On April 27, 2006 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a patent application for a beverage made from extract of mangosteen pulp and pericarp, wherein the owner of the application is an American corporation, namely Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. The said patent application has created some controversy due to the fact that […]
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Thailand - Patients Before Patents
Thailand's military-backed Public Health Ministry has moved to assist the more than 500,000 people suffering from AIDS in the Kingdom by issuing its first compulsory license, directed at Efavirenz (brand names Sustiva® and Stocrin®). This decision, announced on Wednesday 27th November, was taken without any consultation with the patentee, Merck & Co. Inc, sparking a […]
Bird Flu: Vietnam reaches an agreement with Roche
Since 2003, 42 people have died from bird flu in Vietnam. The scientists fear that the highly virulent H5N1 strain could mutate into a form, which can be transmitted from infected birds to humans and between humans, sparking a pandemic. The WHO has warned that 8.2 million Vietnamese could be infected by bird flu and […]
Highlights on Trade Marks Changes in the Intellectual Property Law of Vietnam
The new Intellectual Property Law of Vietnam has officially come into effect on 1 July 2006. Previously, the provisions pertaining to Intellectual Property were stipulated in Part VI of the Civil Code, and there was no independent legislation on Intellectual Property. The new Law addresses almost every aspect of Intellectual Property protection including trademarks. With […]
New IP Law In Vietnam
A new Intellectual Property Law has been enacted and adopted by the National Assembly in Vietnam on the 19th of November 2005. This new law will be effective on the 1st of July 2006. There are 6 parts in this new law, divided in 18 chapters to comprise a total of 226 articles. Part 1, […]
Vietnam Gearing Towards The World Trade Organisation (WTO)
Vietnam filed an application to join the WTO in early 1995 as part of its Doi Moi policy to shift the Vietnam economy from centrally planned economy into a market economy. However, this South East Asian country has yet to be accepted into the WTO. Prior to 1995, the Vietnamese Intellectual Property (IP) protection system […]
Vietnam Joins WTO - Moving Forward
After having been accepted by the Vietnam National Assembly on November 2005, the new Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law came into force on 1 July 2006. The enactment of the Law on Intellectual Property improves the efficiency of intellectual property rights, and contributes to the completion of Vietnamese legal systems. All the Intellectual Property regulations which […]
Vietnam: Ignorance is not a strategy! - Part I
Despite being a success story in economic growth, Vietnam is not a prominent target on radar of most patent applicants. Vietnamese copycat companies are like submarines in stealth mode. They are not showing up on radar yet; but ignoring them may be a recipe for disaster. In this article, we explain the importance of protecting […]
Highlights on Patent and Design Changes in the new Vietnam Intellectual Property Law
Vietnam National Assembly has passed the new Intellectual Property Law, which will officially come into effect on 1 July 2006. This is a significant development as previously, legislation on IP was contained in Part VI of the Civil Code, and did not have its own legislation. Much of the former provisions were not TRIPS-WTO compliant […]
Parallel Imports and Generic Drugs in the Philippines
The Philippines position on generics and parallel imports in respect of drugs Generics The issue regarding generic drugs and parallel importation of drugs has been brewing for a long time in the Philippines due to the concern over the high costs of drugs in the country. The Generics Act 1988 (which allows generic drugs to […]