Top Stories - Intellectual property

By Richard Milchior- Partner Granrut Société d'aovcats
14th February 2013 10:20For the last two years, Cloud computing has had an incredible growth.  The recent forecasts are mentioning a turnover which should be around €29 billion including 1.7 billion in France at present, and expecting to rise to 5 billion by 2015.  Everybody wants to be a part of a growing market where the future is.   Hundreds of articles hav ... read more

By Editha R. Hechanova
8th February 2013 12:16Many trademark owners get frustrated upon being informed that in order to maintain their trademark applications or registrations in the Philippines, a declaration of actual use (DAU) has to be filed.  The Philippines had acceded to the Madrid Protocol on July 25, 2012, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is currently reviewing its Trademark Rules and drafting ... read more

By Alistair McKinnon & Dr. Julian Potter
8th January 2013 09:17The England and Wales High Court (EWHC) has demonstrated its willingness for the English Courts to have jurisdiction over issues of infringement of foreign-designated patents.  In the decision Actavis Group hf v Eli Lilly & Company (USA)/Medis ehf v Eli Lilly & Company (USA),[2012] EWHC 3316 (Pat), the court confirmed that English courts could exercise ... read more

By Andrew J. Sherman
4th January 2013 10:58In my new book, Harvesting Intangible Assets, the critical paradigm shift of the global balance sheets of both large and emerging growth companies is discussed in considerable detail.  What was once a mere ten to follow percent of the overall net worth of a companies now closer to ninety percent and growing.  Leaders of the companie ... read more

By Korcan Dericioglu & Ayca Pinar Eren Yasar
27th December 2012 12:40With the prevalence of its use, the Internet started being with us in every moment of our lives, being involved in our mobile phones and even in our home appliances.  Beyond this, the developed search engine infrastructure and social media networks brought a new dimension to usage habits in internet.  While we used to access a website by inserting the domain name with its extensi ... read more

By Mrs. Laura Collada
21st December 2012 09:57The legal framework of trademarks in Mexico is changing rapidly.  The past couple of years have shown a tendency to modernise our Trademark System.  However, all these changes raise a very important question; how many amendments can a system take without running the risk of collapsing?   Following the fundamentals of the Roman law and the Napole ... read more

By Anthony Albutt
20th December 2012 10:03MADE IN CHINA; words that adorn millions, if not billions, of products every year originating from China and making their way around the globe.  However, is there evidence that China’s position as the world’s leading manufacturer is set to change?   Numerous reports illustrate how China’s wages are increasing along with the ... read more

By Jacqueline Needle
18th December 2012 09:40The European Patent Office (EPO) opened for business in 1978.  At that time it was also proposed to provide for a unitary Community patent.  After many false starts, and after many different proposals, it is suddenly looking likely that there will be a Unitary Patent.  The European Commission has suggested that the system could commence in early 2014.  There is ... read more

By Jonathan Cohen
13th December 2012 10:06Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are the letters following the “.”, for example: .com;      .net;      .org;        .travel, and so on. For those who have followed the new gTLD process at ICANN (The internet Corporation for Assigned N ... read more

By Valery Guerman
11th December 2012 09:37Russia is on the threshold of significant changes in the system of legal protection of intellectual property rights.  On the 1 February 2013, a new judicial authority called Intellectual Property Court will commence its work.  This new structure will be awarded the status of a specialised arbitration court.  An arbitration court in Russia is a judicial authority in charg ... read more

By Anne Morel & Michael Kitai
29th November 2012 10:20Over recent years, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has focused considerable attention on developing an attractive environment for development and managing intellectual property (“IP”) rights on its territory.   Etienne Schneider, Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, constantly recalls (and recently during the 5 ... read more

2nd October 2012 11:31Julius and Creasy is one of the oldest civil law firms in Sri Lanka.  Founded in 1879, the firm has established itself on rich tradition and the highest professional principles.  Julius and Creasy’s wealth of expertise and experience in a wide range of specialised fields of Law enables it to offer innovative legal and business solutions to a diverse, sophisticated and h ... read more

By Brian Wimpey
11th July 2012 09:36 The protection of a country’s cultural heritage is meet and just, but the means of doing so has stimulated international debate in many countries where there is sufficient sensitivity to such issues, as well as at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).   The South African Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, which only ... read more

By Richard Stobbe
9th July 2012 08:47 Apps are not just for Angry Birds anymore.  The licensing of mobile apps is becoming more common for business-to-business software vendors who are extending the reach of their enterprise applications to take advantage of opportunities in mobile and cloud computing.  If you are a vendor of enterprise software and you want to add mobile functionality, here are a few of ... read more

By Vivian Ni
22nd March 2012 10:50China’s video web sites have made “fundamental” improvements in their use of audiovisual products with authorized copyrights, according to Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication. Now, at least 76 percent of movies shown on the country’s 18 largest video web sites are shown in authorized-copyright format. ... read more

By Purnima Singh
1st March 2012 10:28 The past year has been a dynamic one for the music industry with several High Courts in India addressing the rights of underlying rights holders in sound recordings.  These rulings are a ray of hope for radio stations that have for years battled a double royalty for the broadcast of music.  & ... read more

By Charmayne Ong
29th February 2012 10:29 The year 2012 is expected to be a year full of change to the IP regime as it is the culmination of a number of years of discussion and consultation in the ever-continuing process of bringing the country’s domestic legislation and practice in line with international IP standards and obligations. Boosting this process is the Prime Mini ... read more

By Lukas Steinberg
27th February 2012 11:45Unfortunately albeit not surprisingly, even registered trademarks are far from being safe from infringement. As one marketing expert put it, if your product is not being counterfeited in China, you did a bad job. Enforcement may be unavoidable depending on the individual case and if the infringement interferes with the company’s business interest. There are several channels that ... read more

By Lukas Steinberg
7th February 2012 10:29 When evaluating the opportunities for doing business in China, most entrepreneurs are more or less aware of the fact that the company’s intellectual property rights (IPR) will be exposed to a precarious legal environment that undergoes considerable changes to this day.  One may find that the level of legal protection offered to IPR in case a dispute arises is ... read more

By Paul-Alexander Wacker
23rd January 2012 10:54With the substantial progress in harmonising IP regimes across the world: like the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (1970), the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (1994) and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (2004)) and in Europe (through the European Patent Convention, the Community trademark, the Community design and the EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive (2004/4 ... read more

By Wubin Yan
20th January 2012 11:01China is a member of Berne Convention, WIPO Copyright Treaty, PCT Treaty, Paris Convention, Madrid Agreement for International Registration of Trade Marks and its Protocol, WTO, Phonograms Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, UPOV Convention, Washington Integrated Circuits Treaty and TRIPs Agreement and has its comprehensive legal system to protect Int ... read more

By Steven E. Warner & Kristina M. Mahoney
10th January 2012 09:55The 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) was signed into law by United States (“U.S.”) President Obama on September 16, 2011, making major changes to the patent laws in the U.S.  Perhaps the most significant change is the move from a first-to-invent system to a first-inventor-to-file system.  This modification and others in ... read more

By Emmie de Kock & Rina Gunter
9th January 2012 10:10In September 2010, Account Works Software (Pty) Limited t/a ORANGEWORKS, a young South African company selling accounting software, received a favourable judgment from the South African Registrar of Trade Marks, in a “David and Goliath” battle, against Orange Personal Communication Services Limited, a multinational tel ... read more

By Helen Scott-Lawler and Hannah Court
3rd January 2012 09:29Intellectual Property rights are vital assets for many businesses and licensing to others is one of the key methods used to exploit those rights.  Done properly, licensing can be of immense value as a tool for generating revenue and advancing the reputation and market reach of the licensor.  However, get it wrong, and the consequences could go far beyond a failure to cap ... read more

By Daphne C. Lainson
20th December 2011 09:26Canada is seeing a surge in small to mid-size pharmaceutical companies marketing directly in Canada.  Canada’s public payer system and broad access to healthcare make it an attractive market, as does its proximity to the U.S. border. While companies are exploring the “Great White North”, it is im ... read more

By Eric Kurtycz
16th December 2011 10:39By this point in time, it is safe to say that about every U.S. patent practitioner is aware that there has been a major change in U.S. patent law in the form of the “America Invents Act”.  Inventors/Clients should be cognizant of the fact that the Act has the potential to bring some major changes to the U.S. patent system and should seek out the advice of thei ... read more

By Herman Blignaut
15th December 2011 11:05It is trite law that copyright is a technical subject.  A heavy burden of proof rests on the shoulders of a Complainant in copyright infringement proceedings.  In short, it is necessary for a Complainant to show that the works in respect of which protection is sought are eligible for copyright and that copyright subsists in the works.  This requirement includes ... read more

By Keith Barritt
12th December 2011 09:39The Internet as we know it may soon be changing forever.  From January 12, 2012 to April 12, 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is expected to accept applications for new generic “top level” domain names (gTLDs), which is the text to the right of the dot, where .com, for example, is now.  ... read more

By Richard Milchior
9th December 2011 09:10Everyone has heard about the new paradise that is being offered to minimize the cost of the information system:  cloud computing. This is an oxymoron however, since the salesmen and advertisers present this solution as a bright and clear one, nevertheless, it is sold under the word cloud, which when considered under its adjec ... read more

By Sarah Byrt and Daniel Hart
2nd December 2011 10:35Three recent cases – on Darth Vader, digital rights and databases respectively – all shed light on where you can sue for intellectual property infringement and how you can enforce your rights to get an effective remedy.  Each relates to the media sector but raises issues which are of interest to all business which regard IP rights as important assets. ... read more

By Brian W. Gray, Adam B. Haller & Allyson Whyte Nowak
1st December 2011 10:28On November 24, 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal released its highly anticipated decision in the case of Amazon.com’s so called ‘one-click’ patent.(1)  The Federal Court of Appeal set aside the decision of the Trial Judge and referred the case back to the Commissioner for expedited re-examination in accordance with its reasons. & ... read more

By Maggie Ramage
29th November 2011 10:42Domain name registration and maintenance is an area of law that has grown very quickly- perhaps too quickly for owners of domain name registrations to really think through domain name management.  All too often, companies have little or no cohesive strategy for domain name ownership, management or renewal. A domain name management strategy is essential. &n ... read more

By Brian W. Gray
25th November 2011 10:37On October 14, 2010, the Federal Court of Canada released its highly anticipated decision in Amazon.com, Inc. v. ... read more

By Steven M. Weinberg
24th November 2011 10:36Introduction Among the most important assets of a company is its non-public competitively significant information and know-how.  In today’s fast-paced highly competitive marketplace, where opportunities are won and lost in blinks of an eye, having a protected competitive edge more often ... read more

By Nandan Pendsey
23rd November 2011 10:31The last couple of years have witnessed a tremendous growth in IP litigations in India.  This may have been prompted by several factors inter alia the enhanced awareness of the importance of intellectual property assets, fierce competition in the marketplace and the high stakes involved and the Courts in India becoming increasingly IP savvy, just to name a few.  The year ... read more

By Andrew J. Sherman
8th November 2011 09:20“Knowledge idle in a database is like food in a freezer. Nothing ever came out in better shape than it went in.” — ... read more

By Margaret Burke and WuBin Yan from Ella Cheong (Hong Kong & Beijing)
21st June 2011 11:14Whatever your motivation for entering the China market, as a technology-oriented company it is important to define your objectives up front, devise your corporate vehicle for doing business in China, and carefully police the use of your inbound intellectual property while ensuring that future IP developed in China is properly protected.  While China offers unparalleled opportunit ... read more