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Utynam attended the Fordham IP Conference 2018 in April. Here are some highlights.

The sale of RPX to HGGC at $10.50 per share follows a review of strategic alternatives by the board

China announced a huge government reshuffle programme. The sweeping government restructuring programme was said to be the largest reform since the end of the Mao Zedong era in the 1970s. The number of ministerial-level bodies was reduced significantly. The entire structure reflects the aim of streamlining governance, in key areas such as environmental protection, taxation, financial regulations and the legislature system on the administrative side.

Some chemical products alter with the passing of time. When a product does not fall within the scope of claims at the time of manufacturing but falls within the scope of the claims after the passing of time after manufacturing, is it correct to conclude that such a product falls within the technical scope of a patented invention?

The Indian Patent Office vide order dated November 8 2017 has rejected patent application 6647/ DELNP/2007 for lack of inventive step and for non-patentable subject matter under Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act. The invention claimed in the application was directed to a composition comprising a monoclonal antibody (IgG2), a chelating agent, histidine buffer, and optionally, a surfactant and/or a tonicity agent. The applicant claimed enhanced stability of the antibody in the composition.

The IP Code of the Philippines does not expressly state that patented products must bear patent markings which serve to notify the public and competitors that products are patented. However, Section 80 of the IP Code provides that "damages cannot be recovered for acts of infringement committed before the infringer knew, or had reasonable grounds to know of the patent. It is presumed that the infringer knew of the patent if on the patented product, or on the container or package in which the article is supplied to the public, or on the advertising material relating to the patented product or process, are placed the words Philippine Patent with the number of the patent." This simply means that notice of infringement may be served either actually, or constructively by said patent marking.

Singapore finance minister Heng Swee Keat delivered the Budget Statement to Parliament on February 19 2018. In his speech, Heng Swee Keat emphasised the importance of encouraging pervasive innovation throughout the economy and how crucial intellectual property (IP) has become for companies competing in a fast-paced business environment. To this end, the Budget Statement unveiled several initiatives such as tax deductions and funding aimed at boosting research and innovation.

In 1992, the Rio Convention on Biodiversity set the goal of fighting practices known as biopiracy and which are generally seen in developing countries. These involve identifying certain genetic resources of a country and indigenous traditional knowledge that may be linked to their use, developing them, protecting them through patents and extracting commercial gain without any benefit to the indigenous populations in question. The Nagoya Protocol, an extension of the Rio Convention, enshrines a move from mere declarations of intent to concrete measures.

In recent ex-parte appeal proceedings (decision 14 W (pat) 10/16 of January 23 2018), the German Federal Patent Court (GFPC) contributed to the interpretation of Article 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 (the Regulation).

In recent years, the protection system for trade mark rights has become more and more mature in China. Non-trade mark rights have also caught the attention of IP practitioners and even outsiders. After all, who can overlook the news that Disney has profited more from merchandise related to Frozen than publishing the movie and DVD? Even people who barely know anything about basketball or IP must have heard that the NBA superstar Michael Jordan has finally stopped a Chinese company from using his surname in Chinese as a trade mark in the Supreme Court. When posting pictures on WeChat's Moments has become a habit for thousands of Chinese people, it is astonishing to think that posting a picture of the night view of the Eiffel Tower could be an act of infringement.