Search results for

Singapore is due to accede to the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement during the first half of 2005, in line with the Registered Designs (Amendment) Act 2004 which came into force on January 1 2005. This will allow Singapore to meet its obligations under the European Free Trade Association-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (ESFTA).

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

Dr Shirish Sherlekar and Dr Ankasha Tejam, AstraZeneca

Suppliers to the public sector should note that confidentiality clauses in agreements with public authorities which allow disclosure of confidential information as required by law will permit disclosure by authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

According to Section 10(1) of the German Patent Act, a patent has the effect that any third party that does not have the consent of the patentee is prevented from offering or supplying a component relating to an essential element of the invention. According to the recent Flügelrad decision of the German Supreme Court (X ZR 48/03 dated May 4 2004), in assessing what is an essential element of the invention, only components that have a functional interaction with other elements of the patented device can infringe the patent.

You litigate inside the courtroom; you settle cases outside the courtroom. That's conventional wisdom. But, as the number of cases filed each year continues to increase, more and more courts are getting involved in helping the parties settle their dispute. This is a trend that is expected to continue and it is a development that should be embraced by litigants.

A recently reported Malaysian High Court decision has demonstrated that the country's courts will make a determination based on the judge's visual impression rather than deferring to the opinion of witnesses on the issue of novelty in designs.

Neil Hobbs, IP lawyer at Virgin Enterprises Limited, explains how the company protects more than 2,500 domain names and reveals why it has decided to consolidate its registrations

India introduced a product patent regime to meet its TRIPs deadline by promulgating the Patents Ordinance 2004 on December 26. The Ordinance came into force on January 1. This measure, albeit temporary, reflects the government's resolve to meet its WTO obligations. The Indian constitution provides that an Ordinance expires six weeks after Parliament reconvenes, giving it an effective life span of six months. The government now has the unenviable task of facing opposition parties in its efforts to substitute the Ordinance with an Act.

Under the Mexican Industrial Property Law (IPL), in force since August 2 1994, a trade mark application resulting either in a relative or an absolute ground for refusal can be objected to in a first instance proceeding before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). This proceeding provides the applicant with a reasonable term to file arguments to overcome the objection. If the arguments submitted by the applicant do not overcome the objection, according to IMPI's criteria, the application should be formally refused.