On 4th April 2021, the Honourable President of India announced The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 (the ‘Ordinance’). Pursuant to the Ordinance, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (‘IPAB’) would be abolished. Before the Ordinance comes into effect, the Ordinance had to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament for consideration, […]
INDIA- REGISTERING ‘N95’ AS A TRADE MARK TO ‘MASK’ MALAFIDE INTENT?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of N95 masks has proliferated exponentially. Research scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) carried out studies and found the N95 masks to be the most effective at reducing the horizontal spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Indeed, the term N95 has now become commonplace. In that […]
New Regulation of Ministry of Law and Human Rights Amending the Previous Implementation Regulation for Trademark Law No. 20 of 2016
On 3 February 2021, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Republic Indonesia issued an amended implementation regulation to support the provisions of the current Trademark Law No. 20 of 2016. This implementation regulation is No. 12 of 2021 (the “Regulation”) was issued to accelerate the timeline for prosecuting a trademark application. In Article […]
Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) issue a new “Fast Track System” for Trademark Registration and Trademark Renewal
As per the recent Department of Intellectual Property (DIP)’s Declaration, the DIP has announced a Fast Track system for (1) Trademark Registration and (2) Trademark Renewal (effective from 23th February 2021), which can be summarised as follows: Trademark Registration Fast Track System- The usual timeframe for Trademark Registration as per the DIP Manual (as issued […]
MYANMAR: Update on Trademark Law Soft Opening
Steps are now underway to putting into practice Myanmar’s new Trademark Law, which passed on January 30, 2019. During the current soft opening period, trademark owners have exclusive access until at least March 2021 to re-file their trademarks in Myanmar electronically with the Department of Intellectual Property and obtain an earlier filing date, prior to […]
Singapore: A Shining Example of Passing Off
The following decision issued on April 2, 2020, appears to go against Singapore’s first-to-file system and highlights the fact that prior rights (if any) in Singapore can be protected under the tort of passing off under the Trade Marks Act (TMA). Golden Cala Trading EST (applicant), incorporated in Saudi Arabia, applied to register the LENSME […]
“Provision of news” (Circular No. 5/2020, dated 18 May 2020)
On 18th May 2020, The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) issued its Circular No. 5/2020 superseding its earlier Circular No. 19/2004 dated 3 September 2004 with immediate effect. Circular No.19/2004 stated that for applications lodged on or after 10 September 2004, the Registrar would not accept a specification consisting of the item “provision of […]
Southeast Asia Update
A roundup of the newsworthy mentions in the Southeast Asian from the first quarter of 2020. Singapore Snagging the headlines in Singapore early March, on top of the COVID-19 coverage, is the nomination of IPOS’ current Chief Executive, Mr Daren Tang, by WIPO’s Coordination Committee, for the position of WIPO Director General. His nomination is […]
Singapore: A-Star Education Discovery Camps Pte. Ltd. v. Discovery Communications, LLC
In a decision billed by the hearing registrar as a “David and Goliath clash”, Discovery Communications, LLC (“Opponent”), a corporate media giant of “Discovery Channel” fame, brought opposition proceedings against the application of A-Star-Education Discovery Camps Pte. Ltd. (“Applicant”) to register the mark “ ” (the “Application Mark”) (Singapore Trade Mark No. 40201714407Q). The Principal […]
Digi mark application fails in Singapore: Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd v. Digi International Inc. [2020] SGIPOS 1
Digi International Inc. (“the Applicant”) is an American Industrial Internet of Things technology company headquartered in the United States of America founded in 1985. The Applicant applied to protect the trade mark: (“the Application Mark”) in Singapore on 3 March 2016 under International Registration No. 1326111 (TradeMark No. 40201700142X) in Classes 9, 38 and 42. […]