Local Insights

Duncan Maguire of Spoor & Fisher Jersey explains a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania confirming that such trademarks are unenforceable unless registered nationally with the trademarks office in Tanzania

Herman Blignaut of Spoor & Fisher South Africa addresses whether the act extends to intellectual property rights and reassures brand owners that constitutional protection remains intact

David Cochrane of Spoor & Fisher South Africa explains the key updates under the act, which strengthens breeder protections while supporting vulnerable farmers and aligning with international norms

With many employees in Thailand working outside their company's normal IT security fence, their increased use of their own computers and devices instead of those in their offices with standard or enhanced security mechanisms has made it more challenging for employers to control access to key business information. In the rush to set up a fully or partially remote workforce, most companies have had little time to establish work-from-home guidelines on protection of their valuable intangible assets like trade secrets and confidential business information. The need for sufficient internal guidelines on copying files to USB drives, emailing files to personal accounts, and uploading to cloud storage is already widely recognised, but who could have imagined the need for rules precluding sharing proprietary information over Zoom, Skype, Webex, and such programs?

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.

The e-commerce market in China is one of the fastest growing in the world. To improve regulation over the flourishing market and maintain the market order, China promulgated the E-Commerce Law which became effective on January 1 2019. Notably, the E-Commerce Law addresses intellectual property protection in e-commerce settings. To reflect further developments regarding e-commerce in China, and to implement intellectual property protection more efficiently, on June 10 2020, the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC) released Draft Guiding Opinion on the Adjudication of Intellectual Property Disputes Involving E-commerce Platforms 《关于审理涉电子商务平台知识产权纠纷案件的指导意见》 (Guiding Opinion) for public consultation.

Igor Charles and Franck Soutoul of Inlex examine a Paris Court of Appeal ruling that fully invalidated a ‘Richard Mille’ trademark for fraud despite limits on protection based on reputation

Marco Stief of Maiwald argues that the District Court of The Hague missed an opportunity to clarify the uncertainty surrounding the term ‘first authorisation’ in Article 3(d) of the SPC Regulation in a recent judgment

The ruling addresses the impact of device mark differences, proof of use, and well-known status arguments, say Hande Hançar Koç, Havva Yıldız, and Zeynep Berfin Ekinci of Gün and Partners

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

María Aurora García of Berken IP explains how Argentina’s evolving non-use cancellation system strengthens trademark integrity, streamlines registration, and promotes fairer market competition through efficient, partial, and administrative cancellation mechanisms

Senior patent attorneys at Licks Attorneys say recent UK court decisions on FRAND licensing conflict with Brazilian judicial sovereignty and the TRIPS framework governing the territorial independence of patents

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

Carlos Hernández León of Becerril, Coca & Becerril outlines how Mexico’s shift from NAFTA-based patent term extensions to the new SPC regime affects patent holders, particularly in pharmaceuticals, and the strategic steps to secure additional protection

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu concludes a series on the use of artificial intelligence in patent practice by analysing how AI assistants affect the skilled reader’s perspective and the drafting of patent applications

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu continues a series on AI’s potential use in patent practice by analysing drafting experiments focused on differentiating from the closest prior art

In this opening article of a series, Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu explains her conclusions after experimenting with various AI assistants when responding to office actions in patent applications