Local Insights

Social media-fuelled demand for luxury counterfeits such as the ‘Takealot Tirkin’ is reshaping consumer culture across Africa and raising pressing questions for brands. Haadya Mosafeer of INLEX finds a potential answer in Mauritius’ response

Cwengile Cwele, with oversight from Chyreene Truluck of Spoor & Fisher South Africa, explains how the new process works and the implications for practitioners and rights holders

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

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that simulates human intelligence. It performs tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as visual perception, natural speech recognition and language translation.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, pioneering pharmaceutical makers, research institutes, and universities are working in collaboration to develop novel antiviral drugs that are small compounds and vaccines. Although most inventions produced this year will be disclosed when their patent applications are published next year, the inventions being developed before this pandemic have already been disclosed.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution along with the spread of the IoT means that SEP licensing negotiations are expected to be held more often between SEP holders in the information and communication technology field and business entities in industries other than the telecommunications industry, especially multi-component products industries such as automobiles, game machines etc. However, risks involving SEP licensing negotiations and disputes have been increasing significantly because licensing negotiation practices and market views on royalties are very different between the above business entities and SEP holders. Being aware of such issues, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published the Guide to Fair Value Calculation of Standard Essential Patents for Multi-Component Products (the basic concept) on April 21 2020. The basic concept has been formulated based on the report (dated March 31 2020) of the Study Group on Fair Value Calculation of Standard Essential Patents for Multi-Component Products (report), commissioned by the Policy Planning and Coordination Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, the METI.

A Turkish case highlights the importance of Article 138(3) when patent claims are amended during an invalidation action, say Selin Sinem Erciyas, Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, and Bengü Şen Gürakan of Gün + Partners

Jakob Pade Frederiksen of Inspicos provides a status update on the pending case in the lead-up to oral proceedings before the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal on May 8 2026

Igor Charles and Fatima Chirazi of INLEX report on the rejection of Decathlon’s design, unfair competition, and parasitism claims over snorkelling masks, confirming a narrow scope of protection where design freedom is constrained

Eduardo Hallak, Juliana Neves, and Gabriela Monteiro of Licks Attorneys explain how Brazilian courts have reshaped divisional patent practice and assess the practical impact of the current framework

María Aurora García of Berken IP examines how Argentine courts are using dynamic injunctions to tackle illegal sports streaming, particularly in the context of major events such as the football World Cup

Brazil is establishing itself as a hub for biological agricultural formulations. Eduardo Hallak, Rafaella Oliveira, and Gislaine Zulli of Licks Attorneys analyse a fast-developing market and a decade of related patent activity

Luis Emilio Moncada of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains why provisional measures are an increasingly valuable mechanism under Mexican intellectual property law as the country prepares to co-host the football World Cup

Fernanda Villalobos of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains how Mexican trademark law now allows descriptive signs to acquire protection through market use and consumer recognition

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

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu considers how patent applicants may need to adapt their approaches as a result of widespread political and economic uncertainty

Jean-Paul Wagner and Tiago Leal of Ipsilon Luxembourg explore recent judicial advancements and global trends shaping the future of AI innovation, and how to turn informed intellectual property strategies into engines of commercial success

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu finds that AI assistants are not very helpful for building and enforcing patent strategies – and explains why