Prosecution

The Inventa IP Review magazine highlights some of the IP news of the previous year, written by our team, through opinion articles, interviews or press releases. We cover relevant topics that have marked the field of innovation, trademarks, patents or intellectual property rights, mainly in Europe, Africa and Asia.

The 2022 edition shares useful information on the protection of trademarks in different jurisdictions, the entry into the Unitary Patent system and also the impact that may arise from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the IP field.

The World Trademark Review (WTR) announced the WTR 1000 - The World's Leading Trademark Professionals for the year 2023, recognizing the world's top trademark-leading firms and individuals.

We are proud to announce that Inventa is once again one of the top trademark leading firms in Portugal and Nigeria. WTR highlights Inventa's expertise in the fields of prosecution and strategy.

On February 6, the government of Mauritius deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid and the Hague System which entered into force on May 6, 2023.

Madrid Protocol: From May 2023, trademark applicants in Mauritius will be able to secure the protection of their trademarks in all member countries, through a single registration application.

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana is an African country bordering Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The geographical position of Botswana is both an advantage due to its strategic location for commercial purposes and a disadvantage, considering the enormous opportunities for the smuggling of counterfeiting products and services.

A European Union Trademark (EUTM) application can be refused on several grounds. One of those is laid down in article 8, No. 1, (b) of the EU trademark Regulation (EUTMR), consisting in the existence of a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public in the territory in which the earlier trademark is protected, due to its identity with, or similarity to, the earlier trademark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by the trademarks.

The Unitary Patent (UP) system will allow applicants to get uniform patent protection in up to 25 EU Member States by submitting a single request to the European Patent Office (EPO) after publishing of the granted European patent and is now intended to start on 1 June 2023.

To understand how trade dresses are being safeguarded in Europe, we need to answer the question, what is “trade dress”?

We can define trade dress as a set of characteristics – not only visual, but also sensorial – that allow a consumer to distinguish a particular product or service from the others that coexist in the market. These characteristics can include the way some products are displayed in a store, furniture patterns, ambient music, a smell and so on. Also, a particular packing or product shape can be understood as a trade dress.

On November 29, the Parliament of East Timor approved the country's first Code of Copyright and Related Rights, intended to protect the creation, production and commercialization of literary, scientific and artistic works and their respective authors.

This law, which will come into force 180 days after its publication, proves to be an essential regulatory basis for the recognition of national innovation and culture, rewarding its authors and thus stimulating the creation of new intellectual assets in the most diverse areas of expression.

The first patent system in Russian Empire was established by czar Alexander I in 1812, through the publication of the “Manifesto on the Privileges for Various Inventions and Discoveries in Crafts and Arts”.

However, after the October Revolution of 1917, the entire legal system collapsed over a vast territory from the Carpathians to the Pacific Ocean. Landowners, industrialists, craftsmen, and peasants in the hinterland felt especially affected and feared threats to their property.

This article serves the purpose of educating creatives on the importance of copyright laws in Nigeria. It also provides insight into the major aspects of copyrights, its protection, and their implication on creatives. 

It is worthy of note that the principal law that governs copyrights in Nigeria is the Copyright Act LFN 2004, and the government agency that is responsible for the regulation and administration of copyright in Nigeria is the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).