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Recently, there was a trade mark case that was as obvious and clear as possible. It actually confirmed a precedent that should have been applied assertively and without hesitation, yet somehow was still debatable when overseen by the Mexican Trademark Office (MTO).

On September 21 2013, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) published its Rules and Regulations on its enforcement functions and visitorial powers granted by Republic Act 10372, which amends the IP Code. These rules, which enhance the enforcement of IP rights in the country, took effect on October 7 2013 and provide the following.

In order to expedite the resolution of disputes over the registration and use of an internet domain name, Icann adopted the UDRP system. Under Paragraph 4 of the UDRP, a person who has legitimate interest in or right to a domain name may commence an administrative proceeding against the domain name holder for the cancellation or transfer of the domain name by submitting a complaint to one of the administrative-dispute-resolution service providers approved by Icann, which includes the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

Three years after entry into force of the strongly criticised rules for filing divisional applications, which set a two-year time limit from the examining division's first communication or from an objection for lack of unity, the EPO has now decided to abolish the system and revert to the old regime. More specifically, the Administrative Council of the EPO has amended rule 36 EPC to allow the filing of divisional applications as long as the earlier (parent) application is pending. In this regard, it has also been decided to establish an additional fee in relation to the filing of second or subsequent generations of divisionals by amendment of rule 38 EPC. The amount payable in this respect is still to be determined.

For an invention to be patentable, the invention must be novel and inventive. However, some countries provide grace periods so that disclosure of the invention within a specified period of time prior to the date of filing, subject to certain terms and conditions, is not regarded as destroying the novelty of the invention. In Malaysia, the grace period provisions can be found in section 14(3) of its Patents Act 1983.

Under Taiwan's patent practice, patent applications become publicly available for inspection after they are laid-open or published. However, someone wishing to obtain a copy of the entire file wrapper of a laid-open or published application needs to place an order with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office and potentially wait a while for it to arrive.

A recent decision (T-437/11 of September 16) by the General Court allowed Golden Balls to use his registration "Golden Balls", despite a long legal battle with Intra-Press, the owners of the "Ballon d'Or" trade mark.

The Calcutta High Court settled a long-standing dispute between Hindustan Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser on comparative advertisements for their products on September 23. The pertinent issue was whether the advertisements made by both parties fell foul of sections 29 and 30 of the Trademarks Act, 1999.

Dilution of a well-known trade mark includes weakening, diluting and derogating the distinctiveness of the mark. In practice, it appears that using the same or very a similar well-known mark of another party in respect of non-identical or dissimilar goods, which weaken and dilute its distinctiveness, affects the discernment of the well-known trade mark and its affinity to consumers.

Just as trade mark filings and registrations have seen a remarkable rise in the Near East over the past 10 to 20 years, we are now witnessing a similar phenomenon with patents. This rise in filings is driven by the need for protection in new emerging markets as well as an improved IP rights and enforcement environment. One country in the region that stands out is Saudi Arabia. In 2013, two major patent-related events have attested to Saudi's commitment to ensuring accessible and robust IP.