Search results for

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.

When evaluating bad faith claims, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TPTO) considers several matters, but predominantly if the trade mark is an original sign that was created by a prior right holder. In a recent decision, the Office made an exemplary decision concerning bad faith.

In Taiwan, both invention and design applications are subject to substantive examination. According to the Patent Act, the applicant must file a request for examination of an invention application at the time of filing the application or within three years from the filing date. If such a request is not filed in an invention application within the statutory time limit, the application will be dismissed irrevocably. On the other hand, a design application will automatically go to the examination stage after the formalities are fulfilled with no need for the applicant to request examination. Therefore a design application could be approved quite soon after filing. Though this seems favourable, it may not necessarily be what the applicant wants, especially when the applicant wishes to defer publication of that specific design due to commercial considerations.

Pursuant to Rule 71(3) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), towards the termination of the examination proceedings, the Examining Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) shall inform the applicant of the text in which it intends to grant the European patent. Following Rule 71(5) EPC, if the applicant subsequently pays the grant and publishing fees and files the required translations of the claims, he shall be deemed to have approved the text intended for grant.

The Japanese IP system has vulnerable evidence collection procedures in comparison with foreign countries. In March 2017, the Patent System Subcommittee of the Intellectual Property Committee under the Industrial Structure Council published Functional Strengthening of Systems for Handling Intellectual Property Disputes in Japan, making some proposals including an amendment of the laws concerning appropriate and fair evidence collection procedures.