Asia-Pacific

Editha Hechanova of Hechanova & Co examines the option of licensing for businesses interested in the Philippine market, looking at the rules relating to essential provisions, terms and conditions and non-compete clauses

Vikrant Rana of SS Rana analyses Japan and India’s close relationship in the field of IP, examining the Patent Prosecution Highway programme, the countries’ digital partnership and the establishment of a start-up hub

Yongyu Zhang of Beijing East IP examines trends and developments in the fields of patents and trademarks, looking at application patterns, disputes and changes in the law

Are importers and distributors responsible for patent infringement related to the products they import and distribute? This seemingly simple question has still only been partially answered in Vietnam, when the Superior People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City rendered a judgment on July 28 2020 sending a case back to the first-instance court for a retrial.

Invention has long been regarded as a mental activity that can only originate in human beings. However, with the booming of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in recent years, AI has been endowed with the ability to simulate human mental activities and perform innovative tasks by itself. So far, it is reported that AI technology is capable of conducting scientific experiments, developing technical crafts and completing industrial designs. In the near future, AI is even expected to have the capability to discover natural principles and create fundamental knowledge. Against this background, demands have risen for the protection of AI innovation. In particular, the question being asked is can those inventions solely made by AI "inventors" be protected through filing a patent application and be granted, just like those made by human beings?

The Indonesian government has established a compulsory licence framework in anticipation of a COVID-19 vaccine. The framework also applies to national defence and security patents.