Category Archives: Recommended Reading

Thailand Is Now Clearing Its Backlog of Patent Applications

Posted on by
Reply

RegisteredGood news for SMEs wishing to acquire patents in Thailand, as the country is committed to clearing its backlog of patent applications. Today’s blog post has been kindly shared with us by our external IPR experts, Ms. Darani Vachanavuttivong and Ms. Jitluedee Siemanond from Tilleke & Gibbins. In this article, Ms. Vachanavuttivong and Ms. Siemanond further explain the steps undertaken by the Thai Department of Intellectual Property to ensure faster patent application procedures. 

The problem of long periods of pendency for patent registration in Thailand may finally be successfully solved after several past attempts, even though an expected executive order under section 44 of the nation’s interim constitution has not yet been formally announced.

The Thai Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has put forward great efforts in setting up an effective action plan and has substantially increased its Patent Office manpower in 2016 and 2017, in order to effectively and promptly examine pending patent applications. The number of patent examiners in each examiner group has increased more than 100 percent, with the total number of examiners growing from 39 in 2015 to 143 in August 2017. The approximate headcount of each examiner group at the Patent Office is as follows:
Continue reading “Thailand Is Now Clearing Its Backlog of Patent Applications” »

IP Protection for the ICT Industry in Malaysia

Posted on by
Reply

board-453758_1920In today’s blog post we are discussing IP protection in Malaysia’s ICT industry, which has recently been offering many promising business opportunities for the European SMEs. You’ll  learn more about patent and design protection and how to ensure that your brand is safe from counterfeiting. 

Malaysia has a booming ICT industry with the ICT sector being forecasted to contribute about 20% to the country’s GDP by 2020.[1] The ICT sector is being further supported by Malaysian government that has taken special interest in developing the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. The government namely hopes that adoption of cloud computing and building on the National Broadband Initiative, would accelerate Malaysia’s development into an advanced economy[2].

As the government is investing heavily into ICT- related projects like developing smart city infrastructure or strengthening cybersecurity, the ICT sector will offer many promising business opportunities for the European SMEs whose top-notch technology and know-how are highly sought after through encouragement of foreign investments in the ICT sector.

European ICT companies should, however, pay attention to protecting their IP rights when planning their business strategy for Malaysia’s market, because IP infringements are still relatively common in the country. Well-managed IP is often a key factor for business success and neglecting to register IP rights in Malaysia could easily end SMEs’ business endeavor in the country. Thus, a robust IPR strategy is needed, when entering Malaysia’s market. Continue reading “IP Protection for the ICT Industry in Malaysia” »

Domain Name Registration and Protection in China

Posted on by
Reply

matrix-2502958_1920Today’s blog post on domain name registration and protection in China has been kindly shared with us by China IPR SME Helpdesk external expert Daniel Albrecht from Starke Beijing. The article first appeared on the Starke Beijing website. In this article, Mr. Albrecht gives a comprehensive overview of how and why to register and protect internet domain names in China. 

With the development and usage of World Wide Web, mobile internet and mobile phones, the Chinese E-Commerce market got an enormous growth. According to “Chinese E-Commerce Market Data Monitoring Report 2016”, the E-Commerce transaction amount reached 22.97 trillion RMB in 2016.

For both Chinese and international enterprises, to join this market is a trend but also a necessity. As one of the mainly path for entering E-Commerce market, the meaning of domain name registration is therefore getting more and more important.

Worldwide exist 330 million registered domain names currently. In China is the number in the amount of 50 million. China is becoming the second largest domain name market in the world. This market is interesting for both domain name service providers and enterprises as domain user. The foreign providers need to know the policy and rules for running a domain name business in China. And how to register and protect domain name in China is now an important issue that the enterprises should pay attention to.

Chinese government is trying to improve their laws and rules of internet administration service. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC (MIIT) released a new version of the “Measures for the Administration of Domain Names on Internet” on September 1, 2017. These new measures took effect on November 1, 2017. The rules should further promote the foreign investment to come into the Chinese registration market on one hand; on the other hand encourage the user to choose the registrar, which is a in China registered legal person. At the same time the rules accelerate also the development of domain name with Chinese characters. Continue reading “Domain Name Registration and Protection in China” »

The Philippines: Application of The Doctrine of Equivalents

Posted on by
Reply

patent-without backgroundToday’s blog post on the application of the doctrine of equivalents in the Philippines has been kindly drafted for us by our external expert Ms. Editha Hechanova from Hechanova & Co., Inc. In her article, Ms. Hechanova discusses a patent infringement case in the Philippines to demonstrate the applicability of the doctrine of equivalents in the Philippines IP system, which is essentially meant to help fighting patent fraud. The article first appeared in the Managing Intellectual Property. 

The doctrine of equivalents is provided under Section 75.2 of the IP Code of the Philippines (Republic Act 8293). However, in deciding actions for patent cancellation and infringement, the Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) as well as the Supreme Court rely for the most part on American case law. The recent patent infringement case of Eddie T Dionisio v Visita International Phils, Inc and Lal K Tulsiani (IPV No 10- 2013-00034, July 28 2016) citing a cancellation case also between the parties shows this.

Dionisio was the registered owner of utility model number 2-2011-000646 for a multi-purpose articulated ladder issued by the IPOPHL on June 6 2012. On December 20 2013, Dionisio filed an administrative complaint for patent infringement against Visita claiming that the latter sold ladders with specifications similar to Dionisio’s patented ladders. Visita countered that there was no infringement since it had its own earlier filed utility model registration 2-2009-000166 issued on December 28 2010. Continue reading “The Philippines: Application of The Doctrine of Equivalents” »

IP Considerations for R&D in China

Posted on by
Reply

anatomy-1751201_1280As many European SMEs are considering having their R&D-intensive business in China, so in today’s blog post, we are taking a closer look on how to protect your inventions that require research and development in China. The article discusses the common issues relating to IP ownership and IP licensing.

Many European SMEs may not consider that they conduct any R&D activities in China because they do not have a laboratory or research facility there, but in reality, a high proportion of these companies engage in activities which fall under at least one of the terms: research or development. An example of R&D might include an SME that enters into a contract with a local company to use their engineers to develop a prototype into a commercial product or application.

Intellectual property is a critical consideration for European SMEs that come to China wishing to tap into the market potential for business growth, or the talent pool for technology development. When engaging in R&D in China, new intellectual property is being created, the rights to which need to be clearly defined from the outset to avoid disagreements later. Continue reading “IP Considerations for R&D in China” »