WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION

SPECIAL UNION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL PATENT CLASSIFICATION (IPC UNION)

IPCRMS Background Information

Date By Version Status Modification May 9, 2014 IPCRMS PM 0.1 Draft From PID May 15, 2014 WIPO 1.0 Revised From IPCRMS evaluation team

Table of Contents

2.1. Terms Definitions & Acronyms ...... 2 2.2. Background ...... 3 2.3. Project Objectives ...... 4 2.4. Desired Outcomes ...... 4 2.5. Scope ...... 4 2.6. Exclusion ...... 5 2.7. Constraints ...... 5 2.8. Assumptions ...... 5 2.9. User(s) and any other known interested parties ...... 6 2.10. Interfaces ...... 6 2.10.1. Team or People ...... 6 2.10.2. Projects ...... 7 2.10.3. Systems ...... 7 2.11. Deliverables ...... 7 3. Business Case ...... 8 3.1. Reasons ...... 8 3.2. Business Options ...... 8 3.2.1. Selected Option IPCRM Managed application as a Service MAAAS Solution 9 4. Project Approach ...... 9 5. Success Criteria ...... 10 6. Expected Benefits ...... 10 7. Expected Dis-Benefits ...... 11

IPCRMS Background Information 2/12

1. Introduction

WIPO intends to launch a request for proposals (RFP) for the provision of its International Patent Classification (IPC) Revision Management Solution (IPCRMS) and would like to seek interest and select eligible companies for this RFP.

2. Project Definition

2.1. Terms Definitions & Acronyms . Term / Acronym Definition AD The Arcanum Development company who worked with WIPO since the 1990s in the field of International classifications (cannot participate in IPCRMS implementation) BCM Business Continuity Management CBA Critical Business Application CPC Cooperative Patent Classification, Classification used by EPO and US based on the IPC EPO European Patent Office FI File Index, Classification used by Japan, based on the IPC IB The International Bureau i.e. WIPO I(C)T Information (Communication) Technology ICSD International Classification and Standards Division (the project sponsor) ICTD Information and Communication Technology Department IPC International Patent Classification IPC-IEF/IPC-Eforum The Electronic forum for discussion of IPC revisions IPCPUBREP IPC publication preparation platform IPCRM IPC Revision Management (the project) IPCRMS IPC Revision Management Solution (one product of the IPCRM project)

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ITS IT Systems Section KPI Key Performance Indicator MAAAS Managed Application as a Service RFP Request For Proposal RIPCIS Legacy IPC revision Management system TOR Terms Of Reference for IPCRMS RFP WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

2.2. Background

 The IPC revision workflow is currently based on: o Discussion and decisions recorded in the IPC-Eforum, o Data capture into RIPCIS of decisions o Preparation of IPC master files generated by RIPCIS o Publication preparation by ITS on the basis of IPC master files  The RIPCIS system has therefore a key position in this workflow and as main IPC revision management system is a CBA for the IPC  The RIPCIS system was developed in 2003 by AD a company on which WIPO has become very dependent both in term of maintenance and in term of operation support  The dependency on RIPCIS and AD was reduced over time through gradual phasing out of some of the functionality initially present in RIPCIS ( publication, data input by offices)  RIPCIS user interface is complex and time consuming for IPC staff to use it for the capture of IPC decisions; although potentially open to external offices, because of this complexity rapporteur offices were never invited to use it.  The yearly internal efforts for the maintenance and operation of the system are excessive as well as the total operations costs  Interface with the CPC and FI classification systems is needed to facilitate IPC revisions based on CPC or FI.  RIPCIS technology is out of date,  Propagation of RIPCIS changes through acceptance and production environment largely depends on ICTD staff shared with other business sectors. This often causes reactivity issues for the IPC.  It is desirable to streamline the IT portfolio of the IPC (as well as of other international classifications) and to this effect to integrate new services into a single solution e.g. o for the preparation of IPC revision proposals with minimum data capture by WIPO,

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o a centralized service for translation to national versions of the IPC integrating automatic translation as provided in PATENTSCOPE.

For all the above mentioned reasons, it was decided to get a replacement solution: IPCRMS.

2.3. Project Objectives

The objectives of this project are:  To get a more cost effective, maintainable and robust solution than RIPCIS to assist the IB in its secretariat role through flexible, reliable and efficient IT solution for the management of IPC revision data,  To get by mid-2015, this solution confirmed as fully operational for the IPC revision 2016.01 (associated KPI: RIPCIS is phased out and the early publication of IPC 2016.01 is prepared with IPCRMS)  To improve reactivity and modularity to fulfil new IPC business requirements,  To improve IPC business continuity management through reduction of WIPO dependency on the health of a specific private company providing ICT services e.g. AD.

2.4. Desired Outcomes

. The desired outcomes of this project are:  A solution open to IP Offices, available during their working hours, facilitating CPC or FI based revision of the IPC, reducing data capture by the IB and limiting to the maximum possible extent, the risk of human errors in particular by the IB.  More vendor independence and better reactivity for the support of the IPC revision management solution thus allowing WIPO to be able to select an alternative contractor for the provision of concerned ICT services,  Increased awareness of IPOs with regards to the IPC revision status and progress, through direct consultation of the IPCRMS.  A solution that could be open to accommodate in some way in the future the other International Classifications

2.5. Scope

The project will include:  The IPC revision management process as from IPC revision projects submission until IPC master files generation and associated quality control,

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 Support for the creation of IPC revision proposals including means to import FI or CPC data,  Preparation of national versions of the IPC.

2.6. Exclusion The project will exclude:  Solution for discussion about IPC revision proposals (IPC-IEF)  Other International classification systems managed by ICSD (NICE, VIENNA, LOCARNO)

2.7. Constraints

The following constraints should be taken into account for the project:  The current contractor AD cannot be used, (directly or indirectly through a consortium) for implementation of the solution;  Limited staff resources are available in ITS to manage this project, and also in IPC Section, for the requirements and the acceptance testing;  RIPCIS regular maintenance was stopped at the end of 2011;  The date of the first production use of IPCRMS should allow for processing of an IPC revision cycle as from its middle, i.e. before the May working group.

2.8. Assumptions

The following assumptions are made for the project:  Due to shortage of staff the Senior supplier will also bear the role of Project Manager with assistance of an ITS staff endorsing Project Support and Team Manager roles;  The legacy system RIPCIS will be able to operate until the new solution becomes operational;  RIPCIS will be frozen from functional point of view i.e. only critical updates to keep the system running will be considered;  New IPC Requirements after RFP publication will be considered as to be implemented in IPCRMS as change requests;  The earliest production use will be IPC 2016.01 in June 2015 as IPCRMS is unlikely to be ready in June 2014 (for the processing of IPC 2015.01) is not realistic in term of implementation delay;

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2.9. User(s) and any other known interested parties

IPCRMS user base is made of:  WIPO IPC Section staff,  IPC experts from IP Offices.

2.10. Interfaces

IPCRMS will interface with the IPC publication platform (IPCPUBPREP) and with the IPC-IEF E-forum to which it will output. If some complementary developments are however needed in these systems and their implementation should be addressed through the existing maintenance contracts (currently by two different companies).

2.10.1. Team or People

 The Project Manager or his representative is kept informed of all interactions between parties involved in the project  Business matters are addressed by Senior Executive and IPC section,  Administrative and contractual aspects are managed by the Senior Executive and PC,  Technical and information security aspects of the solutions are addressed by ITS, ICTD, AD and future contractor

Interactions: IPC ITS ICTD PC AD Contractors Senior X X X X Executive IPC - X X ITS X - X X X ICTD X - PC - X AD X -

Contractors X X -  ICSD/IPC Section: entire team represented through Senior User in the PB N:\OrgTrps\PROCUREMENT\ACHATS\ITB RFP RFQ Contracts\2014\007 - IPCRMS\1 - EOI\Draft\EOI_PTD14007_IPCRMS_Background_Information_V1_0.docx 21/05/14 ver 0.1 IPCRMS Background Information 7/12

 ICSD/ITS Section  ICTD/Information Security staff  PC Procurement and Travel Division  IPCRM contractors (e.g. AD)

Some IP offices:  E.g. INPI Brazil at the final stage of acceptance testing of the translation.

2.10.2. Projects IPCRM is not planned to be connected to any other project at WIPO.

2.10.3. Systems IPCRMS will potentially interact with the following WIPO systems:  IPC E forum,  IPC publication platform

2.11. Deliverables

 A fully documented IPCRMS meeting WIPO requirements (IPC business, technical, IT security),  IPCRMS and associated SLAs, opened to possible extension for the revision management of other International classifications,  IPCRMS compatible with IPC BCM plans,  Concerned WIPO users trained on IPCRMS,  Documented processes for helpdesk, maintenance, operation and support services of IPCRMS (ready implementation in production)  Project management related documentation  Design documentation and sources codes of the IPCRMS

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3. Business Case

3.1. Reasons  The IPC system needs a flexible revision management solution to properly address its revision requirements.  RIPCIS, the current solution developed in 2003 by AD, with a technology and documentation now outdated has become expensive and difficult to maintain. An analysis conducted in 2009 by and external company confirmed that based on its five previous software releases, RIPCIS situation was getting worse with an increase of the level of application complexity and increase cost of ownership for WIPO.  The IPC reform which underlined the implementation was not mature at the time of RIPCIS implementation.  The daily use of RIPCIS is often painful thus severely affecting the performance of the IPC Section.  The IPC reform was followed by a number of business changes (e.g. IPC CE 41) which could not be properly implemented in particular as far as RIPCIS production of IPC Master Files, functional and technical specification are concerned. This was due on one hand to shortage of human and financial resources) on WIPO side and on the other hand to a strong reluctance of some IP Offices to change their own IT systems as a side effect of technically more appropriate modifications in the Master Files.  Changes in WIPO infrastructure strategy affecting the Oracle component of RIPCIS which was not designed for parallel processing, lead to a series of application workarounds to accommodate the new situation.  The process involving AD, ITS and ICTD staff in the propagation of changes across acceptance and production environments sometime exceeds IPC Section requirements, in terms of delay and exceeds ICSD requirements in terms of efforts,  The assistance for translation of the IPC into national versions should be centralized as well as its maintenance, taking advantage of experience gained in the PATENTSCOPE system,  Similarly, assistance for preparation of controlled revision proposals, possibly based on FI or CPC classifications should be created and centralized.  The risks associated with running RIPCIS without AD support are such that it is safer for WIPO to out-source to AD, RIPCIS operations associated with some data-capture, IPC Master files production and quality controls.  When they are planed with enough notice, the delay for propagating functional changes across acceptance and production environment exceeds business expectations.

3.2. Business Options

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To save money and allow for initiation of the IPCRM project, RIPCIS maintenance was stopped at the end of 2011 and only ad-hoc operations are requested from AD.

3.2.1. Selected Option IPCRM Managed application as a Service MAAAS Solution

As RIPCIS maintenance was stopped in 2011 and it is uncertain what efforts and resources would be needed to secure the IPC revision process, the project was divided into two phases taking as much advantage of AD business knowledge while securing WIPO position with regards to the possibility to find alternative partner to AD on the ICT marketplace:  One involving AD and aiming at establishing the new IPC revision requirements, specifications and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to be used to launch an RFP and bid selection for the implementation of IPCRM as MAAAS,  One for the implementation of the IPCRMS integrating all ICT infrastructure aspects needed to preserve business continuity the hosting of production and acceptance environments and support by the selected bidder.

In effect WIPO had to simplify the new IPC revision requirements and to propose Service Level Requirements instead of SLAs. In absence of fully available resources in ITS, and to avoid conflict of interests with AD, Project Management for the overall duration of the project (phase 1 and 2) would be addressed through sharing Project Management, Senior Supplier roles with other projects and ITS activities, and accepting the associated risk of project delay. Project support and Team manager would equally be endorsed by one ITS staff.

4. Project Approach

The majority of the project will be out-sourced (analysis, RFP, implementation, maintenance and operations setup...) The first phase of the project will decide which type of solution is best appropriate for the IPC revision management in particular whether IPCRMS as MAAAS and expected functionality can be provided with resources planed by WIPO, i.e. will confirm in light of approved requirements and corresponding bids, whether the estimates about the total project cost and timelines are realistic.

The second phase will focus on the implementation and acceptance testing of the solution as well as on the setup of robust maintenance and operation support.

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Due to resource limitation on IPC business side, double work with production data in RIPCIS and IPCRMS is not realistic. At any given point in time, IPC business cannot have either reference source data in two different systems. Therefore the switch from RIPCIS production use to IPCRMS production use is planned to be “one-off” type when the Project Executive is ready to accept the residual risk for IPC business associated to this switch.

The switch to production use should occur in the middle of an IPC revision cycle i.e. preferably before April, 2015. This means preparing IPC revision 2015.01 with RIPCIS and using IPCRMS production for the creation the IPC revision cycle 2016.01 in June 2015.

5. Success Criteria

The project will be considered as successful if the following criteria are met:  IPCRMS successful production use for IPC 2016.01 early publication in June 2015  RIPCIS and associated resources can be released  IPCRM is delivered with the authorized budget as revised at the end of its second project phase.  Support related processes are defined and documented

6. Expected Benefits

 It is expected that the management of yearly revision of the IPC can be entirely prepared by WIPO staff in collaboration with staff from IPOs and that most of human errors in data capture can be caught by IPCRMS Quality Control, so that the preparations of IPC Master files for the IPC publication can be done in maximum two iterations, thus reducing by 50% the staff costs currently associated to RIPCIS operations in IPC and ITS sections (3 staff months).  IPCRMS is expected to be user-friendly enough to allow IPC Member States consulting IPC revision directly in IPCRMS in advance of IPC meetings (baseline 2012 Member States consult IPC-Eforum where one staff month IPC is spent to store a copy of IPC revision technical annexes )  It is expected that the new solution would provide a reduction in the long term of the yearly internal maintenance efforts and of the IT operations costs(by 1.5 staff months in ITS and 1 staff month in ICTD in total ) per year but the overall cost of ownership; this would allow redeployment of ITS staff to other needs of the division.  It is expected that reactivity to IPC business requirements would improve, i.e. implementation of functional evolutions (i.e. time between identification of a new

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requirement and production use of the corresponding solution) depends only on the complexity of the change and not so much on the availability of WIPO staff involved in the deployment of changes across IPCRMS environments.

7. Expected Dis-Benefits

 In some cases the adaptation to new situation is likely to require more detailed and robust specification as well as formal procedures e.g. to modify and review of SLAs  Need to secure BCM through regular technical review of the possibility to transfer contract to a company providing similar services.

End of document

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