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Vietnamese software programmers have developed a strong reputation worldwide, and the government considers the software industry to be very important. As a result, this industry is booming. However, more effective IP protection in the software sector is necessary to encourage further foreign investment, and to promote innovation.

The New Turkish Industrial Property Code entered into force on January 10 2017. The IP Code replaces the Decree-laws pertaining to the protection of trade marks, patents, geographical indications and designs by unifying them into a single code.

These days some restaurants offer a selection of knives to choose from. On such a tray you might find a Laguiole knife. Laguiole knives are produced in the small village of Laguiole, located in the Massif Central region of France, thus "Laguiole" originally is neither a trade mark, nor a company name. However since the name Laguiole has become associated with high-end traditional knives, the interest in the protection of the word Laguiole has been growing accordingly. It is not your typical trade mark history and is the reason why the appeal decision of April 5 from the CJEU (C-598/14) caught my eye.

The USPTO recently made permanent a pilot programme to conduct random audits of post-registration affidavits of use. Jason Vogel and Sam Kilb explain what trade mark owners need to know about the changes and suggest best practices

Sarah Wright and Kaisa Patsalides explore whether designs originating from the UK can still qualify for EU design rights in a post-Brexit world, in light of conflicting interpretations among EU courts on the meaning of “first making available within the Community”

In a recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Athens, it has been found that the likelihood of confusion of the consuming public, resulting from the infringement of a distinctive title (a brand name, in breach of the fundamental principle of priority (first come, first served), as well as the provisions on unfair competition) is not removed by any possible provisions of a purely administrative nature.

In the case underlying decision X ZB 1/16 ("Ventileinrichtung") discussed below, an opponent attacked a patent-in-suit based on lack of patentability. The Opposition Division of the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) maintained the patent-in-suit as granted. In appeal proceedings, the complainant (opponent) introduced inadmissible extension as a new ground of opposition. The German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) fully revoked the patent-in-suit on the basis of inadmissible extension. The patentee filed an appeal on points of law against the BPatG's decision.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the Guangdong provincial government, which will further strengthen collaboration between Singapore and China and boost innovation and IP protection in both jurisdictions.

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal recently handed down two important judgments. One dealt with genuine use, the other with reputation.

From now on, a defendant in preliminary Dutch IP enforcement cases can also obtain a cost order against the claimant if the case is withdrawn by the claimant before the oral hearing, for example after a defendant's written rebuttal. For (full) proceedings on the merits, this has always been clearly the case, but the procedural framework is not exactly the same for the famously quick preliminary proceedings (kort geding).