2017 edition of Asia-Pacific Focus published

The full Focus is available to read online (no subscription required). Hard copies will be sent to Managing IP subscribers and will be available from our booths at upcoming conferences.

We have two contributions from China. In the first, Kang Quan of DEQI Intellectual Property Law Corporation discusses modifications and measures affecting computer programs in the Chinese Patent Examination Guidelines. The second looks at trade secrets. China does not have a trade secret law as such, but that does not mean that trade secrets cannot be protected, as Ran Wang and Xiaojing Wang of Liu Shen explain.

In recent times, India has become a battle field for standard essential patents (SEP) litigation. Several SEP holders (Philips, Ericsson, Dolby and Vringo) have chosen Indian courts, specifically the Delhi High Court, as the forum to litigate their SEPs. Pravin Anand and Abhilasha Nautiyal of Anand and Anand explain why.

Masayuki Ogura of Shiga International Patent Office compares Japan’s opposition system to that of other countries, and provides tips for opponents and patent owners

Finally, Hyoun Ja Park and Hyun Sil Lee of FirstLaw P.C. provide a Q&A guide to protecting, challenging and enforcing various IP rights in South Korea.

As we discuss in the introduction to the Focus, Asia is increasingly leading the filing of international IP rights as is clear from filing data published by WIPO. Much of this growth is driven by domestic applicants in China.

This trend is likely to continue, driven by government initiatives as well as demand from businesses and consumers. In Japan, for example, the JPO has set out an ambitious list of goals, under three headings, to be achieved in fiscal year 2017 (available on the JPO website in English and Japanese). 

Over the coming decade, trends in Asia will become more important for IP practitioners worldwide, and our free Asia-Pacific Focus is a great place to start reading about them.