The 2016 Amendment to Thailand’s Trademark Act – Its Changes, Significance, and Consequences

Quote

trademarkThailand has issued new amendments to its Trademark Act, which will enter into force in the end of July, this year. In order to  allow you to familiarize yourselves with the upcoming changes, our IPR SME Helpdesk expert Mr. Franck Fougere from Ananda Intellectual Property has kindly drafted for us a blog post explaining the amendments to the Trademark Act and discussing their significance for the SMEs.

The widely forecasted amendment to Thailand’s Trademark Act of B.E. 2534 (1991 A.D) will become effective on July 28, 2016. Significant structural policy changes will include Thailand’s ratification of the Madrid Protocol and acceptance of sound marks for registration. Several other changes to be introduced via the Amendment will affect the mechanics of trademark registration and prosecution, and, thus, intellectual property (IP) strategy. Anticipated changes to the registration and prosecution process are discussed below. Continue reading “The 2016 Amendment to Thailand’s Trademark Act – Its Changes, Significance, and Consequences” »

Proposed Revisions to the Chinese Patent Law (December 2015)

Quote

PatentToday’s blog post has been kindly brought to you by our IPR expert Mr. Toby Mak from Tee & Howe Intellectual Property Attorneys. In his article, which was first published in UK Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) Journal,  Mr. Mak gives a detailed overview of the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office’s final draft of the proposed revisions to the Chinese Patent Law. 

In December 2015, the Chinese SIPO published their final draft of the proposed revisions (the proposal) to the Chinese Patent Law (the Law) to seek public opinion. Compare to the draft in April 2015 (please see my report in the May issue of the CIPA Journal), there are a lot of significant changes in this proposal, while many changes proposed in April 2015 were retained. This article reports these proposed revisions in the final draft, together with my comments.

As this article closely relates to mine published in May 2015 issue of the CIPA Journal, I will continue to use the same number scheme for various topics so that the two articles could be referred to each other.

To start with, let us have a look at the changes that have been retained and remain unchanged: Continue reading “Proposed Revisions to the Chinese Patent Law (December 2015)” »

Writing a good manufacturing non-disclosure agreement in China

shangwushuxie2_344In China, even searching for a manufacturer can be perilous. Revealing too much information off the bat can allow a prospective manufacturer to appropriate your IP and leave you with little recourse. To prevent this, a solid non-disclosure agreement is essential.

In this article, we cover some things which should be included in any non-disclosure agreement you sign with Chinese manufacturers before your partnership begins. For more information, send our experts a message and get personalised advice.

Continue reading “Writing a good manufacturing non-disclosure agreement in China” »

Another Year on Top for China as the Highest Recipient of Patent Applications Globally

Quote

patentThe much awaited patent application list for 2014 has been released and China is again in poll position, the experts said the World’s second largest economy lacked competitive edge, but for the 4th consecutive year China is the highest recipient of requests for patents globally. Continue reading “Another Year on Top for China as the Highest Recipient of Patent Applications Globally” »

New EU and China IP Law Database launched

Quote

IP Key, a project of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office (EPO), have launched the EU and China Law Database. It is an online database designed as a comprehensive resource of IP laws in Europe and China, containing over 1,600 documents (with ongoing updates).

Continue reading “New EU and China IP Law Database launched” »