ASEAN IPR SME Helpdesk expert, Cita Citrawinda, takes a look at trade mark law and implementation reform in Indonesia as it heads towards ratification of the Madrid Protocol. This post considers the challenges Indonesia still faces, and the pros and cons this presents for foreign SMEs doing, or looking to do business in Indonesia.
Continue reading “The Madrid Protocol, trade marks and Indonesia – The road ahead….” »
China continues to pursue, perhaps more concertedly then ever, initiatives to foster “indigenous innovation.” This concept – defined as advancing domestic Chinese innovation via “original innovation” (yuanshi chuangxin/原始创新), integrated innovation (combining existing technologies in a new way), and assimilated innovation (making improvements to imported technologies) – was prominently laid out in the National Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Science and Technology (2006-2020) (hereafter “S&T MLP”), which sets the goal to make China into a world leader in technology by 2050. A variety of initiatives followed the S&T MLP in seeking to further advance its goals, including, most recently, the 12th Five Year Plan for Establishing National Indigenous Innovation Capacity (hereafter the “Plan”) promulgated on May 29th 2013 by China’s State Council. Continue reading “Thought the Chinese government will only focus its indigenous-innovation-stimulating efforts on strategic emerging industries? Think again.” »
Many a time, a European company is faced with Chinese companies that infringe its intellectual property rights in China. High costs of litigation, the complexity of navigating a different legal system, and China not being their core market are commonly cited as reasons for foreign companies not ensuring their rights are enforced. In most cases the ‘copycats’ are then left to continue their infringing activities, despite the foreign company knowing about it. This sets a dangerous precedent; especially considering the difficulty of the above ‘obstacles’ is sometimes over-estimated. Continue reading “Letting copycats get away with it? Think again” »