After having been accepted by the Vietnam National Assembly on November 2005, the new Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law came into force on 1 July 2006. The enactment of the Law on Intellectual Property improves the efficiency of intellectual property rights, and contributes to the completion of Vietnamese legal systems. All the Intellectual Property regulations which […]
Improvement in Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Indonesia
In order to be seen as a credible member of the international community and a dependable regional and global destination for investment, Indonesia has over the years become a signatory of the major intellectual property rights convention such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of […]
Indonesia - Compulsory generic names to be indicated on medicine packaging
A new regulation from the Indonesian Ministry of Health was issued on 23rd of April 2005, effective since the 23rd of October 2005, implementing the obligation to place the generic name on medicine packaging. This regulation is actually a revision from another regulation of the Ministry of Health of 2004, which had decided of the […]
Infringement In Indonesia - Enforcement by Criminal Action
Indonesia today faces major challenges in respect counterfeiting and infringement, as it is a widespread problem here affecting every area of industry from drugs to electronic products and from CDs to garments. As an example, in the pharmaceutical industry, around 20-30% of the drugs sold in Indonesia are thought to be counterfeit. The Indonesian government […]
Geographical Indications Laws in Indonesia in 2001: An Opportunity Lost in 1999
The Toraja Coffee Case Indonesia is a large territory constituting of many islands. In each of these islands, several unique products of certain origin have been recognized due to its geographical origin or ethnic influences. Normally, products namely coffee or cocoa originating from Indonesia could be related to names or marks alike Java or Bali […]
Protection of Well-Known Marks in Indonesia
The Registration System, 1961 Historically, since 1961, trademark protection in Indonesia adopted the "first-use-principle" whereby a trademark is registered to the proprietor based on its first use in the jurisdiction. There was no protection for well-known marks. The situation for well-known mark owners was unsatisfactory as illustrated by an important case that occurred in 1996 […]
Shape Marks Accepted in Indonesia
The Indonesian Trade Marks Office has recently informed that it will now consider the registration of 3D/shape marks, even if no amendment to the current Trade Mark Law will be done. No written regulations will be issued regarding this matter even if article 1.1 of the Indonesian Trade Mark Law, which states that a mark […]
Brand Protection On “Export Only Goods” In Malaysia
Goods may be manufactured in Malaysia for the purpose of distribution overseas only and not in Malaysia. Such brands are usually known as Export Brands. The question remains as to whether such brand owners could do so safely without being liable to infringement actions. Historically such "Use" for export purposes only did not constitute infringement […]
Non-Conventional Trade Marks in Malaysia: 3-D marks
Trade Mark protection has advanced significantly from the days when marks consisted primarily of words, letters, logos or reproduction of images in two-dimensional forms. In many countries throughout the world, amendments to legislation as well as continually evolving trademark practices have extended the scope of trademark protection to include non-conventional trademarks such as three-dimensional marks, […]
Singapore courts reject "Mc" "Mac" monopoly by McDonalds
A U.S. based fast food giant, McDonald's Corp has failed in a series of legal battles to stop a Singaporean company, Future Enterprises Pte Ltd ("FE") from using the marks "Mc" and "Mac" in their products. The Singapore Court of Appeal in the case of McDonald's Corp v Future Enterprises Pte Ltd [2005] 1 SLR […]