The Supreme Court of the Philippines announced new Rules of Procedure for IP rights cases on October 18 2011. The Rules took effect on 8 November 2011 and govern new and pending civil and criminal actions for IPR violations lodged before the Special Commercial Courts designated by the Supreme Court. The Rules aim to eliminate […]
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 – Harvard Jeans or Harvard University : Which Name Rings A Bell…?
In 1988, FredCo secured a registration for HARVARD JEANS USA or goods in Class 25. It allegedly used the mark in the Philippines as early as 02 January 1982. On the other hand, in 1993 ,Harvard was issued registration for the trademark HARVARD VERITAS SHIELD SYMBOL in Classes 16, 18, 21, 25 and 28. Harvard […]
Malaysia Cyber-Squatting And Infringement Of Trademarks
The internet is fast becoming a powerful marketing tool and likewise a knowledge commodity. Companies, especially multinationals, tend to market themselves by using the internet. To be more visible, companies formulate their web addresses with their trade name. IP protection in this sense is accorded by domain name registration, for the registration of an exclusive […]
Philippines – Harvard University Knocks The Pants Off Local Company
One of the earliest laws in the Philippines involving trademark rights is Act No. 666 (Trademark and Trade Name Law of the Philippine Islands) which took effect on March 6, 1903. This system favoured actual use of a mark as the basis for registration. In 1946, while the Philippines was a territory of the United […]
Vietnam Government Tightens Enforcement through September 2010 Decree
In September 2010, the Vietnamese Government issued a Decree (No: 97/2010/ND-CP) to cut down on red tape and make it easier to initiate action against infringements. The Decree specifies acts of administrative violation, sanctioning forms and levels, remedies, complaint procedures, mechanism for handling complaints, competence of authorized personnel and guidelines for enforcement of procedures. The […]
IP Market for Pharmaceutical Products in Asia
This article looks to address 4 issues in relations to the IP market for pharmaceutical products in 4 Asean countries. 4 issues which will be address are: Whether the government purchases medicinal products and sets their prices such that a higher price will be set for a patented product; Working requirements of the territory; Enforcement […]
Singapore – The Trek Case
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SINGAPORE PATENT LAW Singapore has seen its first major patent case in a while with the judgment in Trek Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd v FE Global Electronics Pte Ltd and Other Suits [2005] SGHC 90. The High Court here considered a patent infringement case and commented on various aspects of patent law […]
A Product Formed by a Patented Process may not infringe a Patent in Singapore if the Resulting Product includes Supplemental Processing Steps
A patent provides a patent proprietor with the right to exclude others from utilizing the invention claimed in the patent. When the subject matter of the invention is a process, the patent will prevent others from using the process. Under the infringement provisions in the Singapore Patent Act, Section 66 (1)(b) provides that when a […]
Singapore Court of Appeal Affirms Protection of Well Known Marks in Novelty Pte. Ltd. V. Aman Resorts Ltd.
Should a cluster housing project in a relatively affordable, middle class housing estate – Yio Chu Kang be allowed to share the same name as an ultra-exclusive luxury resort in Bali when that name is not a registered trademark in Singapore? In the landmark case of Amanresorts Limited v Novelty Pte Ltd [2008] 2 SLR(R) […]