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It is no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform many aspects of IP. The role and impact of the technology has been discussed many times and in many forums, but what we've done in this issue's cover story is bring together several views in one place. Most notably, we have spoken to Francis Gurry, the director general of WIPO, as well as Christian Archambeau, executive director of the EUIPO. We have also included comments from CIPO in Canada, to provide a wider view of how IP offices are using AI and their assessment of its influence.

We have previously discussed Myanmar's new law on trademarks. It should also be noted that the same law is also the primary legislation on the protection of geographical indications (GIs) in Myanmar. Chapter 16 (Sections 53 to 60) of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 3 of 2019, fully titled the Trademark and Geographical Indications Law (TGIL), deals exclusively with GIs, and this is our summary of its contents, as well as our recommendations for those interested in registering GIs in Myanmar under the TGIL.

On May 20 2019, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) started operating as an international searching authority (ISA) and international preliminary examining authority (IPEA). It now conducts search and preliminary examination of international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization. To encourage Filipino inventors, as well as higher educational institutions that are members of the Innovation and Technology Support Offices Network (ITSO), the IPOPHL has launched a programme waiving search and preliminary examination fees for the first 100 applicants which choose IPOPHL as the ISA or IPEA. Under this PCT Filing Assistance Program, foreign applicants from states included in WIPO's list of eligible nationals or residents may also avail of a 90% reduction of certain PCT fees. This programme is in effect until December 31 2019, or after 100 requests for ISRs have been filed, whichever comes first. The IPOPHL's Schedule of Fees as ISA can be found in the PCT Applicant's Guide – International Phase on the WIPO website. The Applicant's Guide also provides a few guidelines in relation to the IPOPHL's function as ISA, such as the conditions for refund and amount of refund of the search fee, whether the IPOPHL requires that nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listings be furnished in electronic form, and which subject matter will not be searched, among others.

The enforcement of trademark infringement crimes is not ex-officio in Turkey. In other words, trademark owners have to file a criminal complaint to start criminal IP proceedings for each and every case. Thus trademark owners have to take into consideration beforehand, all possible risks that might occur in a worst case scenario, especially counterclaims which could include damages figures put forward by infringers if no fake products can be seized during an actual raid or even worse, if original products are seized during a raid instead of fakes.

On June 30, after nine years of negotiations, Vietnam and the European Union officially signed the landmark EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), an ambitious and progressive agreement that includes important provisions on intellectual property.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), once again won the elections with a clear majority and formed the government in May 2019. This is the party's second term in a row. Interestingly, during the election campaign, one of the adverts released entitled "Transforming India's IP Landscape" counted, among others, the following achievements:

On June 4 2019, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued a cease and desist order and surcharge payment order to KOA ISEI Co LTD (KOA ISEI) under the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act.

The legal provisions regarding the pricing of pharmaceutical products have been amended several times during the last decade in an effort to address the issue of very high pharma expenditure and its impact on hospitals and the social security system and to create a stable and predictable reference pricing framework.

On April 26 2019, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued special rules on its technical patent investigators (provisions), effective as of May 1 2019, which formally stipulate the procedures, duties and liabilities related to the participation of technical investigators in the trial of IP cases. The issuing of the provisions is also an acknowledgement of the successful trial run of the technical investigator system in the last four years.