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Last August, the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) rendered a decision in Benelux opposition proceedings in which it ruled that the opponent could not rely on the mark it invoked, as the same mark had been subject to a refusal on absolute grounds.

An applicant's public disclosure of an invention will not bar issuance of a patent to the applicant provided that the public disclosure is due to use for experimental purposes, publication in a non-patent document, or display in a government sponsored or approved exhibition and that an application for the invention is filed within a six-month grace period. In other words, the subject matter disclosed by the applicant's own activities as specified above will not be considered prior art against the novelty or inventive step of the applicant's invention.

A new judgment has been given regarding patent term extension, following the two judgments that we recently discussed. The IP High Court made a ruling on the issue of whether the court can consider the description of the label besides the description of a written approval in determining whether a ban was lifted through obtaining the disposition.

The year 2014 saw several groundbreaking cases in IP enforcement in Vietnam. As negotiations ramp up in talks for the EU-Vietnam FTA and TPP, Vietnam has sent several strong signals to investors that it is taking steps to ensure better protection of IP rights. Notable cases in the last year included:

The pan-American IP association ASIPI marked its 50th anniversary at its Congress in Mexico City from November 30 to December 3. Utynam was there to experience the occasion

Under current Ukrainian IP legislation the mechanism of compensation applies only in cases of copyright infringement. Is this remedy also appropriate for other IP rights?

Michael Nixon, Cheah Yew Kuin and Chew Kherk Ying explain the IP valuation process and how governments in Southeast Asia are looking to provide IP owners opportunities to use their intellectual property to finance growth

The implementation of the EU Designs Directive in Italy has prompted a debate about the artistic value of objects. Massimo Sterpi argues for a new interpretation

Article 123(2) EPC specifies that a "European patent application or European patent may not be amended in such a way that it contains subject-matter which extends beyond the content of the application as filed". The aim is to prevent applicants from improving their position, and to protect the legal security of third parties.

Under Greek trade mark law (Law 4072/2012, as amended by Law 4155/2013), which incorporates the provisions of Community law (Regulation 207/2009) into the domestic legal order, in the case of trade mark infringement on a commercial scale (as defined in paragraph 14 of the preamble of Directive 2004/48), where the trade mark owner demonstrates circumstances likely to endanger the recovery of damages sought in ordinary court proceedings and has provided reasonably available evidence of a present or threatened infringement of a trade mark, the court may order the precautionary seizure of the alleged infringer's assets and the blocking of his bank accounts. To this end, the infringing party is requested to communicate bank, financial or commercial documents or to provide appropriate access to the relevant information.