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PTAB Monthly Data: Ford filed the most PTAB petitions in May, with Versata the most-targeted patent owner. Four PGR petitions were filed, a sign that this type of petition is gaining traction

The Ninth Circuit’s Stairway to Heaven opinion has already been cited in an Ed Sheeran dispute. Copyright practitioners discuss its impact and issues to watch in the retrial

In the patent battle between Nikon and ASML in relation to which 11 cases were pending before the District Court of The Hague, the Court recently ruled on case three.

In Thailand, trade mark applicants often encounter rejections on the ground of non-distinctiveness, where the application is principally composed of an acronym or a combination of unpronounceable letters. The Thai Trademark Office has consistently found that combinations of such letters in only a slightly stylised manner do not form an invented word and as such cannot pass the distinctiveness requirement. These decisions are then, almost without exception, upheld by the Thai Trademark Appeal Board (TTAB). At that point, many applicants refrain from appealing to the Thai courts due to the lengthy litigation process and the significant costs involved.

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal (the CoA) ruled that the well-known status of the GARANTİ mark for banking services would prevent registration of the KUTUP GARANTİ PLUS mark for different services.

China just passed the long-awaited E-commerce Law, which will be effective from January 1 2019. While consumer protection is a key focus of the E-commerce Law, the new law represents some recent movement regarding IP protection in China.

It is widely known that amendments to the Mexican Law of Industrial Property which have an impact on trade marks came into full force on August 10 2018. Especially relevant is the Declaration of Effective Use (DOU) to preserve trade mark protection. A first DOU is provided for those registrations granted from August 10 2018 and must be filed within three months of the third anniversary of the date of grant of the registration. Failure to file the DOU will cause the registration to lapse. In turn, for renewal purposes, a DOU must be filed. In both cases the DOU's must specify the goods/services for which the trade mark is effectively in use in Mexico. Protection will remain only for those specific goods or services.

In September 2017, the Malaysian government exercised its right to exploit Gilead's patented drug, Sofosbuvir, used for the treatment of Hepatitis C without Gilead's authorisation. The Malaysian government proceeded with the exercise of its rights despite Gilead's announcement of the extension of its voluntary licensing scheme for the supply of licensed generic Sofosbuvir to Malaysia. This is the second time that Malaysia has exercised its government rights to exploit a patented invention without the authorisation of the rights holder. The first time was in 2003, when the government exercised its rights for the supply of affordable HIV/AIDS drugs patented by GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb after failed lengthy price negotiations with the patent owners.

With the cloud of uncertainty around what Brexit will look like, it is worth clarifying the effect, or lack of effect it will have on European patents and the UK.

Jurisprudence has had fixed rules for a long time on the reconditioning of pharmaceutical products by parallel importers, without the consent of the trade mark owner.