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

The Brazilian PTO celebrated a remarkable achievement at the beginning of the new year. In just four months, the office managed to reduce the patent backlog by 14%. Further important milestones towards eliminating the backlog for good are expected to be reached throughout the year, as the office intends to reduce the backlog by 80% by 2021. This was all possible due to a pioneer project called the Preliminary Standardized Office Action Program, implemented in September 2019. Once the project is successfully completed, the PTO estimates it will take under 24 months to examine new applications.

Brazilian IP law believes that renowned marks deserve special protection in all fields of activity. Differently from well-known marks, which are protected within their field of activity and regardless of the existence of a local registration, renowned marks must be registered and then go through a specific proceeding at the BPTO for a declaration of high renown which will be valid for 10 years.

A problem that impacts day to day in our country, and specifically the owners of trademarks, is the deficient or lack of regulation in our legislation regarding what is and what should be understood by "use of a trademark", "use of a trademark in accordance with the customs and habits" and "effective use v token use".

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