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Özge Atılgan Karakulak and Selin Sinem Erciyas of Gün + Partners analyse the impact of EPO proceedings on enforcement and validity actions in Turkey

The Ninth Circuit has found that a photo taken by a Nike photographer used to create the iconic “Jumpman” image is not substantially similar to a photo of Michael Jordan taken in 1984 because they only share similarities in general ideas or concepts

Recent intellectual property news includes the USPTO director being sworn in, a study on trade marks running out, the end of a Kung Fu Panda dispute in China, the Law Society urging UK UPC ratification, four years of Octane Fitness, the DOJ AAG again urging SEPs balance, and a $6.7m award in a graffiti artist copyright case

Sanjana Kapila reports from an INTA designs conference held in London where in-house counsel discussed designs and anti-counterfeiting

On January 17 2018, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines issued its Guidelines on the Examination of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Computer Implemented Inventions (CII), as a result of increasing demand for patent protection in these fields. In the past, patent examiners applied the general guidelines for patent examination, but difficulties encountered by patent examiners resulting in inconsistent decisions on patent grants and refusals necessitated the issuance of separate examination guidelines. These guidelines do not have the force of law but are meant to assist the examiners in determining whether the claimed inventions comply with the substantive law (Sections 21 and 22 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IP Code) and its Implementing Rules 201 and 202).

Filing a utility model application for an invention can be a quick way to obtain patent rights in Taiwan. A utility model application will mature into a registration with a duration of 10 years from the filing date as soon as the formality requirements are fulfilled. However, as a utility model application filed in Taiwan is not subject to a substantive examination looking at novelty and inventive step, before a utility model patent holder can enforce his right against an infringer, he needs to ask Taiwan's IP Office to produce a technical evaluation report in which prior art references are cited (if any) and the relevance of these to each claim is specified. The scope of the claims of a utility model patent might need to be restricted in light of the references cited by the IP Office.

When handling applications before the European Patent Office (EPO), we frequently encounter enquiries regarding the speed of examination. While the EPO has recently increased the speed at which it conducts examination, individual national patent applications are still the fastest method of progressing an application to grant.

People have generally thought of China as a first to file country in the area of trade mark protection. Filing and registration of trade marks are emphasised in the jurisdiction. However, new trade mark law that came into force on May 1 2014 shed more light on trade mark use. Trade mark use, if not fundamental in China, is becoming more and more important and may be even more significant in the future.

Tish Berard, the new president of the International Trademark Association, discusses the association’s plans for 2018 in an interview with Ellie Mertens

A decree has changed the rules for intellectual property in Argentina, quite drastically in some instances. Iris V Quadrio, Martín Bensadon and Iván A Poli analyse the most important modifications