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Generally trade mark use does not raise questions. The law (Article 1484) simply states that the trade mark may be used on goods, in documents, in advertisements and other material. When the issue of non-use is examined by courts, these provisions of the law are compared with what happens on the market. For the purpose of proper use, the law (Article 1486) also states that a trade mark may be used by the trade mark owner himself as well as by other people under the control of the trade mark owner. Control should be understood broadly. This is not only a licence but any transaction or chain of transactions where the trade mark owner is aware of the use by other people and may intervene if necessary. This is a relationship pattern that has been adjusted by judicial practice and proved in many cases.

Does a trade mark owner have to be physically present in the Philippines to show genuine use of a mark? In the case of W Land Holdings Inc v Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc (G.R. No. 222366, December 4 2017), the Supreme Court (SC) ruled in favour of Starwood, asserting that it makes actual use of its W mark in the Philippines. This case arose from a cancellation action filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

Louis Vuitton Malletier, the owner of the LV registered trade mark, recently filed a civil lawsuit with the IP Court against a second-hand luxury goods vendor, accusing the vendor of selling LV branded counterfeits online. In November 2017, the IP Court issued a judgment. The defendant was found guilty of trade mark infringement while Louis Vuitton was awarded compensatory damages.

Unlike many countries, Turkish trade mark law has had a rule since 1995 that a senior trade mark registration or application identical or indistinguishably similar to a junior trade mark application can be raised as an absolute ground for refusal if the goods/services are also identical or of the same type. The Turkish Industrial Property Code (the IP Code), which entered into force on January 10 2017, softened this rule, and in cases where an applicant submits a notarised document to the Trademark Office indicating that the owner of the prior registration agrees to the registration of the trade mark application that is identical or indistinguishably similar to a senior trade mark or trade mark application, then the junior application cannot be rejected on this ground.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced a fee revision for patents and trade marks with effect from April 1 2017. Regarding patents, the application fees for searches or supplementary search reports, local search and examination reports, and international search and examination reports, are reduced by 14%, 25% and 37%, respectively. There is also a 30% fee reduction in the application to register trade marks that utilise the IPOS pre-approved list of goods and services. Thus, businesses and entrepreneurs will see a substantial fee reduction for patent and trade mark applications.

In the Vietnamese judicial system, there are two avenues for reviewing a court's final judgment. Under the current procedural legislation, if such judgment can be shown to be based on a serious error of law, it can go through the process of cassation, where the judgment will be reviewed and possibly annulled due to the material error in the procedure. If, on the other hand, new evidence or facts are discovered that could have affected the outcome of the case, the case can be retried.

In-house counsel and private practitioners discussed trends in brand protection online and its context for Asia at a seminar. This included an overview of cases involving trade marks and Google Adwords, including two recent ones in Asia

The USPTO unveiled the long-awaited redesigned patent cover at the South by Southwest festival in Austin in March. It will replace the patent cover that has been in service for more than 30 years when the 10 millionth patent is granted, which is expected to happen this summer.

The Federal Circuit has overturned the jury verdict of fair use in Oracle v Google and remanded the case to a federal judge in the Ninth Circuit for a third trial to determine damages

Patrick Wingrove rounds up recent intellectual property news, including President Trump imposing sanctions on China, the Federal Circuit staying PTAB proceedings relating to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, the Vatican cracking down on use of its name, the EPO granting a CRISPR patent, a China sports brand countersuing Nike for trade mark infringement, and the USPTO director setting out his vision