Pension management system, rights management system used therein, and trustee 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 while accuracy is required for the management. For this reason, as in Patent Document 1, it is common for the right holder to use an external operator such as a pension management company 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 annuity is to be entrusted and the year for which the management is desired, and the trustee company undertakes the management of the annuity 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 or when it is determined that pension management is required due to an update in pension specific information, it is considered to automatically place an order for pension management from the system to the pension management company. Pension management companies can identify the year in which they will begin managing pensions based on updated pension identification information and the law, and then begin managing pensions from that year onward. However, if past pension payments have not been properly made, the right to continue pensions cannot be maintained even if pension payments for the years under management are properly made. Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a more reliable pension management system by also managing years prior to the years that should have been managed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] To achieve the above objective, according to the present invention, A pension management system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, A rights management system that can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, The system includes a trustee system connected via a network to the aforementioned rights management system, which manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights. The aforementioned rights management system includes the type of right, country, filing date, application number, registration date, registration number, It is possible to collect pension-specific information, including pension payment status, and record it in a management database. The rights management system notifies the contractor system of the updated case identification information and the updated information when the information in the management database is updated. When the trustee system determines that pension management for the case becomes possible through the updating of the information in the rights management system, the trustee system identifies the starting year for commencing management of the case based on the legal database in which the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction are recorded, and the information for the case. The aforementioned contractor system notifies the aforementioned rights management system of the commencement year, The trustee system begins managing the pension payment status for the start year and previous years, The rights management system provides a pension management system that notifies the trustee system of information regarding the pension payment status for the past years.

[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 updated identification information of the case and the updated pension-specific information.

[0007] In the pension management system described above, When the aforementioned contractor system determines that the updated information is pension-specific information, It may be determined whether updating the aforementioned pension-specific information will enable pension management for the aforementioned case.

[0008] In the pension management system described above, The trustee system may obtain information regarding the pension payment status for past years from the rights management system and may notify the trustee of any unconfirmed years in which payments cannot be confirmed.

[0009] In the pension management system described above, The aforementioned contractor system identifies the year in which the payment due date falls after the grace period from the present as the commencement year. The aforementioned contractor system calculates the payment deadline for the year immediately preceding the commencement year, based on the commencement year and the legal database, The trustee system may, if it determines that the payment deadline for the immediately preceding year falls within a predetermined period before or after the present time, and that the information on the pension payment status for past years obtained from the rights management system does not include information indicating the completion of payment for the immediately preceding year, request input of information on the payment status for the immediately preceding year, or inquire with the rights management system whether or not the trustee wishes to receive payment for the immediately preceding year.

[0010] In the pension management system described above, After the commencement year is notified from the trustee system to the rights management system, the rights management system obtains the decision of the rights holder or applicant's agent as to whether or not to entrust the annuity management for the case corresponding to that commencement year to the trustee system, and notifies the trustee system of the result of that decision. If the aforementioned decision is to entrust pension management, the trustee system may begin managing the pension payment status for the commencement year and the past years.

[0011] In the pension management system described above, The aforementioned rights management system may also be a rights holder system operated by the rights holders who hold the aforementioned industrial property rights.

[0012] In the pension management system described above, The system is capable of acquiring information on the aforementioned industrial property rights and managing the procedures from application to granting rights, and further has a rights holder system operated by the rights holders who possess the aforementioned industrial property rights. The aforementioned rights management system is an application agent system operated by an application agent who acts as an agent for the procedures to acquire the aforementioned industrial property rights. When the information in the management database is updated, the aforementioned application agent system will, The contractor system is notified of the updated identification information of the case and the updated customer information of the case along with the updated information. The contractor system may notify the rights holder system, which is operated by the rights holder corresponding to the customer information, of the commencement and commencement year of the management of the case.

[0013] To achieve the above objective, according to the present invention, A rights management system used in a pension management system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, The aforementioned rights management system can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting 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 is 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 identification information of the updated case and the updated information are notified from the rights management system. When the trustee system determines that pension management for the case will become possible through the updating of the information in the rights management system, the trustee system identifies the starting year for commencing management of the case based on the legal database which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the information of the case. The aforementioned start year is notified to the rights management system, We will begin managing the pension payment status for the aforementioned start year and the preceding years in past years. A trustee system is provided that obtains information regarding the pension payment status for the aforementioned past years from the rights management system. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, even years prior to the years that should have been managed are included in the management, providing a more reliable pension management system. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system, showing the steps taken up to the start of pension management. [Figure 3] This shows an example of a rights information database for a management database. [Figure 4] This shows an example of a database showing the update status of a management database. [Figure 5] This shows an example of a task database in a management database. [Figure 6] This shows a summary of the provisional data in the database as of April 12, 2020. [Figure 7] This shows the payment status in the provisional receipt database. [Figure 8] This shows the trustee legal database. [Figure 9] This shows the update status of the operational database. [Figure 10]This is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system, showing the process from the start of pension management to the processing of pension payments. [Figure 11] This is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system, showing the steps taken up to the start of pension management. [Figure 13] This is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] This shows an example of a rights information database for a management database. [Figure 15] This is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system, showing the steps taken up to the start of pension management. [Figure 16] This shows a summary of the provisional data in the database as of April 12, 2020. [Figure 17] This is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system, showing the process from the start of pension management to the processing of pension payments. [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 to the pension identification information, the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30, and if the trustee system 30 is able to manage the pension based on the update, it automatically determines that a provisional order for pension management has been placed and notifies the rights holder system 10, and once the rights holder system 10 approves the provisional order as a formal order, the trustee system 30 begins managing the pension. At this time, the trustee system 30 manages pension payments not only for the year in which pension management begins but also for years prior to that. The rights holder system 10 is an example of a rights management system. The details will be explained below with reference to Figures 1 to 10.

[0018] Figure 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 Figure 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] While industrial property rights technically refer to registered rights, here we will collectively refer to patent applications, utility model applications, design applications, and trademark applications that are pending but not yet registered as industrial property rights. This is because annuity management may begin even for pending applications. For example, in the case of Japanese patents, when a registration decision is notified, it may be necessary to pay the patent fees for the first to third years in a lump sum, and annuity management may become possible from the time the registration decision is received.

[0020] The rights holder system 10 is a system that can acquire information on industrial property rights from the Japan Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3 and manage the procedures from application to granting rights. In this embodiment, the rights holder system 10 is a system operated by a rights holder who has applied for and holds industrial property rights. The rights holder operates the rights holder system 10 to manage information and procedures for acquiring and maintaining industrial property rights. The rights holder system 10 may consist of a single information processing device or multiple information processing devices. The rights holder system 10 may also be provided by a service provider as a so-called cloud service.

[0021] The rights holder system 10 is connected to, for example, the Japan Patent Office system 2 and the application agent system 3. The rights holder system 10 obtains information from the Japan Patent Office system 2 and the application agent system 3 and manages industrial property rights. For example, when the Japan Patent Office issues a notice of reasons for rejection for a patent application, the rights holder system 10 obtains the electronic data of the notice of reasons for rejection from the Japan 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 a notice of reasons for rejection, it sets a deadline for submitting a statement of opinion or amendment and manages whether the statement of opinion and amendment were submitted by the deadline. Alternatively, when an application number notification is issued, the rights holder system 10 adds the application number information to the relevant case and records it in the database. Note that the rights holder system 10 does not necessarily have to be connected to the Japan Patent Office system 2 or the application agent system 3. In this case, the rights holder operating the rights holder system 10 may input information obtained from the Japan 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-specific 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 Japan 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 composed of, for example, an information processing device equipped with a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads computer-readable instructions stored in the memory unit and executes the processes detailed below.

[0023] The rights holder system 10 can collect pension-specific information, including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and pension payment status, and record it in the management database 20. Pension-specific information is information that may affect whether or not the trustee system 30 can start managing pensions. The pension-specific database 12 is registered to indicate which items of information collected by the rights holder system 10 constitute pension-specific information. Therefore, the rights holder control unit 11 can determine, based on the pension-specific database 12, whether or not an update item in the management database 20 constitutes pension-specific information. The pension-specific database 12 is a database in which items of information recorded in the management database 20 that may affect whether or not the trustee system 30 can start managing pensions.

[0024] When commencing pension management, it is necessary to identify the cases to be managed, determine whether pension payments are required, and identify the payment deadlines. For example, cases to be managed can be identified by the type of right, country, and application number. Furthermore, the payment deadlines for each year of the pension can be identified based on the application date and registration date. In addition, it is possible to identify that pension payments began upon registration on the registration date.

[0025] However, since the rights holder system 10 is not intended solely for pension management, it is certainly permissible to include other information. For example, information necessary for managing industrial property rights, such as whether or not an appeal was filed, the deadline for the appeal, the publication date, the publication number, the deadline for responding to the notice of reasons for rejection, and the number of claims, may be recorded in the management database 20.

[0026] The Trustee System 30 is a system operated by pension management companies and other entities that handle the management of industrial property rights annuities. Here, a trustee is defined as someone who is entrusted by rights holders with managing annuities. The trustee operates the Trustee System 30 to manage the timely payment of annuities necessary for maintaining industrial property rights. The Trustee System 30 may consist of a single information processing device or it may consist of multiple information processing devices. The trustee system 30 includes a trustee control unit 31, a pension 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 composed of, for example, an information processing device equipped with a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads computer-readable instructions stored in the memory unit and executes the processes detailed below. The trustee control unit 31 also communicates with the rights holder system 10 via the trustee communication unit 33. Furthermore, the trustee control unit 31 sends instructions for pension payments to the pension payment agent system 4 and obtains pension payment completion reports from the pension payment agent system 4 via the trustee communication unit 33.

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the processes executed by the pension management system 1, showing the processes up to the start of pension management. The pension management system 1 executes the processes shown in Figure 2. The following will explain this in detail using the diagram.

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

[0030] If the rights holder control unit 11 determines that the pension identification information will not be updated (step S01: No), it does nothing and waits until it obtains some information about a particular case from the Japan Patent Office system 2 or the applicant agent system 3. When the rights holder control unit 11 determines that the pension identification 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 identification information.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an example of the rights information database 21 of the management database 20. In Figure 3, information about rights holder reference number 001 is shown. In the example shown in Figure 3, the rights information database 21 contains the following information: country of application, type of right, priority number under the Paris Convention, priority date, application number, application date, publication number, publication date, registration number, registration date, pending / abandoned status, creator (inventor), rights holder, whether an application has been filed, whether an examination has been requested, domestic agent information, local agent information, renewal management agent information, and data update date.

[0032] In the case of a foreign application, the rights holder may contact their application agent (local agent) in the country of application through their domestic agent, rather than directly. Therefore, fields for both domestic and local agents are provided. Note that the local agent field is left blank in the case of a domestic application. Furthermore, 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 most recent date on which the rights information database 21 was updated for this reference number 001.

[0033] Figure 4 shows an example of the update status database 22 of the management database 20. Figure 4 shows information about rights holder reference number 001. In the example shown in Figure 4, the subject case (reference number: 001) is a Chinese patent. Therefore, annual annuities must be paid from year 1 to year 20. The update status database 22 records the payment deadlines and payment status for each of these years. In the example shown, payments for years 1 to 4 have been completed, while payments for years 5 to 20 are incomplete.

[0034] Figure 5 shows an example of the task database 23 of the management database 20. Figure 5 shows information about the rights holder's reference number 001. In this embodiment, the rights holder system 10 handles the procedures that need to be performed with the Japan Patent Office from application to maintenance of rights. Tasks are managed in the task database 23 shown in Figure 5. In the example shown, tasks for the application, examination request, approval notification, and pension payments for the first to fifth years of the target case (reference number: 001) are managed. For each task, the entry date, completion deadline, processing date, and completion date are managed.

[0035] The creation date is the date on which the task was created. For example, in the case of an appeal, it is the date on which the deadline for the appeal was set and the rights holder registered the appeal task in the rights holder system 10.

[0036] The completion deadline is the deadline for the task. For example, in the case of a request for examination of a patent in Japan, The date is three years after the filing date. The completion deadline may be calculated based on the rights holder legal database 13 held by the rights holder system 10, or it may be calculated by the rights holder, etc. The rights holder legal database 13 is the same database as 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 perform the task. The completion date is the date on which the application agent or annuity administrator reports the completion of the task. For example, the processing date is the date on which the right holder notifies the application agent through the right holder system 10 of the instruction to perform the request for examination. The completion date is the date on which the application agent reports the performance of the request for examination through the application agent system 3.

[0038] The rights holder control unit 11 creates a task when it becomes necessary to perform that task. For example, at the time the request for examination is completed, only the tasks for application and request for examination are registered in the task database 23. In the example shown in Figure 5, when a registration decision is issued for a Chinese patent, the rights holder control unit 11 creates a task for approval notice and 4th year annuity, registering the date of delivery of the registration decision as the creation date and the payment deadline for the 4th year annuity as the completion deadline. In Figure 5, the task for payment of the 5th year annuity is created when the payment of the 4th year annuity is completed. Furthermore, the rights holder has not yet instructed the annuity administrator to make the payment of the 5th year annuity.

[0039] Now, let's assume the current date is April 12, 2020. Returning to Figure 2, on this day, a notification of registration assessment was received for case:001, and the rights holder control unit 11 entered the registration number and registration date into the rights information database 21 of the management database 20, and rewrote the data update date to April 12, 2020. This registration number and registration date are pension-specific information that affects whether the trustee system 30 can begin managing pensions, and this item is registered in the pension-specific database 12. Therefore, the rights holder control unit 11 determines that the updated item corresponds to pension-specific information. (Step S01: Yes), the updated case identification information (case reference number 001) and the updated items, namely the registration number and registration date, are notified to the contractor system 30 (Step S02).

[0040] In this embodiment, when the trustee control unit 31 receives notification of pension identification information from the rights holder system 10, it first determines whether or not the target case for which the pension identification information has been notified is registered in the pension database 40 (step S03).

[0041] Here, we assume that as of April 11, 2020, one day prior to the present, no pension-specific information for target case 001 is registered in the pension database 40 (Step S03: No). In this case, the trustee control unit 31 queries the rights holder system 10 to obtain all pension-specific information for target case 001 and registers it in the provisional acceptance database 42 (Step S04).

[0042] If information regarding target case 001 is registered in the pension database 40, (Step S03: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 rewrites the provisional receipt database 42 with the pension identification information obtained from the rights holder system 10 (Step S05). At this point, the provisional receipt database 42 does not have any information about target case 001 registered, so information about target case 001 is newly registered in the provisional receipt database 42.

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

[0044] Figure 6 shows the provisional receipt database 42 as of April 12, 2020, and displays the general information of target case 001 obtained from the rights holder system 10. Figure 7 also shows the provisional receipt database 42 as of April 12, 2020, and displays the payment status of target case 001 obtained from the rights holder system 10. As of April 12, 2020, as already explained, the operational database 41 does not contain pension identification information for target case 001. Therefore, in step S06, the trustee system 30 identifies all items included in the provisional receipt database 42 as discrepancies.

[0045] Next, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether pension management for the target case becomes possible by updating the pension identification information in the rights holder system 10 (step S07). Here, it determines whether pension management becomes possible based on the differences between the operational database 41 and the provisional acceptance database 42, and the trustee legal database 32.

[0046] If the trustee control unit 31 determines that pension management for the target case is possible (Step S07: Yes), it identifies the start year for commencing management of the case based on the trustee legal database 32, which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension identification information for the case (Step S08).

[0047] Figure 8 shows the trustee legal database 32. The trustee legal database 32 records legal information from various countries for calculating the annual and payment deadlines for pension payments and determining whether or not an application is subject to pension management. In the illustrated example, the application country, type, and commencement date of pension management are recorded. The start date of the payment deadline and the renewal year are recorded.

[0048] Furthermore, laws and regulations concerning pension payments are subject to revision and change, and it is necessary to correctly understand such revisions and changes each time. It is difficult for rights holders who wish to maintain industrial property rights in numerous countries to respond to such legal revisions each time. Therefore, pension management companies and the like specialize in pension payment operations, keep up-to-date with legal revisions in various countries in a timely manner, and continuously update the trustee legal database 32. In the explanation above, it was stated that the rights holder legal database 13 and the trustee legal database 32 are similar, but because the rights holder legal database 13 has difficulty keeping up with such pension-related legal revisions, the rights holder legal database 13 and the trustee legal database 32 do not necessarily coincide.

[0049] In this embodiment, the country of application for case 001 is China, and the type is a patent. Therefore, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the start date of annuity management, the start date of payment deadline, and the renewal year in the trustee legal database 32 for cases where the country of application is China and the type is a patent. Pension management begins after registration. Here, the differences between the operational database 41 and the provisional acceptance database 42 include the registration date and registration number. Therefore, the trustee control unit 31 determines that target case 001 is subject to pension management.

[0050] Furthermore, the contractor control unit 31 calculates the payment due date for each year. The payment due date is determined using the filing date as the starting date, and the renewal year is one year. In this embodiment, the contractor control unit 31, As shown in Figure 7, the payment due dates for each year have already been obtained from the rights holder system 10. However, the trustee control unit 31 independently calculates the payment due date based on the trustee legal database 32, compares it with the payment due date obtained from the rights holder system 10, and corrects it to the payment due date calculated based on the trustee legal database 32 if the two differ. This is because, as mentioned above, the rights holder legal database 13 of the rights holder system 10 may not have defined updates such as legal revisions.

[0051] The date on which the pension identification information for target case 001 was entered 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) from the current date and identifies the year in which the payment due date falls on or after July 12, 2020 as the starting year for management. In this case, the starting year is identified as the 6th year, which has a payment due date of May 23, 2021.

[0052] The grace period is a period determined by contract between the beneficiary and the trustee. In pension management, it takes time from the time a request for pension payments is received from the beneficiary until the request procedures are carried out. Furthermore, if there is insufficient pension identification information at the time of the request, it may take even longer. Moreover, because pension payments in foreign countries are handled by local pension payment agents, it is often not possible to respond immediately even when a request for pension management is received from a beneficiary. Therefore, the rights holder and the trustee have confirmed that the trustee cannot meet the payment deadline for pensions within a specified period from the time of the request. Accordingly, a three-month grace period is set in the pension management system 1 of this embodiment. However, in systems that allow for prompt communication and processing between rights holders, trustees, and pension payment agents, a grace period may not be required.

[0053] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S07 that pension management for the target case is impossible (step S07: No), the trustee control unit 31 will terminate the process without performing any specific actions. For example, If only the application date and application number are notified from the rights holder system 10, this means that only the application number notification has been issued by the Japan Patent Office, and annuity payments are not yet required, so annuity management will not be initiated.

[0054] Next, the trustee control unit 31 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the specified start year (6th year) (step S09). By notifying the start year, the trustee inquires with the rights holder whether it is acceptable to accept the pension management contract from that year onward. The trustee control unit 31 may also notify the rights holder system 10 of the payment due date for the start year along with the start year. Alternatively, the trustee control unit 31 may notify the rights holder system 10 of all or some of the past years prior to the start year, along with their payment due dates.

[0055] Next, the rights holder control unit 11 obtains input from the rights holder regarding whether or not to entrust pension management to the trustee who has notified it of the start year (step S10). For example, the rights holder control unit 11 displays the name of the pension management company, the case number (001), and the start year on the display of the rights holder system 10, and indicates whether or not to entrust pension management, prompting input using an input device such as a keyboard or mouse. As a result, the rights holder decides whether or not to formally entrust pension management of the case that the trustee system 30 has determined to have received a provisional order to the trustee.

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

[0057] When the contractor control unit 31 receives notification from the rights holder system 10 that it will be entrusted with the management of the pension for target case 001 (Step S10: Yes), it begins managing the pension for that case (Step S12). For the contractor, receiving notification from the rights holder system 10 that it will be entrusted with the management of the pension for target case 001 constitutes formal acceptance of the order.

[0058] In this embodiment, when the trustee system 30 starts pension management, it copies all the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 for the case to the operational database 41. As a result, after pension management starts, the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 and the operational database 41 for the target case become identical. The trustee system 30 manages pensions using the update status database 411 of the operational database 41 shown in Figure 9. Figure 9 shows the update status database 411 for the target case 001.

[0059] The trustee system 30 manages annuities using the update status database 411 in the operational database 41. As shown in Figure 9, the update status database 411 includes the year, payment due date, payment instruction date, payment completion date, and payment report date. The payment instruction date is the date on which the trustee instructs the annuity payment agent to pay the annuity. The payment completion date is the date on which the annuity payment agent pays the annuity to the local patent office. The payment report date is the date on which the trustee reports the completion of the annuity payment to the right holder. The trustee system 30 manages annuity payments to be completed before the payment due date. The trustee system 30 may also manage annuity payment reports to be completed within a specified period from the payment due date.

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

[0061] Upon receiving the notification, the rights holder control unit 11 retrieves the payment status for the start year and past years from the update status database 22 (step S22). The rights holder control unit 11 then notifies the trustee system 30 of the retrieved payment status for the start year and past years (step S23). The rights holder system 10 has already received the start year from the trustee system 30 in step S09, and the rights holder system 10 has the information of the start year recorded, so if the start year is known, past years can also be identified.

[0062] Furthermore, the rights holder system 10 may be configured not to retrieve payment status for the initial year. This is because managing payment status for the initial year is primarily the responsibility of the contractor.

[0063] In addition, in step S02, the payment status for each year, including the start year, may have already been notified from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30 as pension identification information. Nevertheless, the rights holder control unit 11 notifies the trustee system 30 of the payment status again in step S23 for the following reasons. For example, consider the case where a patent certificate is sent in Japan. In this case, the annual annuities for the first to third years should have already been paid. However, due to delays in the administrative work of the application agent, the patent certificate report may occur before the completion report for the annual annuity payments for the first to third years. In this case, when the rights holder system 10 receives the patent certificate, it registers the registration date and registration number in the management database 20 and notifies the contractor system 30 of the annuity identification information. However, at this point, the rights holder system 10 has not yet received the completion report for the annual annuity payments for the first to third years, so the payment status for the annual annuities for the first to third years remains incomplete in the management database 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, multiple opportunities to inquire about the payment status, such as in step S23, are provided so that the latest payment status can always be obtained.

[0064] When the trustee control unit 31 receives payment status for the start year and past years from the rights holder system 10, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether there are any years for which payment has not been confirmed (step S24). Specifically, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the update status database 411 shown in Figure 9 and identifies years for which the payment completion date has not been entered, both for the start year and for past years that are earlier than the start year.

[0065] In step S09, the contractor control unit 31 set the 6th year as the starting year. The past years are years 1 through 5. The contractor control unit 31 identifies the years for which the payment completion date is not entered for years 4 through 6. The contractor control unit 31 identifies that there are years for which payment has not been confirmed, specifically for year 5 and the starting year, year 6.

[0066] If the trustee control unit determines that there are unconfirmed payment years in the past (Step S24: Yes), the trustee control unit 31 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the unconfirmed years (Step S25). In this example, the trustee control unit 31 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the 5th year.

[0067] When the rights holder control unit 11 receives notification of an unconfirmed year from the trustee system 30, it checks the payment status of the unconfirmed year based on the update status database 22 of the management database 20 (step S26). If the payment completion date for the unconfirmed year is registered in the update status database 22, it notifies the trustee system 30 of the payment completion date for each year (step S27). If the payment completion date for the unconfirmed year is not registered, it notifies the trustee system 30 of that fact.

[0068] When the trustee system 30 obtains the verification results for unconfirmed years from the rights holder system 10, The determination of whether there are any unconfirmed payment years in the past is repeated (step S24).

[0069] If it is determined that there are no unconfirmed payment years in the past (Step S24: No), the trustee control unit 31 processes the pension payment for the starting year (Step S28).

[0070] As described above, the pension management system 1 according to this embodiment automatically performs provisional ordering and acceptance of pension management for the start year between the rights holder system 10 and the trustee system 30. At this time, the trustee system 30 manages the pension payment status not only for the start year stipulated in the contract between the rights holder and the trustee, but also for past years prior to that. This is because if there are non-payments of pensions in past years, even if the pension for the start year is paid, the target case cannot be maintained effectively. In this embodiment, it is confirmed that there are no unconfirmed years and that the target case is in effect. Therefore, it is possible to avoid situations where the pension for the start year is paid even though pensions have not been paid in past years. Thus, the pension management system 1 of this embodiment is more reliable because it also manages years prior to the years that should have been managed.

[0071] Furthermore, in the example above, the payment deadline for the fifth year is May 23, 2020, which is close to the current date of April 12, 2020. For example, it is conceivable that even though the recipient has received a letter stating that the payment of the fifth year's pension has been completed, it may take time to enter this information into the management database 20 of the recipient system 10, and the management database 20 may not be registered by April 12, 2020. In this case, unlike in this embodiment, if, after the formal order for the entrustment of pension management is issued (step S11), the process of notifying the payment status of past years (step S23) or reconfirming the payment status of unconfirmed years (step S27) is not carried out, it may lead to a situation where the trustee also pays the pension for the 5th year from the perspective of maintaining rights. In this embodiment, As shown in steps S23 and S27, the payment status for unconfirmed years is checked after the formal order is placed, thus preventing such a situation from occurring.

[0072] In the embodiment described above, an example was explained in which, in step S02, the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 only of the updated items of 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 pension identification information for multiple items, including the updated items, or the rights holder system 10 may notify the trustee system 30 of pension identification information for all items, including the updated items. In the case where the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 of pension identification information for all items, including the updated items, the trustee system 30 can modify step S06 to compare the pension identification information obtained from the rights holder system 10 in step S02 with the pension identification information recorded in the operation database 41. Also, in step S02, the rights holder system 10 may notify the trustee system 30 of information recorded in the rights information database 21 regarding cases that have not been updated. In this case, the contractor system 30 may be notified of information on all cases recorded in the rights information database 21, or it may be notified of information on some cases, including updated cases.

[0073] In this embodiment, in step S23, the payment status for past years and the commencement year is notified from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30. In contrast, if the payment status for the commencement year is not notified to the trustee system 30, and there is no or short grace period, the payment deadline for the commencement year may arrive immediately when the trustee control unit 31 identifies the commencement year. In this case, prioritizing the maintenance of rights may lead to a situation of double payment, where both the rights holder and the trustee pay the pension for the commencement year. Therefore, as in the embodiment described above, when the payment status for the start year, along with past years, is notified from the rights holder system 10 to the trustee system 30, the trustee can proceed with processing the pension payment for the start year after confirming the payment status at the rights holder, making it less likely for double payments to occur.

[0074] In this embodiment, the contractor system 30 identifies the year in which the payment due date falls after the grace period from the present as the starting year. The contractor system 30 calculates the payment deadline for the year immediately preceding the start year, based on the start year and the legal database. The trustee system 30 may be configured to request input of information regarding the payment status of the most recent year, or to inquire with the beneficiary system 10 whether or not the beneficiary wishes to receive payment for the most recent year, if it determines that the payment deadline for the most recent year falls within a predetermined period before or after the present time, and that the information regarding the pension payment status for past years obtained from the beneficiary system 10 does not include information indicating the completion of payment for the most recent year. This configuration encourages proactive responses from beneficiaries, allowing for quick confirmation of pension payments for the immediately preceding year, or prompt confirmation of whether or not payment is required.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, After the trustee system 30 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start year, the rights holder system 10 obtains the rights holder's decision on whether or not to entrust the management of the pension for the case corresponding to that start year to the trustee (step S10), and notifies the trustee system 30 of the result of that decision (steps S11, S13), If the decision is to entrust pension management (Step S10: Yes), the trustee system 30 begins managing the pension payment status for the start year and past years (Step S12).

[0076] With this configuration, the trustee system 30 can identify cases that can be managed based on the updated pension identification information, and treat these as provisional orders. It can then inquire with the rights holder whether it is acceptable to accept the provisional order as a formal order. Unlike this embodiment, it would be a significant burden for rights holders to have to make decisions themselves and place orders for pension management based on updates to their pension identification information. On the other hand, unlike in this embodiment, if there is no step S10 in which the rights holder decides whether or not to entrust the management, a situation may arise where pension management is initiated by the trustee system 30 without the rights holder's consent, even though the rights holder wanted to relinquish their rights. According to this embodiment, the trustee system 30, which is well-versed in pension management, determines whether or not pension management is possible and automatically places a provisional order, thereby reducing the burden on the beneficiaries. Furthermore, pension management does not begin with only a provisional order, but only after a formal order is received from the beneficiary, so pension management can be carried out according to the beneficiary's wishes.

[0077] In the embodiment described above, the trustee system 30 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start year in step S09, waits in steps S10, 11, and 13 for the rights holder system 10 to decide whether or not to accept a formal order, and then starts pension management in step S12. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured to start pension management in step S12 without waiting for a response from the rights holder system 10 after the trustee system 30 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the start year in step S09. Such a configuration can prevent situations such as delays in pension payments requiring urgent attention due to delays in the timing of the rights holder's formal order. In this case, the trustee system 30 may also be configured to stop pension management for a case if it receives instructions from the rights holder regarding a formal order (steps S10, 11, 13) after starting pension management and receives notification from the rights holder system 10 that the rights holder will not entrust pension management to the trustee system 30.

[0078] (Second embodiment) Next, the configuration of the pension management system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. In the first embodiment described above, the rights holder system 10 notifies the trustee system 30 of the updated case identification information and the updated pension identification information only when it determines that the pension identification information has been updated (step S01 in Figure 2: Yes) (step S02). In other words, the determination of whether the pension identification information has been updated is made by the rights holder system 10. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the determination of whether the pension identification information has been updated is made by the trustee system 30. In the following description, we will mainly describe the parts that differ from the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals will be used for common parts, and their explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0079] Figure 11 is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system 100 according to the second embodiment. The pension management system 100 has a rights holder system 110 and a trustee system 130 that are 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 of information recorded in the pension database 40 that may affect whether or not the trustee system 30 can start managing pensions.

[0080] Figure 12 is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system 100 up to the start of pension management. Note that the processes performed by the pension management system 100 from the start of pension management to pension payment processing are the same as those of the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment (Figure 10), so the explanation is omitted.

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

[0082] For example, suppose that a notification of registration assessment is received for case 001, and the rights holder control unit 11 enters 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 contractor system 30 of the updated case identification information (case reference number 001) and the updated items, namely the registration number and registration date (step S31).

[0083] When the trustee control unit 31 receives notification of updated items from the rights holder system 10, it refers to the pension identification database 34 and determines whether the updated items correspond to pension identification 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 pension identification information.

[0084] If the contractor control unit 31 determines that the updated item does not correspond to pension specific information (step S32: No), it does not perform any processing and terminates the process. If the contractor control unit 31 determines that the updated item corresponds to 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). From step S03 onward, the pension management system 100 performs the same processing as the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment (Figure 2).

[0085] With this configuration, the determination of whether or not the updated items constitute pension-specific information is made in the trustee system 30, thus reducing the processing burden on the rights holder system 10. Furthermore, it is possible to avoid situations where the rights holder system 10 fails to notify the trustee system 30 even though the updated items constitute pension-specific information.

[0086] (Third embodiment) Next, the configuration of the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 17. In the first embodiment described above, the rights holder of industrial property rights uses the rights holder system 10 to automatically place provisional orders and accept provisional orders for pension management related to the start year, and to confirm and manage the pension payment status with the trustee system 30. In contrast, in the third embodiment, the application agent uses the application agent system 210 on behalf of the rights holder of industrial property rights to automatically place provisional orders and accept provisional orders for pension management related to the start year, and to confirm and manage the pension payment status with the trustee system 230.

[0087] In other words, in the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment, when there is an update to the pension identification information, the application agent system 210 notifies the trustee system 230 of the updated information, If the contractor system 230 determines that annuity management is possible based on the update, it automatically determines that annuity management has been provisionally ordered and notifies the application agent system 210. Once the application agent system 210 approves the provisional order as a formal order, the contractor system 230 begins managing the annuity. In this case, the trustee system 230 manages pension payments for years prior to the start year of pension management. The application agent system 210 is an example of a rights management system. In the following description, we will mainly describe the differences from the pension management system 1 of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals will be used for common parts, and their explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0088] Figure 13 is a system configuration diagram of the pension management system 200 according to the third embodiment. The pension management system 200 has an application agent system 210 and a trustee system 230 that are connected to each other via a network 5. The application agent system 210 is a system operated by an application agent who acts on behalf of the rights holder of industrial property rights, i.e., the applicant, to acquire domestic and / or foreign industrial property rights. The application agent system 210 may consist of a single information processing device or multiple information processing devices. The application agent system 210 may also be provided by a service provider as a so-called cloud service.

[0089] The application agent system 210 is connected to, for example, the Japan Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6, to acquire information on domestic or foreign industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights. The local agent system 6 is a system for local agents who act as agents for foreign application procedures. The application agent system 210 does not necessarily have to be connected to the Japan Patent Office system 2 or the local agent system 6. In this case, the application agent operating the application agent system 210 may input information obtained from the Japan Patent Office or local agents into the database. The application agent system 210 is also connected to the rights holder system 10 and transmits the acquired information on industrial property rights to the rights holder system 10. The rights holder system 10 has the same structure as the rights holder system 10 of the first embodiment.

[0090] The application agent system 210 comprises an agent control unit 211, a management database 220, an annuity 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 Japan 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 application agent system 210 is composed of, for example, an information processing device equipped with a processor and a recording unit. The processor reads computer-readable instructions stored in the storage unit and executes the processes detailed below.

[0091] The application agent system 210 can collect annuity-specific information, including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and annuity payment status, and record it in the management database 220 in association with customer information. Figure 14 shows an example of the rights information database 221 in the management database 220. Figure 14 shows information for reference number 001. In the example shown in Figure 14, the rights information database 221 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, pending / abandoned status, creator (inventor), right holder, whether an application has been filed, whether an examination has been requested, local agent information, renewal management agent information, and data update date. The rights information database 221 also has the customer name and customer reference number. In the case of a joint application, a request for acquisition of industrial property rights may be received from a representative among the multiple right holders. Alternatively, if the right holder is a foreigner, a 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 rights holder's representative or agent becomes the customer. Therefore, fields for both the rights holder and the customer are provided.

[0092] The update status database 222 of the management database 220 records the annual annuity payment deadlines and payment status for the target case, similar to the update status database 22 shown in Figure 4. The task database 223 of the management database 220 records the procedures (tasks) that need to be performed with the Japan Patent Office from filing to maintaining rights, similar to the task database 23 shown in Figure 5. In this example, the processing date in the task database 223 is the date on which the application agent performed the task or the date on which the local agent or annuity administrator was instructed to perform the task. The completion date is the date on which the completion of the task was reported to the client.

[0093] The pension-specific database 212, like the pension-specific database 12 shown in Figure 1, is a database that records items of information recorded in the management database 220 that may affect whether or not the trustee system 230 can begin managing pensions. The agent legal database 213, like the rights holder legal database 13 shown in Figure 1, is a database that records legal information from various countries used to calculate the pension payment year and payment deadline, and to determine whether or not an individual is subject to pension management.

[0094] The trustee system 230 comprises 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 application agent system 210 via the trustee communication unit 33. The trustee control unit 31 also communicates with the rights holder system 10 via the trustee communication unit 33.

[0095] Figure 15 is a flowchart of the processes performed by the pension management system 200, showing the processes up to the start of pension management.

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

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

[0098] When the contractor control unit 31 receives notification of annuity identification information from the application agent system 210, it first determines whether the case for which the annuity identification information has been notified is registered in the annuity database 40 (step S43). If the case for which the annuity identification information has been notified is not registered in the annuity database 40 (step S43: No), the contractor control unit 31 queries the application agent system 210, obtains all annuity identification information related to the case, and registers it in the provisional acceptance database 42 along with customer information (step S44). If information regarding the case is registered in the annuity database 40 (step S43: Yes), the contractor control unit 31 rewrites the provisional acceptance database 42 with the annuity identification information obtained from the application agent system 210 (step S45).

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

[0100] Figure 16 shows the provisional acceptance database 42 as of April 12, 2020, and provides summary information on the target case 001 obtained from the application agent system 210. In addition to the information contained in the provisional acceptance database 42 in Figure 6, the provisional acceptance database 42 also includes the customer name and customer reference number. Furthermore, the provisional acceptance database 42 also includes the payment status of the target case 001 obtained from the application agent system 210, similar to the first embodiment (Figure 7).

[0101] Next, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether or not pension management for the target case becomes possible by updating the pension identification information in the application agent system 210 (step S47). Here, Based on the differences between the operational database 41 and the provisional acceptance database 42, and the trustee legal database 32, it is determined whether or not pension management is possible.

[0102] If the Trustee Control Unit 31 determines that pension management for the target case is possible (Step S47: Yes), it identifies the start year for commencing management of the case based on the Trustee Legal Database 32, which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension identification information for the case (Step S48). If it determines that pension management for the target case is not possible (Step S47: No), the Trustee Control Unit 31 does not perform any particular processing and terminates the process.

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

[0104] Next, the agent control unit 211 obtains input indicating whether or not to entrust pension management to the trustee who notified the start year (step S50). If the agent control unit 211 obtains input indicating that pension management will not be entrusted (step S50: No), the agent control unit 211 notifies the trustee system 230 that pension management for target case 001 will not be entrusted (step S53). If the agent control unit 211 obtains input indicating that pension management will be entrusted (step S50: Yes), the agent control unit 211 notifies the trustee system 230 that pension management for target case 001 will be entrusted (step S51).

[0105] When the contractor control unit 31 receives notification from the application agent system 210 that it is entrusted with the management of the annuity for the target case 001 (Step S50: Yes), it starts managing the annuity for the case (Step S52).

[0106] When the trustee system 230 begins pension management, it copies all the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 for that case to the operational database 41. As a result, after pension management begins, the information in the provisional acceptance database 42 and the operational database 41 for the case become identical. The trustee system 230 manages pensions using the update status database 411 of the operational database 41, as shown in Figure 9.

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

[0108] When the agent control unit 211 receives the notification, it retrieves the payment status for the start year and past years from the update status database 222 (step S62). The agent control unit 211, The retrieved start year and payment status for previous years are notified to the trustee system 230 (step S63). Note that the application agent system 210 has already received the start year from the trustee system 30 in step S49, and the application agent system 210 has the information of the start year recorded, so if the start year is known, previous years can also be identified. Note that the application agent system 210 may be configured not to retrieve the payment status for the start year.

[0109] When the trustee control unit 31 receives payment status for the start year and past years from the application agent system 210, the trustee control unit 31 determines whether there are any years for which payment has not been confirmed (step S64). Specifically, the trustee control unit 31 refers to the update status database 411 in the operation database 41 and identifies years for which the payment completion date has not been entered for the start year and past years that are earlier than the start year.

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

[0111] When the agent control unit 211 receives notification of an unconfirmed year from the trustee system 230, it checks 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 for the unconfirmed year is registered in the update status database 222, it notifies the trustee system 230 of the payment completion date for each year (step S67). If the payment completion date for the unconfirmed year is not registered, it notifies the trustee system 230 of that fact.

[0112] When the contractor system 230 obtains the results of the unconfirmed year confirmation from the application agent system 210, it repeats the determination of whether or not there are any unconfirmed years of payment in the past years (step S64).

[0113] If it is determined that there are no unconfirmed payment years in the past (Step S64: No), the trustee system 230 notifies the rights holder system 10, which is operated by the rights holder corresponding to the customer information recorded in the operation database 41, that pension management has commenced and the commencement year (Step S68). In this example, the customer and the rights holder of case 001 are the same person, and the trustee system 230 notifies the rights holder system 10, which is operated by the rights holder who is the customer, of the commencement of pension management based on the customer information recorded in the operation database 41. If the rights holder is a foreigner and the customer and the rights holder are not the same person, the commencement of pension management may be notified to the rights holder system 10, which is operated by the rights holder, through the customer (agent). The rights holder system 10 will When notification of the commencement of pension management is received from the trustee system 230, the commencement year is recorded in the management database.

[0114] Furthermore, the trustee control unit 31 processes the pension payment for the commencement year (step S69). Note that the pension payment processing for the commencement year may be performed before the pension commencement notification is sent to the rights holder system 10 (step S68).

[0115] With this configuration, the application agent system 210 and the trustee system 230 automatically handle everything from provisional ordering and acceptance of annuity management for the start year to confirmation and management of annuity payment status. In other words, the entire process from provisional ordering to annuity payment of annuity management is completed between the application agent system 210 and the trustee system 230 without going through the rights holder system 10. This reduces the processing burden on the rights holder, such as ordering annuity management and confirming the annuity payment status. On the other hand, the rights holder system 10 is notified of the start of annuity management and the start year, so the rights holder operating the rights holder system 10 can grasp the status of annuity management.

[0116] Furthermore, if the beneficiary system 10 is notified of the commencement of pension management before the pension payment processing for the commencement year, it is possible to avoid situations where pension management is commenced for cases in which the beneficiary wanted to relinquish their rights. For example, if the beneficiary system 10 receives the pension management commencement notification in step S68, it may notify the trustee system 230 of the termination of the pension management entrustment.

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

[0118] Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the applicant agent entrusts all annuity management to the trustee, but the applicant agent may manage the annuity for some years (e.g., the 6th year). For example, in step S51 of Figure 15, the applicant agent may notify the trustee system 30 that it is entrusting the annuity management for a certain year of the case (e.g., the 7th year and beyond). In this case, the applicant agent system 210 notifies the rights holder system 10 of the commencement of annuity management for some years (e.g., the 6th year). The applicant agent system 210 also notifies the rights holder system 10 and the trustee system 230 when the annuity payments are completed.

[0119] Furthermore, the present invention can be configured as follows as a rights management system (rights holder system 10, 110 or application agent system 210) that constitutes the pension management system 1,100, 200 described above. A rights management system used in pension management systems 1,100,200 for managing the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, The aforementioned rights management system can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, The aforementioned rights management system is connected via network 5 to trustee systems 30, 130, 230 that manage the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights. The aforementioned rights management system includes the type of right, country, filing date, application number, registration date, registration number, Pension-specific information, including pension payment status, can be collected and recorded in management databases 20,220. The rights management system notifies the contractor systems 30, 130, 230 of the updated case identification information and the updated information when the information in the management databases 20, 220 is updated. When it is determined that pension management for the case becomes possible through the updating of the information in the rights management system, the system retrieves from the trustee system 30, 130, 230 the start year for commencing management of the case, which is calculated by the trustee system 30, 130, 230 based on the legal database which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the information of the case. The rights management system is a rights management system that notifies the trustee systems 30, 130, and 230 of information regarding the pension payment status for past years, which are years prior to the acquired start year.

[0120] Furthermore, the present invention can be configured as follows as the trustee systems 30, 130, and 230 that constitute the pension management systems 1,100, and 200 described above. A trustee system 30,130,230 used in a pension management system 1,100,200 that manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, The aforementioned trustee systems 30, 130, and 230 manage the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights. It is connected via network 5 to a rights management system (rights holder system 10, 110 or application agent system 210) that can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, In the rights management system, which collects pension-specific information including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and pension payment status, and records it in the management database 20,220, when the information in the management database 20,220 is updated, the rights management system notifies the updated case identification information and the updated information. When the rights management system determines that pension management for the case will become possible through the updating of the information, the trustee systems 30, 130, 230 determine the start year for commencing management of the case based on the legal database which records the annual pension payment dates and the start dates of payment deadlines for each country and jurisdiction, and the information for the case. The aforementioned start year is notified to the rights management system, We will begin managing the pension payment status for the aforementioned start year and the preceding years in past years. Trustee systems 30, 130, and 230 obtain information regarding the pension payment status for the aforementioned past years from the rights management system.

[0121] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of these embodiments. These embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications to 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 the scope of its equivalents.

[0122] The modifications of the first embodiment described above can also be applied to the second and third embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

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

Claims

1. A pension management system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, A rights management system that can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, The system includes a trustee system connected via a network to the aforementioned rights management system, which manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights. The aforementioned rights management system can collect pension-specific information for each case, including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and pension payment status, and record it in a management database. The rights management system notifies the trustee system of the identification information of a specified case and the pension-specific information. When the trustee system determines that pension management for the case is possible based on the pension identification information in the rights management system, the trustee system identifies the start year for commencing management of the case based on the legal database which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension identification information for the case. The aforementioned contractor system notifies the aforementioned rights management system of the commencement year, The aforementioned trustee system is a pension management system that begins managing the pension payment status for the aforementioned starting year.

2. The trustee system starts managing the pension payment status for the start year and previous years, The pension management system according to claim 1, wherein the rights management system notifies the trustee system of information regarding the pension payment status for the past years.

3. After the commencement year is notified from the trustee system to the rights management system, the rights management system obtains the decision of the rights holder or applicant's agent as to whether or not to entrust the annuity management for the case corresponding to that commencement year to the trustee system, and notifies the trustee system of the result of that decision. The pension management system according to claim 1, wherein if the judgment result is to entrust pension management, the trustee system starts managing the pension payment status for the commencement year.

4. After the commencement year is notified from the trustee system to the rights management system, the rights management system obtains the decision of the rights holder or applicant agent as to whether or not to entrust the annuity management for the case corresponding to the commencement year to the trustee system, and notifies the trustee system of the result of that decision. The pension management system according to claim 2, wherein if the judgment result is to entrust pension management, the trustee system starts managing the pension payment status for the commencement year and the past years.

5. The pension management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rights management system is a rights holder system operated by a rights holder who holds the industrial property rights.

6. A rights management system used in a pension management system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for maintaining industrial property rights, The aforementioned rights management system can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, The aforementioned rights management system is connected via a network to a trustee system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights. The aforementioned rights management system can collect pension-specific information for each case, including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and pension payment status, and record it in a management database. The rights management system notifies the identification information of a specified case and the pension-specific information, A rights management system that, when it is determined that pension management for the case is possible based on the pension identification information in the rights management system, obtains from the trustee system the start year for commencing management of the case, which is calculated by the trustee system based on a legal database recording the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension identification information for the case.

7. The rights management system according to claim 6, wherein the rights management system notifies the trustee system of information regarding the pension payment status for past years that are years prior to the acquisition start year.

8. A trustee system used in a pension management system that manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of industrial property rights, The aforementioned trustee system manages the payment of pensions necessary for the maintenance of the aforementioned industrial property rights, It is connected via a network to a rights management system that can acquire information on industrial property rights and manage the procedures from application to granting rights, In the aforementioned rights management system, which collects pension-specific information including the type of right, country, application date, application number, registration date, registration number, and pension payment status for each case and records it in a management database, the identification information of a predetermined case and the pension-specific information are notified from the aforementioned rights management system. When the rights management system determines that pension management for the case is possible based on the pension identification information, the trustee system identifies the start year for commencing management of the case based on the legal database which records the annual pension payment period and the start date of the payment deadline for each country and jurisdiction, and the pension identification information for the case. The aforementioned start year is notified to the rights management system, A trustee system that begins managing the pension payment status for the aforementioned starting year.

9. Start managing the pension payment status for the starting year and previous years, The trustee system according to claim 8, which obtains information regarding the pension payment status for the past years from the rights management system.

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