A new Patents Order, 2011 has come into force in Brunei Darussalam, effective January 1, 2012. This legislation repeals the previous patent legislation, i.e. The Inventions Act, Chapter 72. Previously, Brunei, a member state of ASEAN, did not have a national patent system. Patent protection was obtained by re-registration of a granted UK, European Patent […]
Publications
Thailand - Can You Register A Functional Design?
Registration of designs in Thailand is governed by the Department of Intellectual Property and the Thai Patent Act. There are lacunas in the Act design patents, especially where it proves difficult to draw the line between invention patents and design patents. Section 3 of the Act merely provides that a design is ‘...any configuration of […]
Malaysia - Basket Of Brands Expedited Enforcement
As part of the Malaysian Government’s efforts in beefing up domestic IP Enforcement, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism (MDTCC) recently set up a separate database for Trade Mark owners to register themselves with the MTDCC in order to gain priority in the initiation of Enforcement Actions and prosecution of Trade Mark Infringement […]
ASEAN and India - The Importance of Industrial Design Protection
Of the four pillars of intellectual property protection – patents, industrial designs, trademarks and copyrights – perhaps the most overlooked is that for industrial (ornamental) designs. In most countries, the available design protection is generally very narrow, with a minimal halo of protection around the exact design depicted in the application. Why would an applicant […]
Thailand - Decisions Confirm High Standard For Non-Use
A common fear among trade mark proprietors, particularly those with bigger, wider portfolios is that they might lose their title by not using registered mark. Thai Law does not require use of a Trademark per se to maintain registration, nor does any statement of use certifying that the trade mark has been used need be […]
Malayisa - How to Use Utility Innovations
Malaysia’s Patents Act 1983 provides different rules & requirements in respect of the conferment of protection upon minor inventions: utility innovations. An advantage of utility innovations in contrast with regular patents is that they have a lower threshold for patentability. Section 17 of the Act defines a utility innovation as: “any innovation which creates a […]
Thailand - Mediation Achieves Impressive Success Rate
Litigation in Thailand has often been stigmatised as lengthy, expensive, cumbersome and convoluted. Indeed, the weight of this fear burdens not so much the infringers of IP rights but, disproportionately more in fact, brand owners themselves. Where litigation in Thailand has revealed many shortcomings, it has been cast away as commercially non-sensical for the protection […]
Malaysia - Trade Description Act Introduced
Keeping pace with changing times, the Malaysian Government recently passed the Trade Descriptions Act, 2011 (TDA). The Act aims to tighten trade mark enforcement provisions by prohibiting false trade descriptions and false or misleading statements, conducts and practices in relation to goods or services, thereby protecting the interest of consumers. The TDA is expected to […]
Jail For Lady Counterfeiter In Manila
There are rare occasions by which a criminal case is filed for violation of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293). But in those rare occasions, the Philippine courts do not hesitate to sink their teeth in deeply and put the counterfeiter behind bars. After more than a decade of legal […]
Philippines - WIPO Panel Resolves “Sulit” Domain Name Issue
On August 19, 2011, in what is considered a landmark case in local cyberspace history, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center handed down a decision involving the disputed domain name www.sulit.ph, registered with DotPH Register. Netrepreneur Connections Enterprises Inc. v. Anton Sheker, Seo.Com.Ph, Case No. DPH 2011-0003. The complainant, Netrepreneur Connections Enterprises Inc., operates the […]