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According to Article 59 of the Chinese Patent Law the specification and drawings related to a patent right may be used in claim construction. However, it has long been a question as to whether claims are to be construed based on claim language alone without referring to the specification and drawings, or whether the content of the specification and drawings shall be read to limit or otherwise be used to illustrate the scope of claims. In a recently decided case (number 2016-XingZai-70), the Supreme Court of China held that the content of the specification and drawings was not allowed to be read into the claims, and that claims were to be construed in a narrow sense.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced on April 26 2017 the launch of a new billion-dollar fund aimed at helping promising companies to grow and expand into global markets.

Utynam was pleased to attend Managing IP's IP in Asia forums in Washington DC and Palo Alto last month, which focused on the latest IP developments in China, Japan and Korea.

This case is a dispute between two Turkish traders in foodstuffs in Austria. It is a case of trade mark opposition proceedings so that only the registered goods count and not the market fact that these food products are all "halal" (that is, according to Islamic food rules) since this is not reflected in the list of goods of the registrations. The latter fact might have had an influence on the consumer circles concerned.

Karolina Wiktorson and Benjamin Hoffmann of Valea review cases relating to the question of contributory infringement, and ask whether the outcome of these may change once the UPC Agreement comes into force

Who really owns your intellectual property? Wherever in the world you are based, do not risk ignoring Germany’s Employee Invention Law, warn Matthias Weiden and Matthias Bornhäusser

Eminent Luggage Corporation, a renowned Taiwan-based company engaged in the design and manufacturing of luggage cases, filed a civil patent infringement lawsuit with Taiwan's IP Court against an infringer. In the lawsuit, the defendant challenged the validity of the design patent, arguing that another brand of luggage case manufactured in China had already adopted the very same trunk panel design prior to its filing date.

Efes Breweries International NV, a famous beer company, filed a trade mark application 2014735627 for Золотая Бочка Шаболовское (Golden Barrel from Shabolovka). The patent office examiner refused the application arguing that the claimed designation could not be registered because it contained the word "Shabolovka" which is a street in Moscow. According to the examiner, the presence of this word creates associations with Moscow while the applicant is located in the Netherlands. Thus, this designation could confuse consumers with regard to the producer of the goods, namely his location.

Zoledronic acid hydrate (zoledronate) is a medicinal compound created by Novartis and is also an active substance of the bone resorption inhibitor named Zometa for i v infusion. Novartis filed a Japanese patent application including the claimed invention as follows: "An agent for treatment containing 2-(imidazol-1-yl)-1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (Zoledronate) or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, wherein 4 mg of Zoledronate is to be administered intravenously over a period of 15 minutes to a patient in need of bisphosphonate treatment."

Bad faith trade mark filings are not uncommon in Vietnam. In fact, bad faith is often included under the label of "dishonesty basis" as a ground for opposition or cancellation of a trade mark application/registration. Generally speaking, bad faith is deemed to occur when an applicant intentionally registers a trade mark to benefit from the goodwill and reputation associated with the trade mark of another owner.