Local Insights

James Davies and Vishen Pillay at Adams & Adams discuss IP protection strategies and ownership considerations for AI

Werina Griffiths and Nontando Tusi at Adams & Adams discuss the implications of the adoption of AI in Africa and globally

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher Jersey provides a guide to the key updates as Rwanda expands the scope of its intellectual property protection regime

Recently, the Korean medical devices market has been growing notably. According to a 2019 Annual Report by the Korea Medical Devices Industry Association, the Korean domestic market has grown at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8% during the last five years (2014 to 2018). The global medical devices market also exhibits a rising trend; Fortune Business Insight has forecasted a CAGR of 5.3% from 2018 to 2025. In view of a growing geriatric population, the prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases, and rising demand for new innovative devices and personalised healthcare services, the future medical devices market is expected to show steady growth.

The new provision for punitive damages for wilful infringement is now effective. The newly introduced punitive damages provision should contribute to stronger protection of patents and increase general value of patents in Korea. The new provision set forth below is now effective in Korea to deter unjust acts of patent infringement.

Precision medicine, also known as personalised medicine, is an emerging field in healthcare and seems to have a promising future as it accounts for 42% of new molecular entities which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 2018. Since precision medicine aims to provide bespoke medical treatments based on individual patient's characteristics, it essentially incorporates diagnosis and treatment methods. Under Korean patent law and practice, treatment and diagnosis methods are not considered patent eligible subject matter. As such, it is necessary to circumvent restrictive eligibility requirements to obtain protection for precision medicines in Korea. In the past, although precision medicines can be pursued as a pharmaceutical/diagnostic composition claim, it was not easy to claim methodological aspects of precision medicines (e.g. dosage regimen) which were not considered as technical features constituting composition itself (Supreme Court decisions 2007Hu2926 and 2007Hu2933, rendered on May 28 2009).

An EPO board of appeal decision has challenged the office’s standing in requiring applicants to adapt the description text of patent applications to be in accordance with amended claims, says Edward Farrington of Inspicos

Christian Meyer and Gisela Grabow of Maiwald discuss potential changes to the EU pharmaceutical regulation and their potential impact on data and market protection timelines for medicinal products

Jakob Pade Frederiksen of Inspicos says a Unified Patent Court decision not to stay a revocation action while a parallel EPO opposition proceeding takes place provides another indication of the court’s fast pace

Roberta Arantes of Daniel Law looks at how the Brazilian legal landscape has responded to shifts in the concept of branding and its related levels of protection

Kene Gallois and Guilherme Coutinho of Daniel Law explain how the success of the plan will pave the way for Brazil to attract further investment and opportunities

André Oliveira of Daniel Law considers how IP infringement and brand protection has evolved in Brazil amid the pandemic

Alejandro Salas of OLIVARES questions whether requiring the submission of original objects for comparison is hindering the proper enforcement of trademark rights and represents an ‘improper interpretation’ of the criminal statute

With TikTok videos frequently using music created by popular artists and adding a personal touch to trends, Jaime Ortega of OLIVARES answers a central question regarding whether the videos constitute original creations or reproductions

Three years after a new industrial property law took effect, the time has come for an important action to become available regarding contested trademark registrations. Emmanuel Chávez of OLIVARES heralds a ‘positive’ development