Asia-Pacific

Software and patents have always had a difficult relationship. Around the world, different rules in different jurisdictions create uncertainty for innovators wanting to know if their key innovations can be secured or whether the market is a free-for-all against competitors.

To nurture a more protective and encouraging environment for innovation which is key to economic transformation and development, on November 11 2020, China promulgated the amended Copyright Law [2020 amendment], which will become effective on June 1 2021. The first Copyright Law was enacted in 1990 and was subsequently revised respectively in 2001 and 2010.

On August 28 2020, the Chinese Supreme People's Court (SPC) granted the very first anti-suit injunction in the standard essential patent (SEP) royalty dispute case of Huawei v Conversant, which enjoined Conversant Wireless Licensing (Conversant) from seeking enforcement of the Dusseldorf regional court's injunction ruling against Huawei Technologies (Huawei). This case thus opened the door for Chinese courts to issue anti-suit injunctions (ASIs).

The Working Statement which patentees need to file every year continues to be a controversial subject. The frequent changes in the forms and varying stands of the patent office have added to the confusion.

In the midst of a pandemic that has disrupted economic activity so much so that Indonesia recently entered its first recession in over two decades, a proposed law on job creation brought thousands of protesters out to Jakarta's now almost deserted streets. The law weakens worker and environmental protections in the name of increasing business ease and underwent a somewhat unconventional and confusing path to implementation (there were four separate final drafts circulating at one point with differences of hundreds of pages). As a result, the law has been controversial from beginning to end. In its final form, it is over 1,100 pages long and amends approximately 75 separate laws, packaged together as the Job Creation Law No. 11 of Year 2020 or just the Omnibus Bill.

A recent trademark decision by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) reveals the importance of submitting reliable and probative evidence in invalidation proceedings, even when the invalidation proceedings are undefended by the trademark owner.