With today’s blog post we continue our Back to the Basics theme and take a look at patent protection in South-East Asia. This blog post  will explain the patent application process and discuss alternative and oftentimes faster routes for obtaining patents in South-East Asia via using the Patent Cooperation Treaty or benefiting from ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation. 

A patent is an exclusive right granted for the protection of new inventions, which are products or processes offering new technical solutions or providing new ways of doing something. The product or process in question must be applicable in industry to be eligible for protection. Patent protection lasts for a limited period of time, usually 20 years. A patent is a territorial right and has its effects only within the national boundaries of the country for which it is granted. It means that patents registered in Europe have no legal effect in any South-East Asian country.

A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent, meaning that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner’s consent. Patent rights are enforceable in courts and obtaining patent protection is therefore a crucial aspect of business in the modern global economy. It is vital that SMEs apply for patent protection in the South-East Asian countries of interest to their business, especially if the launch of their respective produc on the South-East Asian market is on the horizon. Continue reading “Patent Protection in South-East Asia” »