South-East Asia IPR Basics Series: Patents in Singapore

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PatentsToday we’re continuing with our South-East Asia IPR Series with another core area of Singaporean IP law, the law of patents. Patents are essential, especially to those operating in the mechanical or electrical engineering sector, or manufacturing goods anywhere in the world.

A solid patent portfolio can prevent the copying and manufacturing of products by competitors and allows SMEs to exploit their inventions free from competition.

In addition, monitoring competitors patent portfolios and applications can provide useful information on their business strategy and product direction, thus enabling SMEs to react in advance of product releases to better handle threats to their market position presented by products utilising these new features or processes.

Singapore has recently been named ASEANs first International Patent Search and Examination Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and has the most developed legislation and procedures in the region.

So read on, and if you have any queries, feel free to contact our experts at the South-East Asia IPR SME Helpdesk for free, tailored advice.

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IPR and the Fashion Industry in China

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The fashion industry encompasses the design, manufacturing, distribution, retailing, marketing and promotion of clothing, footwear and accessories and is worth billions of Euros every year.

While the fashion industry initially developed in Europe and the United States (the Italian footwear industry is one of the largest in the world and the textile industry is one of the United States’ most important employers in the manufacturing sector), today, fashion is an international and highly globalised sector.

China’s fashion industry, for instance, is set to become the world’s second largest fashion market by 2020, with sales expected to reach over RMB 1.3 trillion (EUR 182 billion) – roughly three times their current level.[1] According to the Boston Consulting Group, China will account for 30% of the global fashion market’s growth over the next five years.[2]

China therefore represents both opportunities as a manufacturing hub and a maturing consumer market, and risks, as a potential source of counterfeit merchandise. In order to avoid potentially damaging losses, EU SMEs operating in the fashion industry should take important measures to protect their intellectual property rights (IPR) in China. This blog outlines relevant IPR protection strategies in China, of particular relevance to the fashion industry.

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ICT IPR Podcast with our expert Reinout Van Malenstein

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RvMIt’s the end of week 2 of our Industry Spotlight Month. We wrapped things up this week with an interview with our expert; Mr Reinout Van Malenstein discussing the core issues and considerations for companies in the ICT industry interested in entering China’s rapidly expanding technology marketplace.

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Food and Beverage Podcast with our expert Reinout Van Malenstein

RvMIt’s Friday and the first week of our industry spotlight month is drawing to a close.
As a final treat for EU Food and Beverage SMEs we asked Mr Reinout Van Malenstein, IP lawyer and expert in Chinese intellectual property law for some advice for F&B companies looking to make the leap into the lucrative Chinese market:

 

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Guest Expert Davide Follador: GIs in China Today

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Davide Follador is one of IP Key’s long term experts based in Beijing. He is responsible for the legal component focusing on trademarks, copyright, geographical indications and IP enforcement. He served as officer in the Italian Police and subsequently obtained a Master of Laws in International Commercial Law. He is also a qualified European Trademark and Design Attorney (OHIM) and is a member of the Milan BAR. Davide has been practicing as an  IP lawyer since 2001 and specialises in cross border EU-China Intellectual Property matters, currently working with a cross-cultural and highly specialised international team based in Europe and in China, to design and develop EU-China cooperation activities in the field of intellectual property.

In recent months Davide has worked closely with both EU and domestic Chinese entities in the study of Chinese legal policy regarding GI products. He has kindly collated a wealth of information, together with his professional analysis of the current situation in China which should be of great use to any EU producers of GI products looking to export to China.

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