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1. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE OFFICE (THE OHIM QUALITY POLICY) ......... 4
2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 MISSION OF THE OFFICE FOR HARMONIZATION IN THE INTERNAL MARKET (OHIM, THE OFFICE) ...... 5
2.2 STATUS OF THE OFFICE ............................................................................................................... 5
2.3 ORGANISATION OF THE OFFICE .................................................................................................... 6
2.4 QUALITY AND STRATEGIC GOALS OF THE OFFICE .......................................................................... 6
2.5 SCOPE OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THE OFFICE (QMS) ........................................ 6
3. QMS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES..................................................................................... 9
3.1 PRESIDENT ................................................................................................................................. 9
3.2 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE .......................................................................................................... 9
3.3 DIRECTORS ................................................................................................................................. 9
3.4 MIDDLE MANAGERS ..................................................................................................................... 9
3.5 LEGAL ADVISERS AND DESIGN QUALITY EXPERTS ......................................................................... 9
3.6 QUALITY OFFICERS ................................................................................................................... 10
3.7 CHANGE MANAGER ................................................................................................................... 10
3.8 QUALITY OFFICERS GROUP ....................................................................................................... 10
3.9 EXAMINERS & SPECIALISED STAFF ............................................................................................. 10
3.10 DEPARTMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY POLICY (DIPP).......................................................... 10
3.11 QUALITY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT (QMD) ............................................................................ 11
3.12 INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT (IAERD) ................................ 11
3.13 HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT (HRD) ................................................................................. 11
3.14 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT (ITD) ........................................................................ 11
3.15 FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT (FD) ................................................................................................... 11
3.16 GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT (GSD).................................................................................. 12
3.17 INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY LITIGATION UNIT (IPLU) ......................................................................... 12
3.18 INTERNAL AUDITOR AND INTERNAL AUDIT ................................................................................... 12
3.19 BOARDS OF APPEAL .................................................................................................................. 12
3.20 EXTERNAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ................................................................................................ 12
3.21 SCHEME OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ACTORS ................................................................ 13
4. QMS AT WORK ......................................................................................................................... 14
4.1 USERS’ NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS ............................................................................................ 14
4.1.1 User Satisfaction Survey ................................................................................................. 14
4.1.2 Users’ complaints ............................................................................................................ 15
4.2 WORK PROGRAMME .................................................................................................................. 15
4.3 SERVICE CHARTER .................................................................................................................... 15
4.4 PROCESSES .............................................................................................................................. 15
4.4.1 Continuous improvement................................................................................................. 16
4.4.2 Process Mapping ............................................................................................................. 16
4.4.3 Decision-making in Industrial Property proceedings ....................................................... 17
4.5 MANAGEMENT OF PERFORMANCE .............................................................................................. 18
5. QMS MAINTENANCE................................................................................................................ 20
5.1 DOCUMENTATION ...................................................................................................................... 20
5.2 KEY OFFICE DOCUMENTS........................................................................................................... 21
5.3 AUDITS ..................................................................................................................................... 21
5.4 SYSTEM REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 22
5.5 AWARENESS, TRANSPARENCY AND SHARING OF INFORMATION .................................................... 22
6. APPENDIX A. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 23
This Office has achieved a huge amount in its short history, and has shown what can be achieved by
a European Union agency. Quality in its broadest sense has to remain at the heart of how we do
business if we are to meet the expectations of our Users and continue to develop and enhance our
reputation. This manual is all about how we will make this work in practice. But we will only succeed if
this remains a living document, and we all play our part in looking all the time at how we can
continually improve the services we deliver internally and externally.
I hope you will help us with this challenge whether you are a User, a Member of Staff or a Supplier to
the OHIM.
2.1 Mission of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market1 (OHIM, the Office)
The OHIM is the agency of the European Union responsible for granting trade mark and design titles
of protection which are valid and enforceable throughout the whole EU territory; its primary
responsibilities however, are not as varied and as wide-ranging as those corresponding to the vast
majority of Industrial Property offices (its core task encompasses the management of the Community
Trade Marks and Community Designs registration systems).
The mission of the Office is to manage the Community Trade Mark and Community Design
registration systems. In order to do so, the Office carries out examination, registration, opposition and
cancellation procedures for Community Trade Marks and examination, registration and invalidity
procedures for Registered Community Designs. All decisions adversely affecting a User can be
appealed before the Boards of Appeal of the Office. It keeps public registers of these rights and
procedures. It shares the task of issuing decisions on requests for invalidity or revocation of registered
rights with the Courts of the EU Member States.
The Office strives for harmonization and co-operation with other Industrial Property offices. It
harmonises practices and standards of examination, it advocates progress towards the global
harmonization of standards and creates common interfaces and platforms for better serving Users’
needs.
To keep competitive in a globalised business environment, businesses need Patents, Trade Marks
and Designs Offices (both national and international) that work diligently in the creation and protection
of their Industrial Property assets.
Therefore, all legal systems and all public organisations (Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Offices)
dedicated to the issuance of titles of protection and promotion of Industrial Property Rights, must strive
for quality, certainty, cost-effectiveness, accessibility and efficiency.
Consequently, the OHIM, like any other Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Office of the 21st century,
must be a quality-focused, productive, agile, user-friendly, accessible, efficient and cost-effective
organisation.
1
http://oami.europa.eu/en/mark/role/brochure/br1en09.htm
Wubbo de BOER
Peter Lawrence
PRESIDENT Vice-President
Paul Maier
President
Beate Schmidt Hans Peter Rodinger Andrea Di Vincent Peter Peter Marc Juan Ramón Oreste Miguel Angel Javier
Jakobsen Carlo O'Reilly Lawrence Lawrence Vanaeken Rubio Muñoz Montalto Villarroya Rujas Mora-
Trade Marks Designs Rey
and Trade Marks Department Institutional IP Policy Finance Human Information Quality IP Litigation General Internal
Cancellation and Register Affairs and Department Department Resources Technology Management Unit Services Auditor
Department Department External Department Department Department Department
Relations
Boards of Department
Appeal
A more complete Office organisation chart is maintained by the Human Resources Department (HRD)
and is available at:
http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/OHIM/institutional/organisationalChart.en.do
Ref: Goal
Reach full electronic business with maximum empowerment of users to perform many of the
G1 services directly without intervention from the Office thus enhancing availability, speed and
predictability.
Continuously improve our service standards and consistency of decisions by closely measuring our
G2
performance, reporting deviations and initiating immediate action.
Increase efficiency in our processes to improve productivity, keep our pendency times on target
G3
and clear any existing backlogs.
Cooperate with other IP offices to promote the global harmonization of practices and create
G4
common interfaces and platforms.
The Office strives to meet the customers’ needs and expectations and to make effective and efficient
use of resources. Goals 2, 3 and 4 have been defined to this end. The Quality Management System
contributes to achieving Goals 2, 3 and 4.
The QMS comprises the three elements of people, processes and systems. The effectiveness of the
QMS depends on having all three elements in place and aligned.
The initial focus of the QMS was on the core services relating to trade marks and designs that the
Office provides to its Users. It therefore included all the activities that relate to those services, plus
some supporting activities.
2
The vision is stated in the Work Programme 2009
3
Same as above, the strategic goals are stated in the Work Programme 2009.
• Key In
• Fee Management
• Examination
• Translation
• Publication
• Registration
• Certificates
•
5
Administration and maintenance
• Appeal
• Financial Management
• Facilities Management
• Help Desk
The QMS will be extended in phases until it is able to support all the activities of the Office (see
Appendix A, references 4 and 27).
The QMS applies to everyone at the Office who is involved with the activities covered by the QMS. All
4
For core business activities the terms refer to trade marks and designs
5
This includes conversions and records
6
Project Portfolio Management is concerned with the management of a portfolio of projects, both pending and active, so that
business changes are delivered in an optimal way. This area includes the Business Change processes.
The QMS is concerned with the sharing of best practice as well as the spreading and use of this
knowledge. It serves as a repository for the collective wisdom of the organisation and as a vehicle for
promoting continuous improvement and organisational learning. It aims at making available all the
relevant knowledge necessary to implement the processes at one entry point. It supports collaboration
across the OHIM and with the OHIM’s service providers.
The QMS defines the way that the OHIM currently works and provides the means for managing the
Office’s evolution (see Appendix A, references 1 and 2).
The QMS has been designed to meet the requirements of ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) 9001, and the part of the system which relates to Designs processing is being
prepared for an assessment against this standard (see Appendix A, references 4 and 6).
Matters relating to information security are addressed by the OHIM Information Security Management
System which has achieved certification to ISO 27001(see Appendix A, references 7 and 8).
The Risk Prevention Sector is implementing an Occupational Health and Safety System to comply
with OHSAS 18001 (see Appendix A, reference 33).
3.1 President
The President is the sponsor of the OHIM Quality Policy (see Message from the President of the
Office in paragraph 1 above). He is committed to the Quality Management System because it
establishes and fulfills the Quality Policy and the Quality Goals. He ensures that the Quality
Management System is established and maintained in order to achieve these objectives.
3.3 Directors
Each Director fulfills the role of Process Owner for one or more processes. For some processes, the
Director may choose to delegate this responsibility to a named manager. The Process Owner is
responsible for managing the process so that it meets user requirements and delivers business value.
This includes responsibility for implementing the process8, for defining, implementing and using
performance measures, for maintaining the process, and for ensuring that the process is aligned and
remains aligned to OHIM policy. The Directors communicate to their staff the importance of meeting
Users’ requirements while complying with the legal framework and making efficient use of resources.
Directors are responsible for ensuring that the quantity and quality of resources under their
management are at the right level for efficient and effective performance of the processes for which
they are responsible.
These specialists come together in the Legal Advisers Group for trade marks and the Harmonization
Group for designs, where they discuss and resolve the issues and questions that arise before
informing the respective examiners of their decisions.
7
The first review will take place in 2009.
8
This includes all necessary communications to and training of the people who perform the process.
9
For trade marks the Manual on Current CTM Practice and for Designs the Designs Manual.
10
For trade mark matters, the Manual is the first point of reference for Examiners.
The QMD is also responsible for supporting departments in continuously improving the services and
functioning of their processes and identifying areas for technical improvements. In cooperation with
Quality Officers, it evaluates and puts in place all suggestions for improvement which increase the
added value, economy or efficiency of the processes of the Office. The QMD oversees - upon request
of the process owner - the design, production and deployment of software and other process tools and
mechanisms to simplify processes and improve services.
The QMD has a Performance Management Unit (PMU) which aims to offer the OHIM, and in particular
its Management, an effective statistical and reporting tool to assist with decision making. It offers the
OHIM - and particularly its senior and middle managers - quantitative analyses of the main processes,
detection and explanation of deviations and anomalies, proactive analyses of the impact which any
proposed changes in the processes, technologies or user behaviour may have on production flows
and defined quality standards. The PMU also regularly develops and prepares, in conjunction with
other departments, an OHIM Work Programme that establishes quantifiable objectives for all the
Office’s activities, in line with the organisation’s strategic objectives.
3.12 Institutional Affairs and External Relations Department (IAERD)
The IAERD gathers, analyses and distributes information about User requirements to all the Office
staff involved in quality issues. It is responsible for dealing with User relationship management, Users’
feedback, and complaint management. The IAERD also makes sure that the Office understands
Users’ requirements and, in return, communicates its related achievements to Users and other
stakeholders.
The HRD is responsible for the working environment at the OHIM and ensuring compliance with the
applicable health and safety regulations. The Social Sector is responsible for the welfare of staff.
Examiners
Boards of Appeal & their
External Service
Specialized Staff
members
providers
Internal Auditor
Monitoring Unit
Performance
Legal Advisers and Middle and line
Design Quality Experts Managers
Manager
Management
Change
Committee
President
Users’ Satisfaction
4.1 Users’ needs and expectations
The Office aims to fulfill Users’ needs and expectations while meeting legal requirements and making
efficient use of resources. Thus, User opinion and focus group opinion are a fundamental part of the
Quality Management System of the Office.
The Office gathers User’s opinions concerning the services it offers through different channels, for
example, through users groups for trade marks, focus groups for designs, the E-business User Group,
INTA (International Trademark Association) and liaison meetings. Through these channels, Users
advise the Office on how to develop new tools. Furthermore, to make sure that User feedback is
integrated in how the Office works, the Office has set up systematic processes for surveying User
needs and dealing with complaints.
The Customer Care Unit (IAERD) ensures the effective handling of complaints (see Appendix A,
reference 12). The Unit maintains a register of complaints to ensure that they are treated and closed
to the satisfaction of the User in a reasonable timescale.
The Unit issues a monthly report containing the number of complaints received and detailing the main
reasons for them (Complaints Report). The report is sent to Directors, Middle Managers, and Quality
Officers and serves to highlight areas where urgent corrective action must be taken.
Service Standards set the desired levels of service Users would expect the Office to meet. The
standards cover both process performance (standards of time, accessibility, etc.) and the quality of
decisions made during Industrial Property proceedings.
The Charter is drafted by the QMD, approved by the Management Committee and published on the
13
OHIM’s intranet and website (see Appendix A, reference 10). Performance against the listed
standards is evaluated at the end of each quarter and reported publicly on OAMI-ONLINE (Service
Standards Quarterly Report). The Charter is revised annually.
A report on the performance of the Office, when compared to the Service Standards, is issued at the
end of each year and published on OAMI-ONLINE (Annual Report).
4.4 Processes
The OHIM’s processes are based on a plan designed to ensure clarity, aptness and consistency and
to avoid duplication (see Appendix A, reference 29).
The following Process Model organises the processes into eight process areas:
11
INSITE is the name for the Office’s internal website (only for internal use)
12
OHIM website = http://oami.europa.eu/
13
OHIM website = http://oami.europa.eu/
A- MANAGE STAKEHOLDER
RELATIONSHIPS
B - MAINTAIN BUSINESS
PLANNING
H - DELIVER GENERAL SUPPORT
SERVICES
F - DELIVER CHANGE
PROJECTS
The OHIM processes are published on the QMS pages of the intranet (see Appendix A, reference 26).
Directors, Middle Managers and Quality Officers are committed to continuously searching for ways to
improve the processes they are responsible for in order to meet Users’ requirements in a more
efficient and consistent manner. Improvements must include being faster, more process-centric, more
service-oriented, more agile, more reliable, and more cost-effective. This involves simplifying
processes, eliminating bureaucracy, striving for transparency and enhancing expertise. It also means
becoming a true “electronic or e-office” where geography and time should be irrelevant when doing
business with the OHIM.
Improvement suggestions can also come from Examiners and other staff performing specific tasks.
Staff improvement ideas and suggestions are registered and systematically dealt with (see Appendix
A, reference 16). Quality Officers are responsible for the handling and implementation of
improvements in collaboration with the QMD.
Complex improvement initiatives are managed as independent projects with clear scope, objectives
and deadlines (see Appendix A, references 14 and 15). Continuous improvement projects are
managed by the QMD and the ITD in collaboration with Quality Officers.
The Designs Department has a Quality Circle, composed of volunteer Staff who meet monthly. The
aim is to analyse problems and to propose improvements.
Quality Officers prepare and update Process Cards in collaboration with the QMD. Whenever
processes are implemented for the first time or the process cards are updated, staff who perform the
processes are notified through communications and/or training as appropriate.
Whenever projects deliver changes to business processes, the scope of the project includes the new
or changed Process Card(s) as well as any supporting IT tools.
Where changes in Trade Mark case-law, or other events, give rise to an immediate change of practice,
this is reflected in a change to the Manual on Current CTM Practice, so that Examiners and external
parties are informed about how the legal practice of the Office has changed on a specific matter (see
Appendix A, reference 17). If the change of practice concerns a matter of potential controversy, a
period of external consultation is opened to gather User opinion. Changes to the Manual are from time
to time brought together as an update to the Guidelines (Trade Marks).
Where changes to Designs case-law, or other events, require a change of practice, this is reflected in
a change to the Guidelines (for Designs) (see Appendix A, reference 18).
The intended purpose is to make sure Examiners take clear and consistent decisions and Users are
aware of the guidance given to examiners so that they can reasonably predict the outcome of a
decision on their application.
Quality Performance
Continuous Preventive and
Management Planning,
Quality Checks Improvement Corrective Quality Circles
System Monitoring
Projects Actions
Review and Reporting
This function is performed by the QMD and involves the following tasks:
• Defining and maintaining Key Performance Indicators aligned to the Work Programme and to
the Service standards.
• Carrying out analyses of results against the Work Programme objectives.
• Defining process performance indicators in collaboration with Process Owners that ensure
alignment of processes with Work Programme objectives.
• Informing Process Owners of deviations and the estimated impact on Work Programme
objectives, as well as collaborating with them in the definition and implementation of corrective
actions.
• Investigating and evaluating any impact that changes to processes, technology and User
behaviours may have on strategic objectives and proposing preventive actions to the Process
Owner or Director.
14
The DIPP and Examiners , Quality Officers, Middle Managers, Directors, and Legal Advisers co-
operate with the Quality Management Department to define and implement indicators concerning the
14
Examiners of trade marks and designs
A monthly report is published on INSITE (look for M.O.R.E.) on performance against the Service
Standards (see Appendix A, reference 23).
Quarterly Performance Reports are prepared to communicate performance against the Service
Standards’ objectives and are published on the OHIM’s intranet site.
The Management Committee evaluates the Reports and decides on preventive and/or corrective
actions and priorities.
16
An Annual Report is prepared at the end of each year and published on the OHIM’s website .
15
See the Service Charter including the quality criteria on OHIM Website http://oami.europa.eu/
16
OHIM website = http://oami.europa.eu/
5.1 Documentation
The Quality Management System documentation comprises this Quality Manual and all the material
that defines and supports the processes, as represented in the following diagram. The Office strives to
make the processes - and all the related documentation to the processes - available in one single
place which users can access easily.
The QMD retains a master copy of the Quality Manual and Process Cards (see Appendix A, reference
30), while the DIPP retains a master copy of the OHIM Manual on Current CTM Practice and of the
Guidelines (both CTM and RCD).
Quality System documentation is reviewed on a regular basis. The QMD and the DIPP each maintain
a revision schedule relating to the documents for which they are responsible and track all revisions.
- For Users:
Revised Service Charter Annual QMD MC Stakeholders
Service Standards Results Quarterly QMD MC Stakeholders
Users Satisfaction Report Annual IAERD MC Stakeholders
Annual Report Annual IAERD IAERD Stakeholders
- For Management:
Complaints Report Monthly IAERD IAERD Directors/QO
M.O.R.E Quarterly QMD MC Stakeholders
Work Programme Annual FD/QMD MC Directors/QO
/Staff
Audit Programme Annual Audit Unit MC Directors
Audit Reports As scheduled Audit Unit Directors Directors/QO
Key: QO = Quality Officers
Stakeholders = Staff, Users, the Administrative and Budget Committee (AB, BC) and all parties
involved or interested in the activities of the Office
5.3 Audits
Internal audits are carried out to verify whether actual working practice complies with the planned
arrangements including the processes that govern the activity (see Appendix A, references 21 and
22). Audits also help to identify necessary improvements and to determine if processes are effective
and efficient and if responsibilities have been correctly assigned.
The subject and frequency of the audits depends on the number, importance and complexity of the
activities to be audited and takes account of:
17
Please note that the process cards for the trade marks examination, opposition and registration processes have been
communicated as a “binding tool” to examiners.
The audits determine whether the Quality Management System is being effectively implemented and
maintained and whether the requirements of ISO 9001 are being satisfied.
The Office is subject to audit by the European Court of Auditors twice a year, and by the certification
body in relation to ISO 27001 once a year (see Appendix A, reference 7). In addition, the Office invites
external audits of specific subjects of interest from time to time.
At least once every year, the QMD reports to the Management Committee on the performance of the
system and any need for improvement.
The Staff of the Office must have access to quality-related plans and reports, quality indicators, and
other communications related to quality. Directors, Middle Managers, Legal Advisers, Examiners and
Specialised Staff, and Quality Officers all share information and best practice to improve the overall
performance of the Office.
The references listed below provide corresponding links to the website or to the intranet, where
applicable18.
1. Business Change Corner <link to Business Change Corner Insite>
2. Business Change Policy <link to Business Change Corner Insite>
3. Design Guidelines <link to website>
4. QMS Phase IV Plan <link to QMS Insite>
5. Guidelines (CTM) <link to website> –check title
6. ISO 9001 Quality management systems - Requirements
7. ISO 27001 Information technology -- Security techniques -- Information security management
systems – Requirements & OHSAS
8. OHIM Information Security Management System <link to ISMS Insite>
9. OHIM Quality Management System <link to QMS Insite>
10. Process A.00.01 Maintain service charter <link to QMS Insite>
11. Process A.00.02 Perform user satisfaction survey <link to QMS Insite>
12. Process A.00.03 Resolve user complaint <link to QMS Insite>
13. Process A.00.04 Resolve user queries <link to QMS Insite>
14. Process C.00.01 Impact assess and evaluate request for change (RFC) <link to QMS Insite>
15. Process C.00.02 Maintain project portfolio <link to QMS Insite>
16. Process C.00.03 Evaluate improvement idea <link to QMS Insite>
17. Process E.10.01 Maintain Guidelines and the OHIM Manual on Current CTM Practice <link to
QMS Insite>
18. Process E.10.02 Maintain Design Guidelines <link to QMS Insite>
19. Process G.00.01 Perform quality checks (TM) <link to QMS Insite>
20. Process G.00.02 Perform quality checks (RCD bulletin) <link to QMS Insite>
21. Process G.10.01 Perform audit <link to QMS Insite>
22. Process G.10.02 Follow up audit <link to QMS Insite>
23. Process G.50.01 Prepare and report Monthly Operational REport (MORE) <link to QMS Insite>
24. Process G.50.02 Report on service standards performance <link to QMS Insite>
25. Process H.20.01 Maintain process <link to QMS Insite>
26. QMS <link to QMS Insite>
27. QMS Communication Calendar <link to QMS Insite>
28. [Not used]
29. QMS Process Architecture <link to QMS Insite>
30. QMS Process Index <link to QMS Insite>
31. Quality Officer Job Description <link to QMS Insite>
32. The Manual on Current CTM Practice <link to website>
33. OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety System
18
Note that readers of the version of this Manual which is published on the OHIM website will be unable to follow links to the
intranet.