Kimanis Food Industries Sdn Bhd filed an application to register its mark ANGRY BITE (the “Applicant’s Mark”) in Singapore in respect of goods in Class 30. (Application No. T1204840G, filed Apr. 5, 2012.) Rovio Entertainment Ltd., best known for its game franchise Angry Birds, opposed the application on the following grounds: The Applicant’s Mark was […]
Publications
SEIKO... SEIKI... Say What? The Likelihood of Confusion in Singapore
The SEIKI trademark was recently granted registration in Singapore despite an opposition from the proprietors of the SEIKO mark. The Registrar dismissed the opposition despite finding that SEIKO is a well-known mark and that the two marks are similar. A closer examination of the Registrar’s reasoning, however, reveals that the decision is not as incongruous […]
Philippines: The Sweet Taste of “MANGO” is not for Everyone
“Mango” is commonly known as the juicy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera. But to others, it means more. To Consolidated Artists BV, “Mango” is a trademark symbolic of quality bags, fashion and accessories. Recently, MANGO has been the subject of a dispute before the Office of the Director General (ODG) of the Intellectual […]
Singapore - Performance Pledge for IP Registration
A Performance Pledge for Intellectual Property Registration was introduced by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) on 4 August 2014. For patents, a grant of a Singapore patent application may be obtained within 12 months from the date of filing the application if certain requirements are met. The requirements are as follows: 1. The […]
Singapore: Common Element in Family of Trademarks Does Not Grant Exclusive Rights
The decision by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) in Carolina Herrera, Ltd v. Lacoste ([2014] SGIPOS 3 (Feb. 20, 2014)) shows that the Registry may not be exceedingly enthusiastic about allowing a trademark proprietor to claim exclusive rights over a common element in a family or series of marks by virtue of the […]
Singapore: Landmark Decision on Determining Statutory Damages
In Converse Inc. v. Ramesh Ramchandani et al., Converse had elected to request an award of statutory damages after an interlocutory judgment had found Mr. Ramchandani liable for infringing Converse’s high-cut Chuck Taylor All Star canvas shoes. Accordingly, the High Court of Singapore was given the unfamiliar task of assessing the amount of statutory damages […]
Indonesia – Foreign Beverage Manufacturer Prevails!
Multi Access Limited (“Multi Access”) recently succeeded in their claim to cancel the trademark registrations of a local entrepreneur, Dhalim Soekodanu (“Dhalim”), on the ground of bad faith, pursuant to Trademark Law No. 15 of 2001, Article 4. Multi Access is the owner of numerous trademark registrations for “王老吉” which is pronounced as WONG LO […]
Philippines - Amendments to Annual Fee Due Dates for Divisional Patent Applications
In the early part of 2014, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued Memorandum Circular Nos. 14-002 and 14-003 amending the reckoning date of the annual fee due dates for divisional applications (filed via direct route or PCT) to achieve a uniform procedure in the payment of annual fees for patent applications. The […]
ASEAN - Comparison of Design Practices
Design laws vary by country. Some countries classify designs as patents and some have separate "registered design" or “industrial design” systems. In some countries, designs of products must be whole products in order to be registrable and not parts of products. Some countries allow protection of only part or parts of the product but the […]
Singapore - Patents as Collateral for Companies
Patents were first used as collateral to secure financing by Thomas Edison in the late 1880s. Edison used his patent for the incandescent electric light bulb as collateral to secure financing to start his company, the General Electric Company. Since Edison’s use of his patents as collateral, intellectual property has been used as collateral in […]