Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

Hope all of you Katfriends have had a happy Halloween!  Now that everyone is no longer trapped in a haunted house, the Kats are here to give you an update from around the IP world. 

Trade Marks

GuestKat Riana Harvey discussed a recent decision from the English Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.  In considering the defendant’s counterclaim for passing off, the court quantified the use of the defendant’s mark with regards to its business which targeted a fairly niche audience, smaller than those that would arise in ordinary trade mark cases. 

In the Far East, the China National Intellectual Property Administration announced that paper trade mark registration certifications would no longer be issued from 1 January 2022.  SpecialKat Tian Lu provided further insight.  

Likely useful to trade mark practitioners, Katfriends Chia Ling Koh and Zhen Kai Giam reported on a recent Singaporean decision whereby the Singapore High Court provided guidance on how trade mark infringement claims by businesses using common trade names would be decided and evaluated the use of survey evidence in such claims. 

Copyright

From Nigeria, Katfriend Desmond Oriakhogba, provided a report on Nigeria’s process of reforming its copyright law, giving an overview of the background, the recently completed public hearing and what to expect going forward. 

Patents

GuestKat Rose Hughes shared with us recent cases in Australia and Canada whereby the courts confirmed their willingness to recognize the patentability of diagnostic inventions. 

Others

Merpel is more than excited to share with you an update on the IPKat team. 

AI-related matters are a challenge for many countries.  GuestKat Frantzeska Papadopolou noted that the EU Commission and the UK government are among the first to publish official documents addressing such issues.