Your U.S. Patent Might End Up in a German Court (Yes, Really)
When U.S. Patent Disputes Go Global If you’re an inventor or a patent owner, you probably have a simple mental map of how patents work: U.S. patents get enforced in…
Getty v. Stability AI: A Win for AI—But Don’t Pop the Champagne Yet
The UK High Court has finally weighed in on generative AI and copyright, and if you’re an AI developer, the decision probably felt like a sigh of relief. If you’re…
Patentees in Indonesia: Don’t Forget Your 31 December 2025 Statement of Working
If you hold a patent in Indonesia, this is your annual wake-up call: the Statement of Working (SOW) is due 31 December 2025. This isn’t optional. Under Article 20A of…
China Finally Gets Serious About Fair Play in the Marketplace
Why China’s Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law Is a Big Deal For years, China’s business environment has been a bit like the Wild West—only with more knockoffs, keyword hijacking, and fake…
IP Updates in Korea
Export may constitute infringement Korea has added exporting an invention to the list of what constitutes “practicing an invention”. This means patent holders can claim damages from overseas sales more…
Revised Policy on Same-Day Dual Filings in China: Invention and Utility Model Applications
China's Two Patent Model Types There are two types of patent protection in China: invention and utility model patents. Invention patents are similar to the US utility patents. Whereas, utility…
Update on the European Unitary Patent – Coming April 1, 2023
What is the European Unitary Patent? The new European Unitary Patent (UP) system is now coming into effect on April 1, 2023 for 17 EU member states. Included are Austria,…
The European Unitary Patent – Coming Soon
A New European Unitary Patent System A new European Unitary Patent (UP) system is expected to come into effect in the second half of 2022. This will make it possible…
Update on the Chinese Foreign Filing License Requirement: Was Your Invention Developed in China?
Understanding China’s Foreign Filing License Requirement When an invention is developed in China, Chinese Patent Law requires applicants to obtain a foreign filing license before filing outside China.Even if an…
European Unified Patents Update
Ratification of the Unified Patent Court Protocol We posted an update in November 2021. All 13 countries have now ratified the Protocol on Provisional Application of the Unified Patent Court…
Patent Eligibility of Blockchain Inventions
The Australian Patent Office recently handed down a decision clarifying the patent eligibility of blockchain inventions, at least so far as Australian law is concerned.Blockchain is a kind of database,…
Unitary Patent in Europe
Efforts Toward a Unified European Patent System Since the 1970s, there have been attempts to replace individual European country patents with a unified patent covering participating countries. Currently, there is…
Trademark Registration Protection in the US and Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has determined that registration of a trademark is a complete defense against claims for infringement and passing off. Travelway, a Canadian luggage distributor, owns…
Good News – Chinese Trademark Office Starting to Enforce Against Squatters
Surge in Trademark Squatting After the Tokyo Olympics In the wake of Chinese athletes’ excellent performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games, trademark squatting surged. Applicants attempted to exploit athletes’ names…
Australian Design Patent Statute Amendment
The Designs Amendment Bill 2020 passed both houses in Australia on August 30 and is now waiting Royal Assent.This bill introduces a 12-month grace period for design patents, bringing it…
China implements stronger punitive damages
Recent Changes to China’s IP Legal System China has recently made some changes to the legal system. Intentional and serious intellectual property infringement will now allow up to five times…
Patent Prosecution Highway- Phase II
Brazil Approves Phase II of its PPH Program The Brazilian IP Office (Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial - INPI) approved phase II of its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program. The…
The Inventive Step in Chinese Patent Law
China is becoming an increasingly attractive patent filing destination for foreign companies. But foreign counsels are often confused by the country’s inventive step requirement. Chinese patent examiners often use abstract…
Standards Essential Patents
What are Standards Essential Patents? Standards Essential Patents (SEPs) cover technological inventions necessary to satisfy a technical standard. Think, for example, of MP3 music compression technology. Why Anyone Must Be…
FRAND (Fair Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory licensing)
In May, the German Federal Court of Justice recently issued a landmark, 41-page decision that could well make Germany the “go-to” venue for patent owners in future FRAND licensing disputes. …
Indian IP Office Extends Deadlines
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and TradeMarks (The Indian IP Office) has extended all trademark deadlines until further notice.