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 […]
Publications
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. […]
Singapore Swings
Following big policy changes in 2019, the time is right to look at IP developments in this fast-evolving country. For the intellectual property field in Singapore, 2019 was an exciting year, with new policies to promote Singapore as an IP hub and legislative reforms leading the charge in opening up new areas of opportunity. For […]
India’s TM Registry will issue ‘Speaking Orders’
In India, IP owners and practitioners have found it difficult to fathom the exact reasons for refusal of registered trade mark applications, owing to the issuance of non-speaking orders by the Registrar of Trade Marks. The Intellectual Property Attorneys Association filed a public interest petition before the Delhi High Court, challenging the non-speaking orders passed […]
SINGAPORE: Decision Illustrates the Importance of Pre-Filing Searches
A recent case concerning two conflicting trademarks illustrates the importance of conducting pre-filing searches for existing and similar marks. Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel (the proprietor) owned the VAGISAN trademark (the subject mark) registered in Singapore under registration No. T1206670G in Classes 3 and 5. On November 14, 2017, Combe International Ltd […]
“Nutri-Grade” set to commence its battle with sugary drinks from end-2021 as part of Singapore’s war on diabetes
After the announcement by Singapore’s Minister of State for Health, Edwin Tong, on the 10th October 2019 on the introduction of a mandatory Front-of-Pack label for packaged sugar-sweetened beverages , it has been announced that drinks with high sugar and/or saturated fat contents will be required to display a “Nutri-Grade” label with grades ranging from […]
SINGAPORE: Principal Assistant Registrar Exercises Power to Give Decision Without a Hearing
As a result of inaction by the applicant, the Principal Assistant Registrar (PAR) exercised his power under Section 37(4) of the Trade Marks Rules to decide on a case on February 4, 2020, without any hearing. Seek Asia Pte Ltd (the applicant) applied to register a composite trademark “SEEK ASIA” consisting of the words “Seek […]
Indonesia: Implementing regulations for geographical indications
Since the geographical indication general provision was introduced in 2016 (under Law No. 20 of 2016 concerning the Trademark and Geographical Indication Law), there was no specific stipulation from the Indonesian government to support the law, until June 25, 2019, when the government enacted Ministry Regulation No. 12 of 2019 implementing the specific provisions regarding […]
Recent Decisions of the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission
The Personal Data Protection Commission (“PDPC”) recently meted out financial penalties to two errant entities which were found to be in breach of Section 24 of the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”). Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte. Ltd. Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte. Ltd. (the “Organisation”) voluntarily informed the PDPC that the systems of […]