Local Insights

New patent and utility model procedures and updated fees form part of a legislative update to the Bangui Agreement that became effective in the new year, explains Craig Kahn of Spoor & Fisher Jersey

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher Jersey considers application of the Madrid Protocol across Africa as Ethiopia’s intellectual property practice looks set to move closer to global standards

James Davies and Vishen Pillay at Adams & Adams discuss IP protection strategies and ownership considerations for AI

In the third article from an exclusive series on the automotive industry, Cyril Abrol and Dhruv Goel of Remfry & Sagar discuss data privacy in India

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.

Despite the widespread social, health, and economic devastation caused by COVID-19, it has largely been business as usual at the Indonesian IP Office (DGIP) since the start of the pandemic. While there certainly have been some minor disruptions and corresponding adjustments, overall the impact so far appears to have been minimal.

Joran Michiels of IPSILON Belgium examines how recent EPO and UPC decisions may support inventive-step arguments for CARs, ADCs, bispecific antibodies, and other next-generation therapeutics

Peter Koefoed of Inspicos examines how the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal referral G 1/26 could clarify the application of G 1/24 when assessing the allowability of amended patent claims under the EPC

Alexander Ortlieb, Moritz Kampmann, and Stephan Maidl of Maiwald highlight six EPO appeal decisions that map the absolute floor of what patent applications for AI inventions must disclose – and how spectacularly some applicants miss that mark

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

Roberta Arantes of Daniel Law looks at how the Brazilian legal landscape has responded to shifts in the concept of branding and its related levels of protection

Kene Gallois and Guilherme Coutinho of Daniel Law explain how the success of the plan will pave the way for Brazil to attract further investment and opportunities

Red Points, in partnership with Managing IP hosted a webinar on April 7 at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST to discuss best practices in uncovering and dismantling large-scale counterfeiters

Mauricio Sámano of OLIVARES explores how the pandemic has changed IP processes for businesses in Mexico

Santiago Pedroza of OLIVARES looks at how the opposition procedure has undergone changes to protect right holders

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu considers how AI and pricing pressures could affect patent attorneys’ work in the near future

Nick Aries of Bird & Bird LLP examines how agentic AI could reshape brand discovery, trademark enforcement, and comparative advertising, and outlines key risks for brand owners

Tariq Shajahan and Willem Niesing of NLO analyse dredging-related patent filings in key jurisdictions and highlight contrasting Western and Asian approaches to innovation, from component-level engineering to system-wide methodologies and AI-driven optimisation