Local Insights

Jen Colantoni of Spoor & Fisher summarises Libya’s new $2,000 annual trademark renewal fee for foreign applicants and alerts brand owners to several strategic considerations

New patent and utility model procedures and updated fees form part of a legislative update to the Bangui Agreement that became effective in the new year, explains Craig Kahn of Spoor & Fisher Jersey

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher Jersey considers application of the Madrid Protocol across Africa as Ethiopia’s intellectual property practice looks set to move closer to global standards

Jun Qiu of Liu, Shen & Associates analyses two recent CNIPA decisions that provide insights into the application of the good faith principle in patent re-examination and invalidation procedures in China

Dongguo Liang of Liu, Shen & Associates says DeepSeek should take swift action to address ‘insufficient planning’ in its intellectual property protection strategy and an ‘underdeveloped’ patent portfolio

Yue Guan of Wanhuida Intellectual Property considers the CNIPA’s evidentiary standards after its invalidation of a patent for the crystalline form of lemborexant and explains the implications for pharmaceutical patent strategies in China

Wilhelm Eger of Maiwald Intellectual Property examines how the Pemetrexed case has influenced European approaches to patent infringement under the doctrine of equivalency and how numbers and measurements are addressed

Güldeniz Doğan Alkan and Dilan Sıla Kayalıca of Gün + Partners highlight a Turkish Court of Cassation ruling that shows how a trademark owner’s actions – or inaction – can limit courts’ boundaries in assessing similarity

Manolis Metaxakis of Patrinos & Kilimiris Law Offices considers the implications of the EUIPO ruling in favour of the Hellenic Republic concerning the validity of the ‘TurkAegean’ trademark

Although the amount of patent litigation in Brazil is far from the level of litigation in the US, patent infringement actions are very common in the jurisdiction. Such actions are the most effective measure against infringers, since preliminary injunctions are widely available. This makes Brazil very attractive as an additional battlefield for worldwide patent disputes.

Early this year, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property issued decisions denying registration for the trade mark PINCHE GRINGO BBQ & Design in classes 43 (restaurants) and 30 (sauces). The grounds of denial were a supposed violation of Article 4 of Mexican IP Law, which states that no patents, registrations or authorisations are to be granted for any legal figures or institutions regulated by this law, when the contents of an application are contrary to public order, morals and good customs.

In Mexico, droit moral is attached to the author and is inalienable, does not expire, cannot be waived and cannot be encumbered. The author and his/her heirs can enforce this right.

Lawyers from Ropes & Gray joined Managing IP to discuss licensing negotiation groups

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