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 […]
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IPAB Rules On Pharmaceutical Trade Marks
The use of a trade mark that is identical or deceptively similar to another’s trade mark leads to economic loss to the original proprietor as well as dilution of the mark and passing off. If the use of deceptively similar mark is in respect of pharmaceutical products falling in the same description, concerns of public […]
Malaysia - Court Removes Mark From Register
The High Court of Kuala Lumpur has, in a recent decision of its own, considered whether it has the powers to rectify the Trade Mark Register in an action to expunge a trade mark by unlawful proprietors. In the case of Regent Pumps Pty Ltd Nor v Keylargo Industrial Sdn Bhd (2009) 2 CLJ 303, […]
Thailand - Washington Apple Commission vs Department of Intellectual Property (DIP)
Washington Apple had successfully registered the mark "Washington" and "apple picture" after the Supreme Court of Thailand revoked the Trade Mark Board decision in the Supreme Court Decision No. 5449/2549 (2006). The trade mark application number 456808 for mark in class 31 for fresh apple was rejected by the Trade Mark Board (Board of Appeal) […]
The Singapore Copyright Tribunal – Recent Changes in the operational and jurisdictional aspects
In today's fast-paced information age, technology continues to transform the business landscape at break-neck speed. It has not only changed the way we perceive and conduct conventional commerce but has also acted as a catalyst, facilitating the advent of new business models and drastically altering the rules of the game. The power unleashed by information […]
India - How Design And Copyright Interact
The intersection between copyright in a pattern and design rights on the same has come for determination before the courts on many occasions. A recent Delhi High Court judgment has clarified the position, on an appeal filed by Microfibres against the order of the single judge. the single judge held that if the design is […]
Malaysia - High Court Overrules Registrar’s Rejection
On April 1 2009, the High Court of Kuala Lumpur, in delivering the judgment in the case of Illinois Tool Works, Inc v Pendaftar Cap Dagangan, Malaysia [2009] 1 LNS 507 (Illinois), provided proper guidelines for the Registrar in issuing acceptance or objections when examining a trade mark. Illinois is a Fortune 500 company, founded […]
Product Liability in Thailand – Generics versus Branded Drugs
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries caused by the use of the products. Generally, there are three major types of product liability claims, namely, (1) manufacturing defect, (2) design defect, and (3) a […]
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 […]
India - Mashelkar Report Republished
The report of the Technical Expert Group on Patent Law Issues, led by RA Mashelkar, was resubmitted to the Union Ministry for Trade and Commerce in March 2009. It was first submitted in December 2006 and was withdrawn for review owing to some technical inaccuracies in the Report. Mashelkar and a team of technical members […]