The scope of protection of an invention is defined by its patent claims in the patent. The applicant should therefore ensure that his invention is properly described and comprehensively claimed, in order for the applicant's rights to be well protected. Consequently, the applicant shall take all necessary actions to amend the claim(s) in the earliest as […]
Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Programme between IPOS and JPO Extended
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced on 1 July 2010 to extend the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Programme between the two offices to 1 July 2011. This programme commenced on 1 July 2009 for a period of one year ending on 1 July 2010. IPOS expressed […]
A Product Formed by a Patented Process may not infringe a Patent in Singapore if the Resulting Product includes Supplemental Processing Steps
A patent provides a patent proprietor with the right to exclude others from utilizing the invention claimed in the patent. When the subject matter of the invention is a process, the patent will prevent others from using the process. Under the infringement provisions in the Singapore Patent Act, Section 66 (1)(b) provides that when a […]
Thailand Supreme Court Limits Patent Protection for New Use Claims
Article 27 of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides that "the patent shall be available for any invention, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application." Based on this provision, […]
India - Court Rules On Pre-Grant Opposition
Recently the Delhi High court decided on an important question of law concerning the maintainability of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India against an order of Controller of Patents either allowing or rejecting a pre-grant opposition under Section 25(1) of the Patents Act 1970. The case is UCB FARCHIM SA […]
Singapore - Landmark Patent Revocation by IPOS under Section 80 of the Patent Act
Cargill International Trading Pte Ltd v Martek Biosciences Corporation [2009] SGIPOS 12 Introduction On 20 January 2006, Cargill International Trading Pte Ltd (the Applicant) filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to revoke the Singapore Patent No. 42669 entitled "Arachidonic Acid and Methods for the Production and Use thereof" owned by […]
Philippines - Clarification On Power Of Attorney
Intellectual Property Rights holders can execute a General Power of Attorney (POA) authorizing its agent in the Philippines to represent them in applications and/or registrations before IP Philippines. One signed POA will be sufficient to cover present and future filings to be made in the name of the same applicant. However, a separate Power of […]
The Return of Mühlbauer AG v Manufacturing Integration Technology Ltd – Role of Experts
It may be appreciated that our company last previously wrote on this Singapore High Court action in the early part of last year whereby the Court ruled in favour of the defendant that the plaintiff held an invalid patent in SG 117982 "Device for Inspecting and Rotating Electronic Components". In our previous article, it was […]
Malaysia - Patents, Nucleic Acids And Microorganisms
The Malaysian Patents Act 1983 (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Act’) requires that an invention, to be patentable, it should be new, involving an inventive step and industrially applicable. Section 13 (1) (b) of ‘The Act’ lists non-patentable inventions and it excludes the patentability of plant or animal varieties or essentially biological products for the […]
Philippines Battle Between Pfizer And Unilab Continues
One of the world's pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer, owns a patent for the anti-cholesterol drug "Atorvastatin Calcium" under Warner Lambert, which is valid and is in force until September 2012 in the Philippines. Pfizer marketed this drug under the brand Lipitor. The largest Philippine drug-maker, United Laboratories Inc. (Unilab), started selling in 2009 the generic version […]