Local Insights

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

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

Gillian Tan of That.Legal explains how accidental font licensing gaps arise in practice, and how Singapore’s compensatory copyright framework affects enforcement outcomes

Yue Guan of Wanhuida Intellectual Property explains how the CNIPA’s rulings on mirogabalin besylate tablets highlight the importance of formulation patent drafting and claim amendments in China’s drug patent landscape

Thanh Phuong Vu of Tilleke & Gibbins explains how Vietnam’s 2025 Intellectual Property Law amendment introduces protection for partial and intangible designs under Locarno Class 32

Fame means not all literary figure marks are created equal, says Charlotte Colthurst of Bird & Bird in examining an EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal ruling

Igor Charles of Inlex explains how the EUIPO Board of Appeal recognised the Givenchy 4G logo’s reputation in France, linking luxury goods to financial services under Article 8(5) of the EU Trademark Regulation

A reversal decision by the Turkish Court of Cassation clarifies when patent enforcement may trigger unfair competition liability, report Aysel Korkmaz Yatkın, Selin Sinem Erciyas, and Beste Turan Kurtoğlu of Gün and Partners

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

Emilio Berkenwald of Berken IP examines Argentina’s continued absence from the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the practical consequences for patent filing strategies, and what possible accession could mean for local and foreign applicants

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

In Universal Standard Inc. v Target Corp. (S.D.N.Y., No. 18 Civ. 6042), the US District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the question of whether sharing attorney-client privileged communications with a public relations firm destroys that privilege. The court found that Universal Standard waived the privilege by including its public relations firm, BrandLink, in emails discussing strategy related to the lawsuit.

In In re Hikari Sales USA, Inc., the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) issued a second precedential decision involving genericness, this year, just two days after issuing its first one. In doing so, the TTAB sent a strong message to brand owners hoping to obtain exclusive rights in highly descriptive or otherwise common terms.

A few days ago, a photograph of a bottle of Dutch tequila began circulating on the web. The creators of this product, which has not yet hit the market and probably never will, claim to have improved the taste of original tequila, based on Dutch gin, and now feel ready to enter the European market.

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

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