In a decision handed down on December 20, 2018, in MoneyMax Jewellery Pte. Ltd v. Cartier International AG, [2018] SGIPOS 22, the opponent, Cartier International AG, unsuccessfully opposed the registration of a mark by the applicant, MoneyMax Jewellery. The opponent initiated trademark opposition proceedings at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) on July 28, […]
Publications
Apple Secures “IWATCH” Trademark Registration in Singapore
On 24 January 2019, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) delivered its written judgement dismissing an opposition filed by Swatch AG (“SWATCH”) for the registration of the mark “IWATCH” filed by Apple Inc. (“Apple”). Swatch based its opposition on the grounds that “IWATCH” was confusingly similar to its earlier marks, “SWATCH” and “ ”, […]
The Patent Landscape for Autonomous Vehicles in Singapore
Self-driving or Autonomous Vehicles (“AV”) are set to be a reality, and no longer the stuff of science fiction. In Singapore, pilot trials are ongoing at the one-north district, a business park located in Queenstown, an area recognized for innovation, with the likes of Exploit Technologies (the commercialisation arm of the government body Agency for […]
Well Known Trademark Pierre Cardin Loses Final Battle in Indonesia Court
The long running dispute between Pierre Cardin (“Plaintiff”) and Alexander Satryo Wibowo (“Defendant”) finally reached its conclusion on 28 June 2018 (Supreme Court Decision No. 49 PK/Pdt.Sus-HKI/2018). The Plaintiff filed for a cancellation action against the Defendant for the registered trademarks PIERRE CARDIN wordmark and PIERRE CARDIN device in class 3. The grounds were (1) […]
A Testament of Singapore's FinTech Fast Track (FTFT) Initiative
The first patent using the FinTech Fast Track Initiative (“FTFT”) was recently granted by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) to Voyager Innovations Inc., a Philippines-based company that focuses on the delivery and development of digital technology services. The FTFT is a program designed to assist Financial Technology (“FinTech”) enterprises within the region to […]
Interpretation of Rules 610 and 611 of the Philippines’ Revised IRR for Patents and IPOPHL BOP Memorandum Circular 18-003
Following the issuance of Memorandum 18-003 on 17th September 2018 by Ms. Lolibeth R. Medrano, the Director of the Bureau of Patents (BOP), patent Applicants can now file a Voluntary Divisional Application (“VDA”) based on an earlier divisional application. Prior to the issuance of the said memorandum, an Applicant could only file a VDA based […]
Marijuana Patent Requests Suspended in Thailand
A special executive order was issued by the Thai government on 28th January 2019 directing the Department of Intellectual Property (“DIP”) to invalidate all pending marijuana-related patents applications within 90 days. This comes less than 3 months after the Thai National Legislative Assembly (“NLA”) approved the “Medical Marijuana” bill to be used for medical and […]
Late Submissions of Power of Attorney Documents for Patents and Design Now Acceptable in Vietnam
On 20th November 2018, the National Office of Intellectual Property (“NOIP”) issued Notice No. 13006/TB-SHTT (“Notice”), revising the timeline for submission of a Power of Attorney (“POA”) document in Vietnam thereby giving practitioners more time to comply with the requirement for their various patent and design filings and procedures. Prior to the implementation of this […]
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. v Intercontinental Exchange Holdings Inc.
In a recent proceeding initiated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME), two trademarks “BRENT” and “BRENT INDEX” (“Subject Marks”) registered in the name of Intercontinental Exchange Holdings Inc. (ICE) were declared invalid by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore on 24th September 2018. The grounds of invalidity pleaded by CME were:- (1) The Subject […]
Philippines: Mediation Rules Revised
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (“IPOPHL”) under the Intellectual Property Code of Philippines has revised the Rules on Mediation and published the same vide Memorandum Circular No. 08 (Series of 2018). The key revisions to the mediation rules, which took effect on 7th September 2018, are as follows: Commencement: A case filed in […]