Prosecution

After Brexit was voted there have been assumptions of what would be the future of the Unitary Patent Court and the patent of unitary effect.

The possibility of a non-ratification of the Unitary Patent Court Agreement by the UK before the Brexit was on the table, however, the latest news refer that the UK Government has announced that it would be ratifying the Agreement before officially leaves the UE.

"The struggle to protect patents in Africa" an article written by Vítor Palmela Fidalgo from Inventa International for the magazine The Patent Lawyer.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) issued, on 21st November 2016 and on request of the Mozambican Office (IPI), the information notice no. 37/2016, addressed to the Madrid System Users on the urge to present Declarations of Intention to Use (DIU) international trademarks on the part of applicants that designate Mozambique.

This information notice summarizes as follows:

A sovereign state is taking legal action against a grocery and frozen food shop over a trademark dispute. Iceland will follow up on its previous statements and initiate a lawsuit against Iceland Foods over the use of the European trademark “Iceland”.

The Japanese Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued, earlier this month, a new patent classification (ZIT) incorporating only Internet-of-Things-based (IoT) inventions and technology. As such, from 2017 onwards, any interested party will be able to find data and information related to inventions in the IoT department, through the Japanese PTO platforms.

Internet-Of-Things technology is the technical name given to the so-called smart devices networks, the connection between any physical device, be it a microwave or a vehicle.

India’s new Trademark Law might come into effect shortly, either during the current month or during the next month of December, after the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trademarks disclosed a public draft of the amendment to the 2002 Trademark Rules, dated November 19th, inviting stakeholders to comment the same.

Inventa International will be present in the first edition of Web Summit in Portugal. This year's edition will take place in Lisbon, between 7 and 10 November, with the expected participation of more than 50,000 professionals and a thousand international investors.

THE CONTEXT

The society of today galloped through technological evolutionary steps. Everyday life has been hijacked by Wi-Fi and all types of connectable devices. From smartphones to smart-fridges, everything is connected through wireless systems, various networks existing simultaneously, intertwined amongst themselves. While it may not be possible to protect the aforementioned programs by themselves, what is protected is exactly the method or a system implemented by software.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Web Summit 2016 is almost here (7th-10th November, Lisbon) and startups and entrepreneurs will come together to share ideas about technology but also to show-case new products and projects, but Intellectual Property protection should not be thrown to the sidelines.

Past October 6th, 2016, the Government of Brunei Darussalam deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the international registration of marks. The Protocol will enter into force in respect to this jurisdiction January 6th, 2017.

The Madrid Protocol allows trademark owners to seek multi-jurisdictional protection of trademarks, through a single application proceeding, reducing costs and bureaucracy.