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

Khemphet Phonphakdy and Saithong Rattana of Tilleke & Gibbins summarise the changes under the latest revision as Laos aims to attract foreign investment and align its intellectual property laws with international standards

Wongrat Ratanaprayul of Tilleke & Gibbins highlights the complex processes required to secure AI patents across Southeast Asia

Sukontip Jitmongkolthong and Saithong Rattana of Tilleke & Gibbins describe how Laos has improved its framework to enforce IP rights through border measures

An example of an international trade mark that Austria considered for registration is Access the Inaccessible for goods and services all connected to mountaineering, climbing and work at height. This English language word mark had, among others, a designation for the UK and for Austria. In the UK, the trade mark was finally registered in spite of some difficulties. The Austrian Patent Office and the appellate court did not find it relevant that the mark was approved in the UK. Registration in a foreign country, even in a country where the relevant language is the official language spoken by the whole population, can never be binding for Austria. The reasons behind this are not only formal legal reasons (for example, territoriality), but also that the English authorities examine the trade mark from the viewpoint of English consumers while the Austrian authorities examine the same trade mark from the point of view of Austrian consumers. These perspectives might well be different since the understanding of the meaning of the foreign words might not be identical to that in a foreign country.

Paris will welcome the summer Olympic Games in 2024. This is a huge challenge for the Organising Committee.

The question of the protection of spare parts by designs has always been controversial.

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