Jurisdictions

Pravir Palayathan of Inlex explains Mauritius’ customs-led system for protecting trademarks, regulating authorised importers and exporters, and swiftly seizing counterfeit goods

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher Jersey outlines the key developments and says the modernisation of the country’s intellectual property regime presents immediate opportunities for brand owners

Mohamed Jameel Hamid and Alicia van der Walt of Adams & Adams unpack the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, explain its impact on intellectual property, and outline practical strategies for brand owners across Africa

On January 15 2020, US President Donald Trump and Chinese vice-premier He Liu signed a trade agreement which President Trump has described as "the biggest deal anybody has ever seen." The deal promises to be the first phase of a larger new trade agreement between the US and China, announcing a significant de-escalation in the trade war between the two giants that has dragged along for more than one year. Of particular interest to those in the pharmaceutical industry will be Sections C and D of the first chapter of the trade agreement, which outline China's commitments to improve protection and enforcement of pharmaceutical-related patent rights, and in particular to creating an effective mechanism for early resolution of patent disputes between generic drug companies and pharmaceutical innovators, or a Chinese drug patent linkage system, as many may like to put it.

On April 21 2020, Beijing High Court issued the guiding opinions on the determination of damages in cases of infringement of intellectual property rights and unfair competition as well as the judging standards for statutory compensation ("关于侵害知识产权及不正当竞争案件确定损害赔偿的指导意见及法定赔偿的裁判标准") (opinions).

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented crisis resulting in the Indian government clamping down on the movement of people, goods and services. This has had an impact on every facet of business and has encouraged consumers to focus on their health and well-being. With social distancing becoming the "new normal", the impact of coronavirus on brick-and-mortar stores during the lockdown phase and post lifting of stay-at-home orders is likely to be profound. It is expected that consumers will avoid close interaction and crowded places such as malls and supermarkets in times to come. Thus, in the short to medium term, consumers' shopping habits will witness a gradual but definite shift from brick and mortar stores to online portals and e-stores. Brands in India are therefore increasingly focusing on setting up their own e-stores, creating arrangements and partnerships with online portals. Big offline stores such as Future Group (Easy Day and Big Bazaar), Spencer's Retail, Metro Cash & Carry and Walmart's Best Price stores have increased efforts to service customers online, building a comprehensive model to deliver groceries and goods. Many stores have started to partner with food delivery platforms such as Swiggy, taxi-hailing app Uber Eats, and bike taxi startup Rapido. This article focuses on how brands' sudden shift to online will need a strategic focus in terms of building a brand protection strategy.

Kerstin Wolff of Maiwald explains how the EU’s provisional agreement on plants generated by new genomic techniques divides them into two categories, opening the market while preserving patent and regulatory oversight

Senior intellectual property practitioners from Maiwald discuss how innovators can secure robust patent protection for AI inventions amid evolving EPO practice and accelerating technological change

Fame means not all literary figure marks are created equal, says Charlotte Colthurst of Bird & Bird in examining an EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal ruling

Stephania Cardiel of Becerril, Coca & Becerril examines how recent reforms signal a regional move towards faster, more internationally aligned innovation systems

Emilio Berkenwald of Berken IP examines Argentina’s continued absence from the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the practical consequences for patent filing strategies, and what possible accession could mean for local and foreign applicants

María Aurora García of Berken IP explains how Resolution No. 583 narrows trademark examination to absolute grounds, shifting relative grounds and other objections to third-party enforcement

Stephania Cardiel of Becerril, Coca & Becerril examines how recent reforms signal a regional move towards faster, more internationally aligned innovation systems

Anne-Raphaëlle Aubry of Bird & Bird explains how Section 1782 and Rule of Procedure 190 offer different pathways for cross-border evidence gathering in European patent disputes, highlighting timing, scope, and strategic considerations for litigants

Monica Sánchez of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains how the Mexican intellectual property framework, including compulsory licences and the Bolar clause, works alongside emerging technologies to balance pharmaceutical innovation with public health access