiment) In the pension management system 1 according to the first embodiment, when there is an update of the pension specific information, the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30. When the trustee system 30 determines that pension management can be automatically tentatively ordered based on the update and notifies the rights holder system 10, and the rights holder system 10 approves the tentative order as a formal order, the trustee system 30 starts the management of the pension. At this time, the trustee system 30 manages the payment of the pension for the years before as well as the starting year of the pension management. The rights holder system 10 is an example of a rights management system. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The pension management system 1 manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights such as patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, and trademark rights in Japan and other countries. As shown in FIG. 1, the pension management system 1 has a rights holder system 10 and a trustee system 30 that are connected to each other via a network 5.

[0019] Originally, industrial property rights refer to registered rights, but here, patent applications, utility model applications, design applications, and trademark applications that are pending and unregistered are also collectively referred to as industrial property rights. This is because pension management may be started even for pending cases. For example, in the case of a patent in Japan, when a registration examination notice is received, it is required to pay the patent fees for the first to third years in a lump sum, and pension management may become possible from the time of receiving the registration examination notice.

[0020] The rights holder system 10 is a system that can obtain information related to industrial property rights from the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3 and manage at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights. In the present embodiment, the rights holder system 10 is a system operated by the rights holder who applies for and holds the rights of industrial property rights. The rights holder operates the rights holder system 10 to manage the information and procedures for obtaining and maintaining industrial property rights. The rights holder system 10 may be composed of a single information processing device or a plurality of information processing devices. Also, the rights holder system 10 may be provided by a service provider as a so-called cloud service.

[0021] The rights holder system 10 is connected to, for example, the Patent Office system 2 and the application agent system 3. The rights holder system 10 acquires information from the Patent Office system 2 and the application agent system 3 and manages industrial property rights. For example, when a notice of reasons for rejection is issued by the Patent Office regarding a patent application, the rights holder system 10 acquires the electronic data of the notice of reasons for rejection from the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3, and manages tasks related to the notice of reasons for rejection. Specifically, when the rights holder system 10 receives the notice of reasons for rejection, it sets the due dates for submitting opinions and amendments, and manages whether the opinions and amendments have been submitted by the due dates. Alternatively, when a notice of application number is issued, the rights holder system 10 adds the information of the application number to the corresponding case and records it in the database. Note that the rights holder system 10 may not be connected to the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3. In this case, the rights holder who operates the rights holder system 10 may input the information obtained from the Patent Office or the application agent into the database.

[0022] The rights holder system 10 includes a rights holder control unit 11, a management database 20, a pension identification database 12, a rights holder legal database 13, and a rights holder communication unit 14. The rights holder control unit 11 controls the management database 20 and the rights holder communication unit 14. The rights holder communication unit 14 communicates with the trustee system 30, the Patent Office system 2, and the application agent system 3. In this embodiment, the management database 20 includes a rights information database 21, an update status database 22, and a task database 23. The rights holder control unit 11 of the rights holder system 10 is constituted by, for example, an information processing apparatus including a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads out computer-readable instructions stored in the storage unit and executes the processes described in detail below.

[0023] The rights holder system 10 can collect annuity specific information including the type of rights, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, and record it in the management database 20. Annuity specific information is information that may affect whether the trustee system 30 can start managing the annuity. Among the information collected by the rights holder system 10, which information corresponds to the items of annuity specific information is registered in the annuity specific database 12. Therefore, based on the annuity specific database 12, the rights holder control unit 11 can determine whether the update items of the management database 20 correspond to annuity specific information. The annuity specific database 12 is a database in which items that may affect whether the trustee system 30 can start managing the annuity are recorded among the items of information recorded in the management database 20.

[0024] When starting to manage the annuity, identify the case to be managed, identify whether annuity payment is necessary, and identify the due date of annuity payment. For example, the case to be managed can be identified by the type of rights, country name, and filing number. Also, based on the filing date, registration date, etc., the payment due date for each year of the annuity can be identified. Furthermore, it is possible to identify that annuity payment has occurred due to the registration of the registration date.

[0025] However, since the rights holder system 10 is not only aimed at managing the annuity, it goes without saying that it may include other information. For example, information necessary for managing industrial property rights such as whether a request for examination has been made, the due date of the request for examination, publication date, publication number, response due date for the notice of reasons for rejection, number of claims, etc. may be recorded in the management database 20.

[0026] The trustee system 30 is a system operated by an annuity management company or the like that undertakes operations related to annuities for industrial property rights. Here, the entity that undertakes the annuity management business from the rights holder is called the trustee. The trustee operates the trustee system 30 to manage the payment of the annuity necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights by the due date. The trustee system 30 may also be composed of a single information processing device or a plurality of information processing devices. The trustee system 30 includes a trustee control unit 31, an annuity database 40 including an operation database 41 and a provisional acceptance database 42, a trustee legal database 32, and a trustee communication unit 33.

[0027] The trustee control unit 31 is constituted by, for example, an information processing device including a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads out computer-readable instructions stored in the storage unit and executes the processes described in detail below. Further, the trustee control unit 31 communicates with the rights holder system 10 via the trustee communication unit 33. Furthermore, the trustee control unit 31 transmits an instruction for annuity payment to the annuity payment agent system 4 via the trustee communication unit 33, or acquires a completion report of annuity payment from the annuity payment agent system 4.

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the processes executed by the annuity management system 1 and shows the processes until the start of annuity management. The annuity management system 1 executes the processes shown in Figure 2. The following will explain in detail with reference to the figures.

[0029] First, when the rights holder control unit 11 of the rights holder system 10 acquires some information about a certain case from the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3, it determines whether any information in the annuity specific information in the management database 20 has been updated based on the annuity specific database 12 (step S01).

[0030] When the rights holder control unit 11 determines that the pension specific information has not been updated (step S01: No), it does nothing and waits until it obtains some information about a case from the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3 again. When the rights holder control unit 11 determines that the pension specific information has been updated (step S01: Yes), it notifies the trustee system 30 of the identification information of the updated case and the updated pension specific information.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an example of the right information database 21 of the management database 20. Figure 3 shows information about the sorting number 001 of the rights holder. In the example shown in Figure 3, the right information database 21 has the country of application, type of right, Paris Convention priority number, priority date, application number, application date, publication number, publication date, registration number, registration date, status of pendency / abandonment, creator (inventor), rights holder, presence / absence of application, presence / absence of examination request, domestic agent information, local agent information, update management agent information, and data update date.

[0032] In the case of a foreign application, the rights holder may contact the application agent (local agent) in the country of application through the agent (domestic agent) instead of directly contacting the local agent. For this reason, the items for the domestic agent and the local agent are provided. In the case of a domestic application, the column for the local agent is blank. Also, the application agent system 3 shown in Figure 1 is a system for domestic agents for both domestic and foreign applications. The data update date is the latest date on which the right information database 21 for this sorting number 001 was updated.

[0033] Figure 4 shows an example of the update status database 22 of the management database 20. In Figure 4, information about the organizer number 001 of the rights holder is shown. In the example shown in Figure 4, the target case (organizer number: 001) is a Chinese patent. Therefore, it is necessary to pay the annuity every year from the 1st year to the 20th year. Thus, the update status database 22 records the payment deadlines and payment status for each of these years. In the illustrated example, the payments from the 1st year to the 4th year are completed, and the payments from the 5th year to the 20th year are incomplete.

[0034] Figure 5 shows an example of the task database 23 of the management database 20. In Figure 5, information about the organizer number 001 of the rights holder is shown. In this embodiment, the rights holder system 10 manages the procedures (tasks) that need to be performed for the Patent Office from application to maintaining rights in the task database 23 shown in Figure 5. In the illustrated example, it manages the tasks of application, examination request, authorization notice, and payment of annuity from the 1st year to the 5th year for the target case (organizer number: 001). For each task, the invoicing date, due date, processing date, and completion date are managed.

[0035] The invoicing date is the date when the task is invoiced. For example, in the case of an examination request, it is the date when the examination request deadline is determined and the rights holder registers the examination request task in the rights holder system 10.

[0036] The due date is the deadline of the task. For example, in the case of an examination request for a patent in Japan, it is the date three years after the filing date. Note that the due date may be calculated based on the rights holder legal database 13 possessed by the rights holder system 10, or may be calculated by the rights holder or the like. The rights holder legal database 13 is a database similar to the trustee legal database 32 described later.

[0037] The processing date is the date on which the right holder instructs the application agent or annuity administrator to execute the task. The completion date is the date on which the application agent or annuity administrator reports the completion of the execution of the task. For example, the date on which the right holder notifies the application agent through the right holder system 10 to execute the examination request is the processing date. Also, the date on which the application agent reports the execution of the examination request through the application agent system 3 is the completion date.

[0038] Note that the right holder control unit 11 creates a ticket for the task when the need to perform the task arises. For example, at the time when the examination request is completed, only the tasks of application and examination request are registered in the task database 23. In the example shown in FIG. 5, in the case of a Chinese patent, when a registration and examination notice is issued, the right holder control unit 11 creates tasks for an approval notice and the fourth-year annuity, registers the delivery date of the registration and examination notice as the ticket-issuing date, and registers the payment deadline of the fourth-year annuity as the completion deadline date. In FIG. 5, at the completion of the payment of the fourth-year annuity, a task for the payment of the fifth-year annuity has been created. Also, regarding the payment of the fifth-year annuity, the right holder has not yet instructed the annuity administrator to make the payment.

[0039] Now, assume the current date is April 12, 2020. Returning to FIG. 2, on this day, a notice of registration and examination for case: 001 is received, and the right holder control unit 11 inputs the registration number and registration date into the right information database 21 of the management database 20, and assumes that the data update date is rewritten to April 12, 2020. This registration number and registration date are annuity-specific information that affects whether the trustee system 30 can start managing the annuity, and this item is registered in the annuity-specific database 12. Therefore, the right holder control unit 11 determines that the updated item corresponds to annuity-specific information (Step S01: Yes), and notifies the trustee system 30 of the identification information of the updated case (the sorting number 001 of the target case) and the updated items, i.e., the registration number and registration date (Step S02).

[0040] In this embodiment, when the trustee control unit 31 is notified of the pension specific information from the rights holder system 10, first, it determines whether the target case for which the pension specific information has been notified is registered in the pension database 40 (step S03).

[0041] Here, it is assumed that the pension specific information regarding the target case 001 is not registered in the pension database 40 as of April 11, 2020, one day before the current time (step S03: No). In this case, the trustee control unit 31 makes an inquiry to the rights holder system 10, acquires all the pension specific information regarding the target case 001, and registers it in the temporary acceptance database 42 (step S04).

[0042] If information regarding the target case 001 is registered in the pension database 40 (step S03: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 rewrites the temporary acceptance database 42 with the pension specific information acquired from the rights holder system 10 (step S05). Here, information regarding the target case 001 is not registered in the temporary acceptance database 42 either, and information regarding the target case 001 is newly registered in the temporary acceptance database 42.

[0043] Next, the trustee control unit 31 compares the pension specific information in the temporary acceptance database 42 and the operation database 41 for the target case 001 (step S06), and identifies the differences between the temporary acceptance database 42 and the operation database 41 for the target case 001.

[0044] Figure 6 shows the temporary acceptance database 42 as of April 12, 2020, the current time, and shows the outline information of the target case 001 acquired from the rights holder system 10. Figure 7 also shows the temporary acceptance database 42 as of April 12, 2020, and shows the payment status of the target case 001 acquired from the rights holder system 10. At the time of April 12, 2020, as already explained, the operation database 41 does not contain the pension specific information of the target case 001. Therefore, in step S06, the trustee system 30 identifies that all the items included in the temporary acceptance database 42 are differences.

[0045] Next, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether the pension management of the target case can be performed by updating the pension specific information in the rights holder system 10 (step S07). Here, based on the differences between the operation database 41 and the provisional acceptance database 42 and the trustee legal database 32, it is determined whether the pension management can be performed.

[0046] When the trustee control unit 31 determines that the pension management of the target case is possible (step S07: Yes), it specifies the start fiscal year for starting the management of the case based on the trustee legal database 32 in which the payment fiscal year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the pension for each country and jurisdiction are recorded and the pension specific information of the case (step S08).

[0047] FIG. 8 shows the trustee legal database 32. In the trustee legal database 32, legal information of each country for calculating the payment fiscal year and payment deadline of the pension and determining whether it is subject to pension management is recorded. In the illustrated example, the filing country, type, at the start of pension management, the starting date of the payment deadline, and the update year are recorded.

[0048] Note that laws and regulations regarding pension payments may be amended or changed, and it is necessary to correctly grasp such amendments and changes each time. It is very difficult for rights holders who attempt to maintain industrial property rights in many countries to respond to such law amendments each time. Therefore, pension management companies, etc., specialize in operations related to pension payments, correctly grasp various law amendments in a timely manner, and continuously update the trustee legal database 32 each time. In the above description, although it has been explained that the rights holder legal database 13 and the trustee legal database 32 are the same, since it is difficult for the rights holder legal database 13 to respond to such law amendments related to pensions at any time, the rights holder legal database 13 and the trustee legal database 32 do not always match.

[0049] In this embodiment, the filing country of target case 001 is China, and the type is a patent. Therefore, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the applicant country being China, the type being patent, the start date of annuity management, the starting date of the payment deadline, and the renewal year in the trustee legal database 32. The start of annuity management is after registration. Here, the differences between the operation database 41 and the provisional acceptance database 42 include the registration date and the registration number. Therefore, the trustee control unit 31 determines that target case 001 is subject to annuity management.

[0050] Furthermore, the trustee control unit 31 calculates the payment deadline date for each year. The payment deadline date is specified with the filing date as the starting date, and the renewal year is every year. In this embodiment, the trustee control unit 31 has already obtained the payment deadline date for each year from the rights holder system 10 as shown in FIG. 7. However, the trustee control unit 31 independently calculates the payment deadline date based on the trustee legal database 32, compares it with the payment deadline date obtained from the rights holder system 10, and corrects it to the payment deadline date calculated based on the trustee legal database 32 if the two are different. This is because the rights holder legal database 13 of the rights holder system 10 may not have updates such as law amendments defined as described above.

[0051] The date when the annuity specific information of target case 001 is input into the trustee system 30 is April 12, 2020 (the current date). The trustee control unit 31 adds a predetermined grace period (3 months in this embodiment) to the current date and specifies the annual order of the payment deadline date that arrives after July 12, 2020 as the start annual order for starting management. Here, the start annual order is specified as the 6th year that reaches the payment deadline date on May 23, 2021.

[0052] The grace period is a period determined by contract between the rights holder and the trustee. In the annuity management business, it takes time from receiving a request for annuity payment from the rights holder until the request procedures are completed. Also, if the annuity specific information at the time of the request is insufficient, it may take additional time. Furthermore, since the payment of annuities abroad is requested from a local annuity payment agent, even if the rights holder requests the annuity management business, it is often not possible to respond immediately. Therefore, between the rights holder and the trustee, it is confirmed that the trustee cannot handle the payment deadline for the annuity during a predetermined period from the time of the request. Thus, also in the annuity management system 1 of the present embodiment, a grace period of three months is set. However, in a system where communication and processing among the rights holder, the trustee, and the annuity payment agent can be carried out quickly, a grace period may not be set.

[0053] In addition, when it is determined in step S07 that the annuity management of the target case is impossible (step S07: No), the trustee control unit 31 does not perform any particular processing and ends the processing. For example, when only the filing date and the application number are notified from the rights holder system 10, since only the application number notification letter has been issued from the Patent Office and it is still at a stage where annuity payment is not required, annuity management is not started.

[0054] Next, the trustee control unit 31 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the identified starting fiscal year (the 6th fiscal year) (step S09). By notifying the starting fiscal year, the trustee can inquire of the rights holder whether it can accept the annuity management from this fiscal year. Note that the trustee control unit 31 may also notify the rights holder system 10 of the payment deadline date of the starting fiscal year together with the starting fiscal year. Alternatively, the trustee control unit 31 may notify the rights holder system 10 of all or some of the previous fiscal years before the starting fiscal year together with the starting fiscal year and their payment deadline dates.

[0055] Next, the rights holder control unit 11 obtains an input on whether to entrust the trustee who has notified the start fiscal year from the rights holder with the pension management (step S10). For example, the rights holder control unit 11 displays the pension management company name, the number of the target case (001), and the start fiscal year on the display of the rights holder system 10, displays whether to entrust the pension management, and prompts an input using an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. Thereby, the rights holder determines whether to officially entrust the trustee with the pension management of the case determined by the trustee system 30 to be a provisional order.

[0056] If the rights holder control unit 11 obtains an input indicating that it does not entrust the pension management in step S10 (step S10: No), the rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 that it does not entrust the pension management of the target case 001 (step S13). If the rights holder control unit 11 obtains an input indicating that it entrusts the pension management in step S10 (step S10: Yes), the rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 that it entrusts the pension management of the target case 001.

[0057] When the trustee control unit 31 obtains a notice from the rights holder system 10 indicating that it entrusts the pension management of the target case 001 (step S10: Yes), it starts the pension management of the case (step S12). For the trustee, obtaining a notice from the rights holder system 10 indicating that it entrusts the pension management of the target case 001 becomes a formal order.

[0058] In the present embodiment, when the trustee system 30 starts the pension management, it copies all the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 of the case to the operation database 41. Thereby, after the start of the pension management, the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 and the information in the operation database 41 regarding the target case are the same. The trustee system 30 manages the pension using the update status database 411 of the operation database 41 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows the update status database 411 of the target case 001.

[0059] The trustee system 30 manages pensions using the update status database 411 in the operation database 41. As shown in FIG. 9, the update status database 411 includes the fiscal year, the payment due date, the payment instruction date, the payment completion date, and the payment report date. The payment instruction date is the date on which the trustee instructs the pension payment agent to make a pension payment. The payment completion date is the date on which the pension payment agent pays the pension to the local patent office. The payment report date is the date on which the trustee reports the completion of the pension payment to the rights holder. The trustee system 30 manages so that the pension payment is completed by the payment due date. Also, the trustee system 30 may manage so that the report of the pension payment is completed within a predetermined period from the payment due date.

[0060] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the processes executed by the pension management system 1, showing the processes from the start of pension management to the pension payment process. As shown in FIG. 10, when the trustee control unit 31 starts the pension management of the target case 001, it notifies the rights holder system 10 that the pension management of the case has started (step S21).

[0061] When the rights holder control unit 11 acquires the notification, it retrieves the payment status of the start fiscal year and the past fiscal years from the update status database 22 (step S22). The rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 of the retrieved payment status of the start fiscal year and the past fiscal years (step S23). Note that the rights holder system 10 has already received the start fiscal year from the trustee system 30 in step S09, the start fiscal year information is recorded in the rights holder system 10, and if the start fiscal year is known, the past fiscal years can also be specified.

[0062] Note that the rights holder system 10 may be configured not to retrieve the payment status of the start fiscal year. This is because managing the payment status of the start fiscal year is originally a task of the trustee side.

[0063] Note that there may be a case where the payer system 10 has already notified the trustee system 30 of the payment status for each year including the starting year as the pension specific information in step S02. Nevertheless, the reason why the rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 of the payment status again in step S23 is as follows. For example, consider the case where a patent certificate is sent in Japan. In this case, the pensions for the 1st to 3rd years should have already been paid. However, due to a delay in the clerical work of the filing agent or the like, it is possible that the report of the patent certificate occurs before the completion report of the pension payments for the 1st to 3rd years. In this case, when the rights holder system 10 receives the patent certificate, it registers the registration date and the registration number in the management database 20 and notifies the trustee system 30 of the pension specific information. However, at this point, since the rights holder system 10 has not received the completion report of the pension payments for the 1st to 3rd years, the payment status of the pensions for the 1st to 3rd years is incomplete in the management database 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing a plurality of opportunities to inquire about the payment status such as in step S23, it is configured to always grasp the latest payment status.

[0064] When the trustee control unit 31 receives the payment status of the starting year and the past years from the rights holder system 10, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether there is an unconfirmed year of payment (step S24). Specifically, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the update status database 411 shown in FIG. 9 and identifies the year for which the payment completion date is not entered for the starting year and the past years that are past the starting year.

[0065] In step S09, the trustee control unit 31 set the 6th year as the starting year. The past years are the 1st to 5th years. The trustee control unit 31 identifies the years for which the payment completion date is not entered for these 4th to 6th years. The trustee control unit 31 identifies that there is an unconfirmed year of payment for the 5th year among the past years and the 6th year which is the starting year.

[0066] When it is determined that there is an unconfirmed fiscal year for payment in the past fiscal years (step S24: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 notifies the right holder system 10 of the unconfirmed fiscal year (step S25). In this example, the trustee control unit 31 notifies the right holder system 10 of the 5th fiscal year.

[0067] When the right holder control unit 11 is notified of the unconfirmed fiscal year from the trustee system 30, it confirms the payment status of the unconfirmed fiscal year based on the update status database 22 of the management database 20 (step S26). If the payment completion date of the unconfirmed fiscal year is registered in the update status database 22, the payment completion date for each fiscal year is notified to the trustee system 30 (step S27). Also, if the payment completion date of the unconfirmed fiscal year is not registered, the trustee system 30 is notified to that effect.

[0068] When the trustee system 30 obtains the confirmation result of the unconfirmed fiscal year from the right holder system 10, it repeats the determination of whether there is an unconfirmed fiscal year for payment in the past fiscal years again (step S24).

[0069] When it is determined that there is no unconfirmed fiscal year for payment in the past fiscal years (step S24: No), the trustee control unit 31 performs the annuity payment process for the starting fiscal year (step S28).

[0070] As described above, according to the annuity management system 1 according to this embodiment, automatic provisional ordering and provisional acceptance of annuity management regarding the starting fiscal year are performed between the right holder system 10 and the trustee system 30. At this time, in the trustee system 30, management of the annuity payment status is performed not only for the starting fiscal year defined in the contract between the right holder and the trustee but also for the past fiscal years before that. This is because if there is non-payment of the annuity in the past fiscal years, even if the annuity for the starting fiscal year is paid, the target case cannot be effectively maintained. In this embodiment, it is confirmed that there is no unconfirmed fiscal year and that the target case is effectively continuing. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where the annuity for the starting fiscal year is paid even though the annuity has not been paid in the past fiscal years. Thus, according to the pension management system 1 of this embodiment, by also managing the years prior to the year that should originally be the management target, the reliability is further enhanced.

[0071] Also, in the above example, the payment deadline for the 5th year is May 23, 2020, which is close to the current date of April 12, 2020. For example, even though a letter notifying the completion of the payment of the 5th year pension has arrived at the rights holder, it takes time to input this information into the management database 20 of the rights holder system 10, and a situation where the management database 20 has not been registered by April 12, 2020 is assumed. In this case, different from this embodiment, after the official order for the entrustment of pension management is placed (step S11), if steps such as notifying the payment status of past years (step S23) or reconfirming the payment status of unconfirmed years (step S27) are not performed, a situation may also occur where the trustee pays the 5th year pension from the perspective of maintaining rights. In this embodiment, Since the payment status of unconfirmed years is confirmed after the official order, as in steps S23 and S27, such a situation can be prevented.

[0072] In the above-described embodiment, in step S02, an example was described in which the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 only of the updated items among the pension identification information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In step S02, the rights holder system 10 may notify the trustee system 30 of the pension identification information of a plurality of items including the updated items, or the rights holder system 10 may notify the trustee system 30 of the pension identification information of all items including the updated items. Note that when the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 of the pension identification information of all items including the updated items in this way, the trustee system 30 can change step S06 so as to compare the pension identification information acquired from the rights holder system 10 in step S02 with the pension identification information recorded in the operation database 41. Further, in step S02, the rights holder system 10 may notify the trustee system 30 of the information of the cases that are recorded in the rights information database 21 and have not been updated. In this case, the information of all cases recorded in the rights information database 21 may be notified to the trustee system 30, or the information of some cases including the updated cases may be notified.

[0073] Also, in this embodiment, in step S23, the payment status of the past fiscal year and the start fiscal year is notified from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30. Different from this, in the case where the payment status of the start fiscal year is not notified to the trustee system 30 and there is no grace period or the grace period is short, when the trustee control unit 31 identifies the start fiscal year, the payment deadline of the start fiscal year may come immediately. In this case, due to prioritizing the maintenance of rights, a situation of double payment may occur where both the rights holder and the trustee pay the pension for the start fiscal year. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, when the payment status is notified from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30 for both the past fiscal year and the start fiscal year, the trustee can proceed with the payment process of the pension for the start fiscal year after confirming the payment status of the rights holder, and a situation of double payment is less likely to occur.

[0074] In addition, in the present embodiment, the trustee system 30 specifies, as the starting year, the year in which the payment due date is reached after the grace period from the current time. Based on the starting year and the legal database, the trustee system 30 calculates the payment due date of the year immediately preceding the starting year, which is the year immediately preceding year. When the trustee system 30 determines that the payment due date of the year immediately preceding year is within a predetermined period before or after the current time and the information obtained from the rights holder system 10 regarding the past year's annuity payment status does not include information indicating the completion of the payment for the year immediately preceding year, the trustee system 30 may request the input of information regarding the payment status of the year immediately preceding year, or may be configured to inquire of the rights holder system 10 whether it wishes to make the payment for the year immediately preceding year. With such a configuration, it is possible to prompt the rights holder to take proactive action, and it is possible to quickly confirm the payment of the annuity for the year immediately preceding year for which an urgent response is required, or to quickly confirm the necessity of the payment.

[0075] Also, in the present embodiment, After notifying the rights holder system 10 of the starting year from the trustee system 30, the rights holder system 10 obtains the rights holder's determination as to whether to entrust the trustee with the annuity management of the case corresponding to the starting year (step S10), and notifies the trustee system 30 of the determination result (steps S11, S13). When the determination result is to entrust the annuity management (step S10: Yes), the trustee system 30 starts managing the starting year and the past year's annuity payment status (step S12).

[0076] According to such a configuration, the trustee system 30 can identify a case for which annuity management is possible based on the updated annuity identification information, and can inquire of the rights holder whether it can accept the provisional order as a formal order, assuming that this is a provisional order. For the rights holder, unlike in the present embodiment, it is a heavy burden to make a determination on its own based on the update of the annuity identification information and place an order for annuity management. On the other hand, if there is no step S10 for determining whether or not the rights holder entrusts, unlike the present embodiment, a situation may occur where, for a case in which the rights holder intended to abandon the maintenance of the rights, the trustee system 30 automatically starts the pension management. According to the present embodiment, since it is determined whether or not pension management can be performed by the trustee system 30 proficient in pension management, and a provisional order is automatically placed, the burden on the rights holder side is reduced. Further, since pension management is not started only with a provisional order, but is started after obtaining a formal order from the rights holder, pension management can be performed based on the intention of the rights holder.

[0077] Also, in the above-described embodiment, after the trustee system 30 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start year in step S09, a configuration has been described in which, after waiting for a determination as to whether or not a formal order is received from the rights holder system 10 in steps S10, S11, and S13, pension management is started in step S12. The present invention is not limited to this, and after the trustee system 30 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start year in step S09, it may be configured to start the pension management in step S12 without waiting for a response from the rights holder. With such a configuration, for example, a situation where a pension payment requiring urgent response is delayed due to a delay in the timing of the rights holder's formal order can be prevented. Also, in this case, after starting the pension management, an instruction regarding the formal order from the rights holder (steps S10, S11, and S13) is received, and when the trustee system 30 obtains a notice from the rights holder system 10 that the pension management is not entrusted, it may be configured to suspend the pension management for the corresponding case.

[0078] (Second Embodiment) Next, the configuration of the pension management system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the above-described first embodiment, the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 of the identification information of the updated case and the updated pension specific information only when it is determined that the pension specific information has been updated (step S01: Yes in FIG. 2) (step S02). That is, the determination of the update of the pension specific information is made by the rights holder system 10. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the determination of the update of the pension specific information is made by the trustee system 30. In the following description, the parts different from the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the common parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0079] FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system 100 according to the second embodiment. The pension management system 100 includes a rights holder system 110 and a trustee system 130 connected to each other via a network 5. The rights holder system 110 includes a rights holder control unit 11, a management database 20, a rights holder legal database 13, and a rights holder communication unit 14. The trustee system 130 includes a trustee control unit 31, a pension database 40, a trustee legal database 32, a trustee communication unit 33, and a pension specific database 34. The pension specific database 34 is a database in which items that may affect whether the trustee system 30 can start managing a pension among the items of information recorded in the pension database 40 are recorded.

[0080] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the process until the start of pension management executed by the pension management system 100. Note that the process from the start of pension management to the pension payment process executed by the pension management system 100 is the same as that of the pension management system 1 (FIG. 10) of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

[0081] First, when the rights holder control unit 11 of the rights holder system 10 acquires some information about a certain case from the Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3, it notifies the trustee system 30 of the identification information of the updated case and the updated items (step S31).

[0082] For example, for case:001, upon receiving the notice of registration examination, the rights holder control unit 11 inputs the registration number and registration date into the rights information database 21 of the management database 20, and rewrites the data update date to April 12, 2020. The rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 of the updated case identification information (sorting number 001 of the target case) and the updated items, i.e., the registration number and registration date (step S31).

[0083] When the trustee control unit 31 receives notice of the updated items from the rights holder system 10, it refers to the pension specific database 34 and determines whether the updated items correspond to the pension specific information (step S32). For example, if the updated items are the registration number and registration date, the trustee control unit 31 determines that the updated items are the pension specific information.

[0084] When the trustee control unit 31 determines that the updated items do not correspond to the pension specific information (step S32: No), it does not perform any particular processing and ends the process. When the trustee control unit 31 determines that the updated items correspond to the pension specific information (step S32: Yes), it determines whether the target case of the updated pension specific information is registered in the pension database 40 (step S03). For the subsequent steps S03 and onwards, the pension management system 100 executes the same processing as the pension management system 1 (Figure 2) of the first embodiment.

[0085] According to such a configuration, since the trustee system 30 determines whether the updated items correspond to the pension specific information, the processing load on the rights holder system 10 is reduced. Also, a situation can be avoided where, even though the updated items correspond to the pension specific information, no notice is sent from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30.

[0086] (Third Embodiment) Next, the configuration of the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17. In the first embodiment described above, the owner of the industrial property right uses the owner system 10 to automatically place a provisional order and receive a provisional order for pension management regarding the starting fiscal year and confirm and manage the pension payment status with the trustee system 30. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, instead of the owner of the industrial property right, the filing agent uses the filing agent system 210 to automatically place a provisional order and receive a provisional order for pension management regarding the starting fiscal year and confirm and manage the pension payment status with the trustee system 230.

[0087] That is, in the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment, when there is an update of pension specific information, the filing agent system 210 notifies the trustee system 230 of the updated information. When the trustee system 230 determines that pension management can be automatically placed provisionally based on the update, it notifies the filing agent system 210. When the filing agent system 210 approves the provisional order as a formal order, the trustee system 230 starts managing the pension. At this time, the trustee system 230 is configured to manage the pension payments for the previous fiscal years as well as the starting fiscal year of the pension management. The filing agent system 210 is an example of a rights management system. In the following description, the differences from the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the common parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0088] FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment. The pension management system 200 includes an applicant agent system 210 and a trustee system 230 connected to each other via a network 5. The applicant agent system 210 is a system operated by an applicant agent who acts on behalf of the owner of industrial property rights, i.e., the applicant, to handle procedures for obtaining domestic and / or foreign industrial property rights. The applicant agent system 210 may be composed of a single information processing device or multiple information processing devices. Further, the applicant agent system 210 may be provided by a service provider as a so-called cloud service.

[0089] The applicant agent system 210 is connected to, for example, the Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6, obtains information on domestic or foreign industrial property rights, and manages at least the procedures from filing to patenting. The local agent system 6 is a system of a local agent who acts on behalf of foreign filing procedures. Note that the applicant agent system 210 does not necessarily have to be connected to the Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6. In this case, the applicant agent operating the applicant agent system 210 may input the information obtained from the Patent Office or the local agent into the database. Further, the applicant agent system 210 is connected to the rights holder system 10 and transmits the information on the obtained industrial property rights to the rights holder system 10. The rights holder system 10 has the same structure as the rights holder system 10 in the first embodiment.

[0090] The applicant agent system 210 includes an agent control unit 211, a management database 220, a pension specific database 212, an agent legal database 213, and an agent communication unit 214. The agent control unit 211 controls the management database 220 and the agent communication unit 214. The agent communication unit 214 communicates with the trustee system 230, the Patent Office system 2, the rights holder system 10, and the local agent system 6. In this embodiment, the management database 220 includes a rights information database 221, an update status database 222, and a task database 223. The agent control unit 211 of the applicant agent system 210 is constituted by, for example, an information processing apparatus including a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads computer-readable instructions stored in a storage unit and executes the processes described in detail below.

[0091] The applicant agent system 210 can collect annuity specific information including the type of right, country name, filing date, application number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, associate it with customer information, and record it in the management database 220. FIG. 14 shows an example of the right information database 221 of the management database 220. FIG. 14 shows information about sorting number 001. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the right information database 221 has an application country, type of right, Paris Convention priority number, priority date, application number, filing date, publication number, publication date, registration number, registration date, prosecution / abandonment status, creator (inventor), right holder, presence / absence of application, presence / absence of examination request, local agent information, renewal management agent information, and data update date. The right information database 221 further has a customer name and a customer sorting number. When the target case is a joint application, the request for acquisition of industrial property rights may be received from the representative among multiple right holders. Alternatively, when the right holder is a non-resident, the request for acquisition of industrial property rights may be received through an agent in the country where the right holder resides. In this case, the representative or agent of the right holder becomes the customer. For this reason, items for the right holder and the customer are prepared.

[0092] Similar to the renewal status database 22 shown in FIG. 4, the renewal status database 222 of the management database 220 records the payment deadline of the annuity for each year of the target case and the payment status. Similar to the task database 23 shown in FIG. 5, the task database 223 of the management database 220 records the procedures (tasks) that need to be performed for the Patent Office from application to right maintenance. In this example, the processing date in the task database 223 is the date on which the applicant agent executed the task or the date on which the local agent or annuity administrator instructed the execution of the task. The completion date is the date on which the execution of the task was reported to the customer.

[0093] The annuity specific database 212 is a database that records items among the items of information recorded in the management database 220 that may affect whether the trustee system 230 can start managing the annuity, similar to the annuity specific database 12 shown in FIG. 1. The agent legal database 213 is a database that records legal information of each country for calculating the annual payment and payment deadline of the annuity and determining whether it is subject to annuity management, similar to the rights holder legal database 13 shown in FIG. 1.

[0094] The trustee system 230 includes a trustee control unit 31, an annuity database 40, a trustee legal database 32, and a trustee communication unit 33. The trustee control unit 31 communicates with the applicant agent system 210 via the trustee communication unit 33. Also, the trustee control unit 31 communicates with the rights holder system 10 via the trustee communication unit 33.

[0095] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the processes executed by the annuity management system 200, showing the processes until the start of annuity management.

[0096] First, when the agent control unit 211 of the applicant agent system 210 acquires some information about a certain case from the Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6, it determines whether any of the annuity specific information in the management database 220 has been updated based on the annuity specific database 212 (step S41).

[0097] When the agent control unit 211 determines that the annuity specific information has not been updated (step S41: No), it waits until it acquires some information about a certain case from the Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6 again. When the agent control unit 211 determines that the annuity specific information has been updated (step S41: Yes), it notifies the trustee system 130 of the identification information of the updated case, the updated annuity specific information, and the customer information of the updated case (step S42).

[0098] When the trustee control unit 31 is notified of the pension identification information from the application agent system 210, first, it determines whether the target case for which the pension identification information has been notified is registered in the pension database 40 (step S43). If the target case for which the pension identification information has been notified is not registered in the pension database 40 (step S43: No), the trustee control unit 31 inquires of the application agent system 210, acquires all the pension identification information regarding the target case, and registers it in the temporary acceptance database 42 together with the customer information (step S44). If information regarding the target case is registered in the pension database 40 (step S43: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 rewrites the temporary acceptance database 42 with the pension identification information acquired from the application agent system 210 (step S45).

[0099] Next, the trustee control unit 31 compares the pension identification information in the temporary acceptance database 42 of the target case with that in the operation database 41 (step S46), and identifies the differences between the temporary acceptance database 42 and the operation database 41 for the target case.

[0100] FIG. 16 shows the temporary acceptance database 42 as of April 12, 2020, and shows the schematic information of target case 001 acquired from the application agent system 210. The temporary acceptance database 42 includes the customer name and the customer sorting number in addition to the information included in the temporary acceptance database 42 of FIG. 6. Note that the temporary acceptance database 42 further includes the payment status of target case 001 acquired from the application agent system 210 in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 7).

[0101] Next, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether the pension management of the target case can be enabled by the update of the pension identification information in the application agent system 210 (step S47). Here, Based on the differences between the operation database 41 and the temporary acceptance database 42 and the trustee legal database 32, it is determined whether the pension management can be enabled.

[0102] When the trustee control unit 31 determines that the pension management of the target case is possible (step S47: Yes), it specifies the starting fiscal year for starting the management of the case based on the trustee legal database 32 in which the pension payment fiscal year and the starting date of the payment deadline are recorded for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension specific information of the case (step S48). When it is determined that the pension management of the target case is impossible (step S47: No), the trustee control unit 31 does not perform any particular processing and ends the process.

[0103] Next, the trustee control unit 31 notifies the application agent system 210 of the specified starting fiscal year (step S49).

[0104] Next, the agent control unit 211 acquires an input as to whether to entrust the trustee who has notified the starting fiscal year with the pension management (step S50). When the agent control unit 211 acquires an input indicating that it does not entrust the pension management (step S50: No), the agent control unit 211 notifies the trustee system 230 that it does not entrust the pension management of the target case 001 (step S53). When the agent control unit 211 acquires an input indicating that it entrusts the pension management (step S50: Yes), the agent control unit 211 notifies the trustee system 230 that it entrusts the pension management of the target case 001 (step S51).

[0105] When the trustee control unit 31 acquires a notice from the application agent system 210 to entrust the pension management of the target case 001 (step S50: Yes), it starts the pension management of the case (step S52).

[0106] When starting the pension management, the trustee system 230 copies all the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 of the case to the operation database 41. As a result, after starting the pension management, the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 and the information in the operation database 41 regarding the target case become the same. The trustee system 230 manages the pension using the update status database 411 of the operation database 41 shown in FIG. 9.

[0107] Figure 17 is a flowchart of the processes executed by the pension management system 200, showing the processes from the start of pension management to the pension payment process. As shown in Figure 17, when the trustee control unit 31 starts the pension management of the target case 001, it notifies the application agent system 210 that the pension management of the case has started (step S61).

[0108] When the agent control unit 211 acquires the notification, it retrieves the payment status of the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years from the update status database 222 (step S62). The agent control unit 211 notifies the trustee system 230 of the retrieved payment status of the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years (step S63). Note that the application agent system 210 has already received the starting fiscal year from the trustee system 30 in step S49, and the starting fiscal year information is recorded in the application agent system 210. If the starting fiscal year is known, the past fiscal years can also be specified. Note that the application agent system 210 may be configured not to retrieve the payment status of the starting fiscal year.

[0109] When the trustee control unit 31 receives the payment status of the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years from the application agent system 210, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether there is an unconfirmed fiscal year for payment (step S64). Specifically, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the update status database 411 in the operation database 41 and identifies the fiscal years for which the payment completion date is not filled in for the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years that are past the starting fiscal year.

[0110] If it is determined that there is an unconfirmed fiscal year for payment in the past fiscal years (step S64: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 notifies the application agent system 210 of the unconfirmed fiscal year (step S65).

[0111] When the agent control unit 211 is notified of an unconfirmed year from the trustee system 230, it confirms the payment status of the unconfirmed year based on the update status database 222 of the management database 220 (step S66). If the payment completion date of the unconfirmed year is registered in the update status database 222, the payment completion date for each year is notified to the trustee system 230 (step S67). Also, if the payment completion date of the unconfirmed year is not registered, the trustee system 230 is notified to that effect.

[0112] When the trustee system 230 obtains the confirmation result of the unconfirmed year from the applicant agent system 210, it repeats the determination of whether there is an unconfirmed year for payment in the past years again (step S64).

[0113] When it is determined that there is no unconfirmed year for payment in the past years (step S64: No), the trustee system 230 notifies the rights holder system 10 operated by the rights holder corresponding to the customer information recorded in the operation database 41 of the start of pension management and the start year (step S68). In this example, the customer and the rights holder of the target case 001 are the same, and the trustee system 230 notifies the rights holder system 10 operated by the rights holder who is the customer based on the customer information recorded in the operation database 41 of the start of pension management. Note that when the rights holder is an overseas person and the customer and the rights holder are not the same, the start of pension management may be notified to the rights holder system 10 operated by the rights holder through the customer (agent). The rights holder system 10 When the trustee system 230 obtains a notification of the start of pension management, it records the start year in the management database.

[0114] Also, the trustee control unit 31 performs the pension payment process for the start year (step S69). Note that the pension payment process for the start year may be performed before the notification of the start of pension to the rights holder system 10 (step S68).

[0115] According to such a configuration, provisional ordering, provisional receiving, and confirmation / management of the annuity payment status regarding the starting fiscal year are automatically performed between the application agent system 210 and the trustee system 230. That is, from the provisional ordering of annuity management to the annuity payment is completed between the application agent system 210 and the trustee system 230 without going through the rights holder system 10. As a result, the processing burden on the rights holder, such as ordering annuity management and confirming the annuity payment status, is reduced. On the other hand, since the rights holder system 10 is notified of the start of annuity management and the starting fiscal year, the rights holder who operates the rights holder system 10 can grasp the annuity management status.

[0116] Also, when the rights holder system 10 is notified of the start of annuity management before the annuity payment process for the starting fiscal year, a situation where the annuity management of a case where the rights holder intended to abandon the maintenance of rights is started can be avoided. For example, when the rights holder system 10 obtains the annuity management start notification in step S68, it may notify the trustee system 230 to cancel the entrustment of annuity management.

[0117] In the above-described embodiment, the determination as to whether the updated information is annuity specific information is made in the application agent system 210. However, as in the second embodiment, the determination as to whether the updated information is annuity specific information may be made in the trustee system 230. In this case, the trustee system 230 has an annuity specific database 34, similar to the trustee system 130 in FIG. 11.

[0118] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the application agent entrusts all annuity management to the trustee, but the annuity management for some fiscal years (for example, the 6th fiscal year) may be performed by the application agent. For example, the application agent may notify the trustee system 30 in step S51 of FIG. 15 that it entrusts the annuity management for a predetermined fiscal year (for example, the 7th fiscal year and later) of the target case. In this case, the application agent system 210 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start of annuity management for some fiscal years (for example, the 6th fiscal year). Also, when the annuity payment is completed, the application agent system 210 notifies the rights holder system 10 and the trustee system 230 of that fact.

[0119] Further, the present invention can be configured as a rights management system (rights holder system 10, 110 or application agent system 210) that constitutes the above-described annuity management systems 1, 100, 200 as follows. A rights management system used in an annuity management system 1, 100, 200 that manages payment of annuities necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, The rights management system can acquire information related to industrial property rights and manage at least the procedures from application to obtaining rights, The rights management system is connected via a network 5 to a trustee system 30, 130, 230 that manages payment of annuities necessary for maintaining the industrial property rights, The rights management system can collect annuity specific information including type of right, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, and can record it in a management database 20, 220, When the information in the management database 20, 220 is updated, the rights management system notifies the trustee system 30, 130, 230 of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information, When it is determined that annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and jurisdiction are recorded and the information of the case, the rights management system acquires from the trustee system 30, 130, 230 the starting year in which management of the case calculated by the trustee system 30, 130, 230 is started, The rights management system notifies the trustee system 30, 130, 230 of information regarding the annuity payment status for past years that are years before the acquired starting year.

[0120] Further, the present invention can be configured as a trustee system 30, 130, 230 that constitutes the above-described annuity management systems 1, 100, 200 as follows. A trustee system 30, 130, 230 used in an annuity management system 1, 100, 200 for managing the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, The trustee systems 30, 130, 230 manage the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights, Connected via a network 5 to a rights management system (rights holder system 10, 110 or application agent system 210) capable of acquiring information related to industrial property rights and managing at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights, In the rights management system that can collect annuity specific information including the type of right, country name, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status and record it in a management database 20, 220, when the information in the management database 20, 220 is updated, notify the rights management system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information, When it is determined that the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, the trustee systems 30, 130, 230 specify the starting year for starting the management of the case based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and jurisdiction are recorded and the information of the case, Notify the rights management system of the starting year, Start managing the annuity payment status for the past years, which are the starting year and the previous years, The trustee systems 30, 130, 230 that acquire information on the annuity payment status for the past years from the rights management system.

[0121] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been explained. Needless to say, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner by the description of the embodiments. This embodiment is merely an example, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

[0122] The modification example of the above-described first embodiment can also be applied to the second embodiment and the third embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0123] 1,100,200 Pension Management System 2 Patent Office System 3,210 Application Agent System 4 Agent System 5 Network 6 Local Agent System 10,110 Right Holder System 11 Right Holder Control Unit 12 Pension Specific Database 13 Right Holder Legal Database 14 Right Holder Communication Unit 20 Management Database 21 Right Information Database 22 Update Status Database 23 Task Database 30,130,230 Trustee System 31 Trustee Control Unit 32 Trustee Legal Database 33 Trustee Communication Unit 34 Pension Specific Database 40 Pension Database 41 Operation Database 42 Provisional Acceptance Database 411 Update Status Database 211 Agent Control Unit 212 Pension Specific Database 213 Agent Legal Database 214 Agent Communication Unit 220 Management Database 221 Right Information Database 222 Update Status Database 223 Task Database

Claims

1. An annuity management system for managing the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, comprising: a right management system that acquires information related to industrial property rights and can manage at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights; a trustee system connected to the right management system via a network and managing the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights; the right management system collects annuity specific information including the type of right, country name, filing date, filing number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, and can record it in a management database; when the information in the management database is updated, the right management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information; when the trustee system determines that the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the right management system, the trustee system identifies the starting year for starting the management of the case based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and legal jurisdiction are recorded, and the information of the case; the trustee system notifies the starting year to the right management system; the trustee system starts managing the annuity payment status of the past years, which are the starting year and the previous years; the right management system notifies the trustee system of information regarding the annuity payment status of the past years. An annuity management system.

2. The annuity management system according to claim 1, wherein when the right management system determines that the updated information is annuity specific information, the right management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated annuity specific information.

3. When the trustee system determines that the updated information is annuity specific information, the annuity management system according to claim 1, which determines whether the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the annuity specific information.

4. The annuity management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trustee system acquires information regarding the annuity payment status of the past years from the right management system, and when there is an unconfirmed year in which payment cannot be confirmed in the past years, the trustee system notifies the unconfirmed year.

5. The trustee system identifies, as the starting year, the year in which the payment deadline is reached after the grace period from the current time. Based on the starting fiscal year and the legal database, the trustee system calculates the payment deadline for the fiscal year immediately preceding the starting fiscal year. The trustee system requests input of information regarding the payment status for the immediately preceding fiscal year, or queries the rights management system as to whether payment for the immediately preceding fiscal year is desired, if it determines that the payment deadline for the immediately preceding fiscal year is within a predetermined period before or after the current time, and that the information obtained from the rights management system regarding the pension payment status for the past fiscal years does not include information indicating completion of payment for the immediately preceding fiscal year. The pension management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. After notifying the rights management system of the starting fiscal year from the trustee system, the rights management system obtains the determination of the rights holder or the filing agent as to whether to entrust the trustee of the trustee system with the pension management of the case corresponding to that starting fiscal year, and notifies the trustee system of the determination result. When the determination result is to entrust pension management, the trustee system starts managing the pension payment status for the starting fiscal year and the past fiscal years. The pension management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The rights management system is a rights holder system operated by the rights holder who holds the industrial property right. The pension management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. It is capable of obtaining information regarding the industrial property right and managing at least the procedures from filing to the establishment of rights, and further has a rights holder system operated by the rights holder who holds the industrial property right. The rights management system is an application agent system operated by an application agent who acts on behalf of the procedures for obtaining the industrial property right. When the information in the management database is updated, the application agent system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the customer information of the updated case updated together with the updated information. The trustee system notifies the rights holder system operated by the rights holder corresponding to the customer information of the start of management of the case and the starting fiscal year. The rights holder system stores the starting fiscal year of the case notified from the trustee system. The pension management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. A rights management system used in an annuity management system for managing the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, The rights management system can acquire information related to industrial property rights and manage at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights, The rights management system is connected via a network to a trustee system that manages the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights, The rights management system includes the type of right, country name, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, Collects annuity-specific information including the annuity payment status and can record it in a management database, When the information in the management database is updated, the rights management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information, When it is determined that the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and jurisdiction are recorded, and the information of the case, obtain from the trustee system the starting year in which the management of the case is to be started by the trustee system, The rights management system notifies the trustee system of information regarding the annuity payment status for past years that are years before the obtained starting year. Rights management system.

10. A trustee system used in an annuity management system for managing the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, The trustee system manages the payment of annuities necessary for the maintenance of the industrial property rights, Is connected via a network to a rights management system that can acquire information related to industrial property rights and manage at least the procedures from application to the establishment of rights, In the rights management system that can collect annuity-specific information including the type of right, country name, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status and record it in a management database, when the information in the management database is updated, notify the rights management system of the identification information of the updated case and the updated information, When it is determined that the annuity management of the case becomes possible due to the update of the information in the rights management system, the trustee system identifies the starting year in which the management of the case is to be started based on a legal database in which the annual payment year and the starting date of the payment deadline of the annuity for each country and jurisdiction are recorded, and the information of the case, Notify the rights management system of the start fiscal year, Start managing the pension payment status for past fiscal years that are the start fiscal year and prior years, A trustee system that obtains information on the pension payment status for the past fiscal years from the rights management system.

Images