In addition to the existing CS&E programme with IP Viet Nam, IPOS has expanded its CS&E programme with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP), Indonesia to expedite the prosecution process for parties who have an interest to pursue patent applications in both countries. This pilot programme was introduced on 2 January 2025 for 2 […]
Publications
India- Court clarifies the criteria of “Technical Contribution” in relation to computer-related inventions
The Delhi High Court has offered important insights into the understanding of Section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act ,1970 (the “Act”) in its decision, Blackberry Limited v. Controller of Patents and Designs [C.A.(COMM.IPD-PAT) 318/2022]Top of Form. The Court has established a significant precedent and has clarified the scope of “technical effects” in relation to computer-related inventions (‘CRIs’). […]
Singapore – Fonterra Brands v. Consozio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano
In Fonterra Brands (Singapore) Pte Ltd v. Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano [2024] SGCA 53 (Fonterra), the Court of Appeal illuminated the Singapore courts’ position on the protection of geographical indications under the Geographical Indications Act 2014 (GIA). Fonterra Brands (a wholly owned subsidiary of a New Zealand-based cooperative company owned by 10,000 New Zealand dairy […]
India- Permissibility of filing a divisional application on the date of grant of the parent application?
In BASF SE v. Controller of Patents and Designs ((T)CMA(PT) No.38 of 2024), the Madras High Court quashed the order passed by the Controller of Patents and Designs refusing to grant the patent application in respect of a Divisional Application on the ground that the said divisional application was filed after the grant of patent […]
IPOS-MyIPO PPH Pilot Program
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a work-sharing program that accelerates the examination of a patent application in a country’s patent office (the Office of Later Examination, or OLE) by relying on the search and examination results from another country’s patent office (the Office of Earlier Examination, or OEE). On 18th January 2025, the Intellectual Property […]
Thailand Expands the Scope of the ‘Target Patent Fast-Track’ Programme to cover “Green Innovation”
Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has taken a significant step toward promoting environmentally sustainable innovation by expanding the ‘Target Patent Fast-Track’ Programme for Invention and Petty Patent Applications (hereinafter “Application” or “application”) to include “Green Innovation”. Originally launched on 8th December 2023, the programme initially focused on ‘Medical Sciences & Public Health’ and ‘Future […]
Thailand Introduces the ‘Target Design Patent Fast-Track: Green Innovation’ Programme
Building on the success of the ‘Target Patent Fast-Track’ Programme for Invention and Petty Patent Applications launched on 8th December 2023—originally covering ‘Medical Sciences & Public Health’ and ‘Future Food,’ and recently expanded to include ‘Green Innovation’—Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has unveiled another initiative: the ‘Target Design Patent Fast-Track: Green Innovation’ Programme. This […]
Updates to Singapore’s regulations relating to patent linkage
Amendments to Singapore’s Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations (the TPR) came into force on August 1, 2024, relating to patent linkage. By way of background, the patent linkage regime in Singapore under the TPR before the amendments came into effect on August 1, 2024, requires an applicant for product registration and marketing approval of a […]
A guide to safeguard industrial designs in India
An industrial design recognizes new creation and original features of new shapes, configuration, surface patterns, ornamentation and composition of lines or colours applied to articles which, in the finished state, appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. A new and innovative design makes a product aesthetically attractive, appealing, or desirable, and increases product’s […]
An Amazon discovery
This recent Intellectual Property Office of Singapore decision delved into the registrability of an AMAZON-formative mark sought to be registered by a Singapore-incorporated company. Background Survivalverse Pte Ltd (the applicant) is a Singapore-incorporated company that principally develops videogames and software, which applied to register the mark (the application mark) in Classes 9 and 41, to be […]