Malaysia's neighbor Indonesia; with whom it shares close cultural links has accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage. The events came about following an advertisement in Malaysia's overseas tourism campaign by the Malaysian Tourism Board featuring the traditional folk song "Rasa Sayang" loosely translated as the "feeling of love", as its theme song. Indonesia claims […]
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Singapore implements the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive
The application of the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD), by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), comes into fore in Singapore from 1 January 2008. As of the New Year, stiffer penalties will be leveled out to cosmetic companies selling products that contain banned chemicals and preservatives. Fines to be issued have gone up tenfold from $10,000 […]
Malaysia cracks down on software piracy
Machines producing illegal Disc Copies As Malaysian government officials reinforce their aim to curb piracy by setting example, another recent incident proved their genuineness. Although the battle to combat piracy in order to protect intellectual property is a difficult one, Malaysia is on the right track. Fourteen machines worth RM42 million (US $13 million) that […]
Video-game industry watchdog clamps down on illegal game activity in Singapore
In an effort to further enforce it's stance against piracy, the video game watchdog, Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in conjunction with the Singapore Police, carried out raids on local stores selling illegal video games. The shops were selling gadgets that allowed users to download and play pirated games on their Nintendo DS handheld consoles. As […]
Philippines Officials tackle software piracy
According to the International Property Code of the Philippines, software piracy is a violation and may incur up to nine years imprisonment and a fine of up to 1.5 million pesos (US $35,000). In order to curb this violation, officials from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) recently carried […]
Vietnamese government cracks down on software copyright
A French design, survey and construction consultancy is to be fined under the Vietnamese Law on Intellectual Property Ownership for copyright infringement. This is due to a recent discovery of illegal software programs worth about US$400, 000 by the Inspectors of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hanoi police. Interestingly enough, this is […]
The strength and enforceability of IP Laws in the ASEAN Community
Recently, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published a new survey report aptly called "The Investment Climate of South-East Asia" pursuant to a survey conducted amongst 234 senior corporate executives contemplating investments in several countries in the South East Asia region. The Economist conducted the survey under sponsorship from the United States Chamber of Commerce in […]
Vietnam’s Patent Regime – the old and new regulations
Recent changes to Vietnam's patent laws established by the Ministry of Science & Technology in February 2007 are being compared to the older regulations to raise awareness of the patent changes occurring in the socialist republic of Vietnam. The source of the comparisons is from the set of guidelines laid down in Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN. […]
At a Glance – Trademark Practices in Vietnam: Your 2007 Update
On February 14, 2007 the Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) announced changes relating to trademark practices. We bring you an easy reference update. Descriptive Section: The type of mark must be described as: ordinary mark, collective mark, certification; or associated mark Associated Marks/Goods and Services If previous applications have been lodged, details of […]
Victims of E-Job Offers identified in Malaysia
The immense erudition found on the Internet has greatly affected the evolution of today's way of life since everything can be found on the Internet from songs to movies, facts of news to items on sale and even Job Offers! There is no longer a need to flip through the carbon staining newspaper pages to […]