Throughout 2017 so far, the government in Thailand has been signalling its intention to revamp the country’s patent system to provide a more efficient standard of service to applicants and inventors. In February, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O Cha pledged to urgently deal with a problem: around 20,000 domestic and international patent applications made to the […]
Singapore Patent Protection Examined in Car Crash Camera Case
Validity | Novelty | Inventive Step | Infringement | Groundless Threat | Expert Witness | Patent Construction The judgment in Lee Tat Cheng v Maka GPS Technologies Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 48 concerned an infringement action and an application for a declaration of infringement brought by Mr. Lee Tat Cheng (“the Plaintiff”), proprietor of Singapore […]
Singapore Announces New Patent Rules and Fees to Promote Innovation
Singapore has recently announced a range of major changes to its patent rules that will affect those seeking protection in a variety of ways. On 28 February 2017, changes to the Patents (Amendment) Bill were approved to revamp the patent application system, commencing on 1 January 2020. The new Bill aims at a more stringent […]
Cambodia Becomes First Asian EPO Validation State
On January 23rd 2017 in Phnom Penh, an agreement was signed between Cambodian Senior Minister for Industry Cham Prasidh and Benoit Batistelli, President of the European Patent Office, stipulating that patents registered with the European Patent Office (EPO) will be valid in Cambodia, with a date of 1st July 2017 set as the projected entry […]
Singapore Patent Infringement: The Benefits of Proper Patent Marking
“Innocent infringement” – the defense every patentee dreads to hear; because if it rings true, the patent owner risks no entitlement whatsoever to claiming damages and an account of all profits made from the infringement. Proper patent marking is key and this should be very important to the patent owner in order for the full […]
Singapore – Performance Pledge for IP Registration
A Performance Pledge for Intellectual Property Registration was introduced by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) on 4 August 2014. For patents, a grant of a Singapore patent application may be obtained within 12 months from the date of filing the application if certain requirements are met. The requirements are as follows: 1. The […]
Philippines – Amendments to Annual Fee Due Dates for Divisional Patent Applications
In the early part of 2014, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued Memorandum Circular Nos. 14-002 and 14-003 amending the reckoning date of the annual fee due dates for divisional applications (filed via direct route or PCT) to achieve a uniform procedure in the payment of annual fees for patent applications. The […]
Singapore – Patents as Collateral for Companies
Patents were first used as collateral to secure financing by Thomas Edison in the late 1880s. Edison used his patent for the incandescent electric light bulb as collateral to secure financing to start his company, the General Electric Company. Since Edison’s use of his patents as collateral, intellectual property has been used as collateral in […]
Amended Singapore Patent Law in a Nutshell
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has announced that the amendments to the Singapore Patents Act and Rules will come into force on 14 February 2014. This new system will affect all new Singapore patent applications, new Singapore national phase applications as well as new divisional applications filed on or after 14 February 2014. […]
ASEAN and India – Pre-filing Public Disclosures and “Secret” Prior Art
Best practices for cost effective foreign filing require that applicants and practitioners be aware of the laws on secret prior art and non-prejudical public exposures. Two common issues which may arise in conjunction with any patent application that should be fully understood and appreciated by both patent applicants and practitioners are the pre-filing public disclosures […]