Solution Architecture & Operational Workflow
Technical Overview
The Client
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency that serves the world's innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere.
It provides the services that enable creators, innovators and entrepreneurs to protect and promote their Intellectual Property (IP) across borders and acts as a forum for addressing cutting-edge IP issues. Its IP data and information guide decision makers worldwide through impact-driven projects and technical assistance.
Requirement
WIPO through its e-sourcing platform Tender Process selected Data Management Systems (Pvt) Ltd to digitize over 5 million documents belonging to the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO) in Sri Lanka.
The digitization process involved a comprehensive Scanning and Indexing (Metadata Tagging) solution covering several distinct categories of intellectual property documents, each with its own filing structure and metadata requirements:
- Patent Files
- Trademark Files
- Industrial Design Documents
- Copyright Documents
- Bookmark-enabled structured navigation
The Challenge
- Managing multiple distinct document types within a single unified scanning and indexing workflow, where each type carried its own metadata schema, classification codes and cross-referencing requirements.
- Maintaining strict data consistency and traceability across varied document categories at a volume exceeding 5 million documents.
- Strict six-month delivery timeline (November 2024 to April 2025) with zero margin for delay given the vast archival scale.
- Accurate uploading of digitized records and metadata into WIPO's Central Information System, strictly adhering to WIPO's international formatting and data transfer standards.
Our Approach
To manage the diversity of document types within the strict timeline, DMS engineered a streamlined, multi-stream production workflow covering batch preparation, high-speed scanning, quality assurance, metadata tagging, bookmarking and secure upload.
Key Implementation Highlights:
- Batch Preparation & Barcoding: Source files were sorted, batch-prepared and barcoded by category to maintain traceability throughout the production line.
- High-Throughput Archival Scanning: Deployed heavy-duty industrial scanners to capture archival-quality high-resolution images.
- Comprehensive Metadata Tagging: Captured vital fields including application/registration numbers, applicant/owner names, filing dates, IP categories, and legal status for instant retrieval.
- Multi-Level Bookmarking: Embedded navigational bookmarks in multi-page files (application forms, schedules, correspondence, certificates) enabling instant section jumping.
- Rigorous Multi-Tier QA: Independent verification of image fidelity, completeness, and metadata accuracy prior to batch sign-off.
- WIPO Central Integration: Formatted and validated records against WIPO's strict data transfer specifications for seamless import.
Bottom Line, The Solution & Benefits
The project was successfully completed within the scheduled period of November 2024 to April 2025, delivering the scanning, metadata tagging and bookmarking of over 5 million Patent, Trademark, Design and Copyright documents, followed by their upload to WIPO's central system.
NIPO now benefits from a fully digitized, well-indexed and easily searchable intellectual property archive, enabling faster retrieval of records, improved data integrity across all IP categories, and seamless integration with WIPO's international information systems — strengthening NIPO's capacity to serve applicants, examiners and global stakeholders efficiently.
Client Profile
