Embracing collaboration at the Patent and Registration Office

A Pan-European endeavor

According to Anna Ptasnik, Head of PMO at PRV, PRV now receives fewer applications to be valid at the national level than before. "We see a need to be able to offer customers efficient handling of applications and support in the application process. If we can't meet that need, our customers will seek another way to protect their intellectual property."

Recognizing this need, PRV engaged in a large-scale European collaboration, marked by significant technological and operational changes. Coordinating workflows among around 90 project participants dispersed in development teams posed a challenge but revealed the project's strength in cross-functional and international collaboration and learning.

Initiating change for a future-ready PRV

Close to five years ago, PRV began to look at the possibilities of changing the case management system from their existing system, eDVArd. The system was completely self-developed, and thus, all knowledge of the system was only available at PRV. "For us, this project was partly about being able to continue to deliver on our regulation letter that the government has given us, which includes response time for those who apply for protection," says Patrik Rönnqvist, Head of Department for Trademark & Design at PRV.

"But the future is changing, and by changing the system to BackOffice, we are part of a community that can support us in operation, development, and processing. We can freely share what is being created by other European countries and adapt it to our own needs. So the move is partly about a need here and now, but above all, we are preparing for the future," Patrik continues.

EUIPO stands for the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the EU authority for trademark and design protection. As a member of the EU, Sweden is a partner of EUIPO, which is responsible for Community trademarks and Community designs, i.e. protection of the trademark or design throughout the EU. By changing the system to EUIPO's BackOffice system, PRV becomes part of a larger context and can meet future challenges with completely different conditions than they can with a self-developed system.

From eDVArd to Back Office: Key Highlights

• One of PRV's most substantial change and development projects in recent decades.
• Project initiation in 2019, with the new case management system launched in 2022.
• Significantly involves international cooperation within the EU.

Collaboration requires willingness

Anyone who has been involved in a system change knows that a successful project is not just about technical competence. It is very much about culture and employees, changed working methods, and, not least, the willingness and ability to cooperate and have funding in place. According to Maziar Soltani, CIO at PRV, "In this project, which has lasted for a total of 4 years including the feasibility study, we have all had to wear different hats. Even Annika (Martinsson, Management Consultant at Forefront) has had to take on different roles."

"A strong contributing factor to the success of the project - to deliver on time despite a pandemic breaking out in the middle - is that we have had very loyal project members. By that I mean employees and partners, such as Forefront and EUIPO. The professionalism has permeated everyone involved."

Strengthening PRV with BackOffice

The transition to BackOffice enhances PRV's capacity to deliver legally sound decisions in design and trademark matters. The platform further empowers PRV to adapt to market changes and respond to evolving customer needs. Collaborating with other intellectual property authorities opens avenues for joint platform development and associated services.

Agility at Work

It is not surprising that agility is strongly linked to smaller projects - it is easiest to start by applying agile work processes to smaller projects. That said, agile working methods are entirely applicable to larger, multi-year endeavors, such as a multi-year system replacement project. But you need to have the right skills in place and work with change management, according to PRV's CIO Maziar Sol.

Maziar emphasizes that PRV's shift from eDVArd to BackOffice may be a technical project, but it is not the technology that is the most significant deliverable from Forefront: 'What will persist at PRV is not the system itself — we will never be done there, and there will always be a need for new developments to meet requirements. What endures is that we have established entirely new ways of working towards the agile and future-proofed PRV by participating in a European community. With shared values, we — PRV, Forefront, and EUIPO — have transitioned from the classic customer-client relationship to a partnership. And feels really, really good.”

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