Search results for

In July this year, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) announced a modification to the practice regarding recognition of priority rights to foreign design applications with reference to patent practice in the US, Japan, etc. This modification, taking effect from August 1 2019, marks a leap toward harmonisation with international practice.

In Turkey, the prosecution of criminal offences relating to trademark law depends on a proper complaint filed by the trademark owner. Once the complaint and the evidence is submitted to the local prosecutor's office, the file is brought before the local criminal court. The criminal courts, however, have become more and more reluctant to issue decisions recently. Hence, it is now more important than ever for trademark owners to be well-prepared before filing a complaint, in terms of evidence gathering.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued Memorandum Circular No. 2019-006 on the Rules of Procedure for IPOPHL Mediation Outside of Litigation, extending its mediation services outside of litigation, effective from September 2 2019. Before this circular, the parties went through mediation only after the filing of the verified answer, and this applied to inter partes cases such as oppositions and cancellations, and IP violation cases, e.g. infringement, unfair competition etc. Mediation of IP cases was introduced by the IPOPHL in 2011, and as of the end of 2018, the average settlement rate is 41.4%, indicating that mediation is an effective mode of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for IP cases. There is no doubt that mediation is a more economic and quicker way of resolving disputes in comparison with litigation which could take over three years just at the first level and if appeals are to be considered, could last over 10 years. The new rules give potential disputants an avenue to resolve their conflict even before an actual suit is filed.

India, as a member of the World Trade Organization and signatory to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is obliged to align its intellectual property rights laws with the TRIPS agreement. The challenge comes not only from creating the laws but also their implementation considering the Indian government has to strike a balance between the needs of the country's citizens and the rights of patent holders. The issue has become all the more sensitive considering a bulk of patent applications in India are filed by foreign companies. As an example, the data provided by the Indian IP office in its annual report of 2017-2018 shows the applications filed by foreign applicants were more than double (32,304) compared to those by Indian residents (15,550).

A recent New Zealand High Court decision (Pharmazen Limited v Anagenix IP Limited [2019] NZHC 1520 (July 1 2019)) serves as a reminder of the subjective nature of the comparison of trademarks, with the court finding the marks “Actazin” and “ActiPhen” too similar, while on the same facts and evidence, an Australian hearings officer had decided the opposite.

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has introduced its long-awaited plan to solve its patent backlog, a project called the "Preliminary Standardised Office Action Program". The idea is to reduce backlog by 80% over the next two years – after which the PTO estimates it will take under 24 months to examine new applications.

Managing IP published the official news at the AIPPI World Congress in London on September 16, 17 and 18, covering museum copyright, customs actions and much more

In an interview, director of the USPTO Andrei Iancu reflects on patent legislation, AI, marijuana and diversity in IP

Felipe Mesquita and Roberto Rodrigues of Licks examine the patent enforcement system in Brazil and look at recent cases concerning injunctions

Enrique A Diaz and Julio Prieto of Goodrich examine the law around trademarks and the reservation of rights in Mexico, as well as the problems that arise from the co-existence of both forms of protection and possible solutions