A. Arbitration and Mediation Centre The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has established its first Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Singapore, the first of its kind outside Geneva. The Centre will primarily deal with intellectual property (IP) disputes originating in Asia Pacific. B. What type of cases will it hear? The new centre will focus […]
Patent Revocation in Singapore
In recent years, there has been an increase in patent litigation in Singapore contributed by the speed and quality of decisions, relatively low costs and transparency in the legal system. Since the enactment of the Singapore Patents Act in 1995, patent law and enforcement has grown in strength. It has to be noted that since […]
India - Protecting Traditional Knowledge
In March 2009, India completed the compilation of its Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), the pioneering digitised database of traditional knowledge handed down over generations. Being rich in traditional therapies of medicine and the knowledge of health remedies, India has been struggling to protect them from being patented by other countries. The lessons from neem […]
ASEAN Launches Patent Cooperation Programme
Countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have embarked on their first regional cooperation in Intellectual property, specifically in patents, by introducing ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC). There are eight participating IP offices from: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Once a search and examination report is issued by any […]
India - High Court Compares Essential Features
Under the Indian Patent Act a patent is available on an invention that is new, useful and is not obvious to the person skilled in the art. The invention, a product or a process, must satisfy the test of constituting an inventive step, which means the improvement must produce a new result or a new […]
Thailand - Patent on Traditional Knowledge (Pueraria Candollei) – Thai Supreme Court Decision No. 4783/2549
Pueraria Candollei (also known as Peuraria Mirifica), commonly known as Thai Kudzu, is an herb often found in various parts of Thailand. Thai people have long traditional knowledge on the use of this her. The Pueraria Candollei is mostly found in mixed forest where two or more dominant species grow. Researchers in various countries discovered […]
India - Bayer’s Patent Linkage Claim Rejected
Bayer Corporation’s petition to the High Court of Delhi to enforce patent linkage in India was dismissed with costs fixed at a deterrent amount. The respondents to the petition included the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), and generic drug maker CIPLA. CIPLA had applied to the DCGI for the marketing license of its drug, […]
Malaysia - Patent Direct and Indirect Infringement
Direct infringement of a patent claim is briefly defined as an act of infringement of all claim elements of that claim by a single entity. For instance, direct infringement of a method or process claim occurs when a single entity performs all steps of the said method or process claim, whereas direct infringement of an […]
Singapore - Another Patent Falls Short on Novelty and Inventive Step
In the second such patent infringement suit this year, the Singapore High Court has decided in favor of the defendants by revoking the plaintiff's Singapore patent on the grounds of lacking novelty and inventive step. Interestingly, the patent in question, like the previous one, also relates to the electronics manufacturing industry. Background The plaintiff, ASM […]
Malaysia - Declaration of Non-Infringement, Invalidation and Infringement Proceedings: A Malaysian Perspective
Declaration of Non-Infringement In Malaysia, any interested party has the right to apply to the IP Court for a ‘Declaration of Non-Infringement’ whereby the court may make a declaration, as against a patent owner, that the performance of a specific act does not constitute an infringement of the Malaysian patent concerned. However, should the act […]