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With diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba slowly being restored, many US companies are keen to register their trade marks in Cuba. But, says Erica Gould, they need to watch out for pirates who have got there first

The industrial Property Act 2014 came into effect on March 1 2015.

The PRC Trade Mark Office (TMO) has recently adopted important changes in the handling of non-standard descriptions of goods and services that require a fresh review of how applicants respond to objections. The changes also warrant a re-think in how applicants draft local specifications and perhaps also for priority filings made elsewhere.

As we described in our briefing of March 2013, the clarity of a European patent is not itself a ground for opposition before the EPO. However, a patent that is amended during opposition proceedings must meet the requirements of the European Patent Convention (including the requirements of clarity), according to Article 103(3) EPC.

Patent practitioners have always known it: the judge is finally the expert. In a recent decision (X ZB 19/20), the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) emphasised that the judges of the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) do have sufficient technical knowledge, and knowledge gained by experience in their field of expertise, to allow them to decide patent cases without the need to obtain external expertise (in the form of an expert opinion from an independent technical expert). Thus, the technically qualified judges of the BPatG may decide patent cases falling in their area of responsibility without external technical expertise.

It is already some years ago that 25 of the then 27 countries of the European Union (all except Spain and Italy) decided to establish a European Unitary Patent. Spain contested this decision with the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). On May 5 2015, following the advice of the Advocate-General, the Court dismissed the Spanish action (cases C-146/13 and C-147/13).

Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods defines the term "light/lite" and its permissible use. A matter of interpretation arises though due to the fact that the Greek text of this Regulation expressly provides for a definition that differs from the one appearing in all the other versions. In particular, the Greek version contains the explanation that "light/lite" is confined to products of "reduced calories", whereas such an explanation does not appear in the other versions of the same Regulation, where there is a broader requirement, according to which the indication at issue shall be accompanied by an indication of the characteristics, which make(s) the food "light/lite".

The Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR) has developed an e-filing system for copyright registration since mid-2014. According to the Indonesian Copyright Law No 28 of 2014, copyrights can be registered although the right itself exists only once the creation has been created. The registration of a copyright is only a supporting tool for the copyright owner to get their copyright recorded at the database of the DGIPR.

On March 25 2015, in Taiwan Kolin Corporation Ltd v Kolin Electronics Co, Inc (GR No 209843), the Philippine Supreme Court held that "whether or not the products covered by trade mark sought to be registered by Taiwan Kolin on the one hand and those covered by the prior issued certificate of registration in favour of Kolin Electronics, on the other, fall under the same categories in the Nice Classification (NCL) is not the sole and decisive factor in determining a possible violation of Kolin Electronics' intellectual property right....emphasis should be on the similarity of the products and not on the arbitrary classification or general description of their properties or characteristics"." The contending marks are shown below.

A recent IP perception survey commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) reveals that 4 out of 5 Singaporeans agree that it is important to protect intellectual property rights and the works of IP creators. They are aware that IP right infringement could give rise to legal penalties, and more than half of the respondents cited moral reasons as a key deterrent for not engaging in infringing activities. The household survey was conducted with the objective of measuring Singaporeans' awareness, attitudes and behavioural dispositions towards IP and issues relating to IP rights. These results were announced at a 2015 World IP Day Appreciation Event held in Singapore on April 23 2015.