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A regional trade mark law in the Middle East has come a step closer. As Saba Al Sultani and Rob Deans explain, it is a unifying not unitary Law – but one that could provide major benefits to brand owners

In an interview with Managing IP, the USPTO responds to criticism of its post-Myriad guidelines on patent eligibility, saying its position is an accurate reflection of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law

Section 3 of the Industrial Designs Act 1996 defines an industrial design as excluding "features of shape or configuration of an article which are dictated solely by the function which the article has to perform".

The Mexican Trademark Office (MTO) has a two-step examination process. The first is the examination of formalities and the proper identification of goods or services, and the second relates to relative and absolute grounds of refusal.

Carl Battle has a big job on his hands managing pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline’s patent team. Michael Loney talks to him and some of his staff about bringing Anoro Ellipta to market, the dreaded patent cliff, combating generic drug companies and navigating developing countries’ IP hostility

On April 28 2014, the US Trade Representative (USTR) posted on its website that the Philippines has been removed from the Special 301 Watch List. The USTR publishes its annual Special 301 Report, which identifies countries with inadequate and ineffective laws or measures for the protection of IP rights which serve as trade barriers to US companies and products. The Philippines has been on this list since 1989.

According to the Taiwan Copyright Act, copyrightable works are protected upon completion in Taiwan. Registration, publication or marking is not required. Therefore, if an author does not identify his/her name and contact information on his/her work, it would be difficult for a person intending to use the author's work to contact the author to obtain a licence.

In 1992, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) refused a trade mark application due to its confusing similarity to the unregistered, but well-known, McDonald's trade mark of the US fast-food chain. This refusal was based merely on the reputation of the mark, as McDonald's – at the time – had not yet used or shown any intention to use the mark in Vietnam. This was the very first case involving a well-known mark in Vietnam.

Owners of marks that are well-known outside the United States may find that an American company has attempted to take advantage of the renown of the foreign mark by obtaining a trade mark registration for such mark in the United States. While Article 6(bis) of the Paris Convention provides the owner of a famous foreign trade mark with a basis for asserting and sustaining a claim of priority in the US over a US registrant, this provision does not provide a basis for cancelling a US registration absent use of the mark in the US.

In a first for Australia, the Competition Commission has launched action against Pfizer for alleged misuse of market power in attempting to extend patent protection beyond the patent expiry period for its Lipitor patent.