Local Insights

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

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

A landmark case involving the remodelling of luxury brand bags at the owner’s request has established legal principles on the trademark implications of such services, explains Min Son of Hanol IP & Law

Ranjan Narula and Parth Bajaj of RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys analyse new obligations concerning synthetically generated information, accelerated takedown provisions, and safe harbour implications amid rising SGI-driven scams

Loc Xuan Le of T&G Law Firm LLC (TGVN), the local associate firm of Tilleke & Gibbins, outlines key amendments to Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property concerning AI use of protected IP objects

Maria Kilimiris of Patrinos & Kilimiris explains a recent decision regarding how genuine use is assessed for trademarks registered across broad categories of goods and their subcategories

Annika Lückemann and Jan van Dieck of Bird & Bird analyse the Unified Patent Court’s opening ruling concerning a supplementary protection certificate, highlighting procedural peculiarities, urgency considerations, and possible implications for pharmaceutical originator-generic disputes

Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and İrem Girenes Yücesoy of Gün and Partners analyse the different approaches to similarity assessments conducted by the court of first instance in the proceedings and the Regional Court of Appeal

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has introduced its long-awaited plan to solve its patent backlog, a project called the "Preliminary Standardised Office Action Program". The idea is to reduce backlog by 80% over the next two years – after which the PTO estimates it will take under 24 months to examine new applications.

The Madrid system will enter into force in Brazil on October 2 2019, three months after the delivery of the instrument of accession of Brazil to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In the wake of the adherence to the international system, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) released four resolutions that not only address ratification, but also touch new and uncharted areas for international companies with trademarks in Brazil, including adopting necessary international norms for the local trademark regime, like multiclass filings, co-ownership, and divisional applications and registrations adding flexibility to the local system.

The reform of August 10 2018 to the Mexican Industrial Property Law substantially changed the Mexican trademark landscape. Among the most relevant changes brought by this legislative reform, particularly the acceptance on behalf of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) of non-conventional trademark applications – such as smell and sound trademarks – positions Mexico today at the forefront of innovation.

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

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

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

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu finds that producing reliable, full patent applications remains a step too far for AI assistants at present