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After a seven year fight, the EU General Court has ruled that world famous football star Lionel Messi may register a logo including his surname MESSI as a trade mark for sports equipment and clothing. The mark had been challenged by a Spanish cycling gear manufacturer who owns the mark MASSI.

It is a long-standing principle of Australian patent law that determining whether or not a patent application is directed towards patentable subject matter should be done separately to determining issues of novelty and inventive step. However, amendments to the Australian Patent Examiners Manual late last year introduced a new practice, encouraging consideration of prior art when assessing subject matter eligibility, which in Australia includes the requirement that the invention be a manner of manufacture. A year on, it seems that this supposed clarification to the Manual has only resulted in confusion and uncertainty about what role prior art plays in determining the existence of patentable subject matter.

At last, Germany has clear guidelines regarding the litigation value of an appeal to the German Federal High Court of Justice (BGH) in patent application or opposition matters.

Starbucks coffeehouses can be found in myriad regions of the globe. However, Starbucks' trajectory in Russia has not been easy. Even prior to 2000, Starbucks had its sights on Russia, noting its affection for lattes and cappuccinos. It even registered its trade mark there. However, the trade mark was not used for several years for some reason.

On June 12 2018, Vietnam passed a new Law on Competition that will take effect on July 1 2019, replacing the Law on Competition of 2004. The new law brings about several changes affecting intellectual property. Notably, it eliminates many of the discrepancies between the current 2004 Competition Law and the Intellectual Property Law in dealing with IP-related unfair competition.

According to the 11th edition of the Global Innovation Index 2018 (GII 2018) released in July 2018, Singapore is the most innovative country in the world outside Europe.

Big names in Hollywood, sports, and music often enforce their personality rights: William Shatner called out a Toronto developer for using his likeness while selling luxury condos; Michael Jordan sued a Chicago grocer over an advert that displayed his name and number; and Rihanna litigated a UK retailer's sale of a t-shirt bearing her image. This area has become increasingly complex with the rise of social media celebrities and the borderless nature of modern advertising.

In a judgment dated July 12 2018, the Delhi High Court has allowed a plea of patent infringement by Koninklijke Philips Electronics (Phillips), holding that two manufacturers/sellers of DVD video players were infringing Phillips' standard essential patent (SEP) (IN 184753). The main defendants were Rajesh Bansal and KK Bansal who were manufacturing the infringing DVD players under the brand Soyer through their proprietorships namely, Mangalam Technology and Bhagirathi Technology. Phillips' civil suits for infringement were first filed in 2009 and have now been decided by this judgment.

Photo courtesy of NSPRDC-BAI About 47% of the land area of the Philippines is devoted to agriculture. The agriculture sector can be divided into four groups: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry. The poultry industry makes up about 12% of the agriculture sector.

In recent years, machine learning and so-called 'artificial intelligence' systems have once again come into the spotlight. As ever, patent law both in the UK and around the world has developed to keep pace with and encourage these emerging technologies.