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

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

For a long time, the Mexican Industrial Property Law remained static. However, in the last years, the law has been amended, having an impact on the lifespan of design registrations. Furthermore, due to the recent international commitments of our country, a new law has been approved further modifying the patent maintenance system.

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office recently announced three new fast-track options for the examination of patent applications, which are already in effect. These new fast-tracks are available for: (i) applications covering “technologies already available in the [Brazilian] market”; (ii) applications filed by local startups; and (iii) applications for “technologies resulting from [Brazilian] public funding.”

On July 1 2020, and as a result of the entry into force of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the new Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property was published, abrogating the current Industrial Property Law. It will come into force on November 5 2020.

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