Obtaining an internationally recognized certificate confirms that the Patent Office is a reliable organization focused on quality and development and that its services meet customer and regulatory requirements. According to the data published in 2020 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 868 such certificates have been issued in Latvia, including 11 ones obtained by public administration and local government institutions.
In August 2021, “DNV”, one of the world's leading certification service providers, successfully conducted the first recertification audit of the Patent Office's quality management system for the compliance with the international standard ISO 9001: 2015 "Quality Management Systems - Requirements". This ISO certificate is one of the world's most recognized and best-known quality standards.
The certificate covers all core activities of the Patent Office:
• trademark registration and post-registration procedures;
• preparation of applications for international registration of trademarks;
• examination of international trademark registrations;
• design registration and post-registration procedures;
• examination of international registrations of designs;
• patent granting and post-grant procedures;
• extension or approval of European patents;
• granting of supplementary protection certificates;
• provision of information services on the protection of intellectual property rights;
• organization of a qualification examination for professional patent attorneys and maintaining of the list of professional patent attorneys.
The implementation of the quality management system in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015 standard started in 2017, with the aim of improving the quality of the services provided by the Patent Office. In 2018, during the implementation period, extensive work was done on the evaluation of the basic processes of the institution - the necessary documentation was reviewed and updated, basic flow diagrams were developed, and staff training was provided. As a result, an external audit of the quality management system was performed at the end of 2018, and the first management system certificate was received, which confirmed the compliancy of the quality management system of the Patent Office with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015. By recertifying the management system every 3 years, the institution continues to maintain this certificate.
