Prosecution

Crystal Zhang attended the BIP Asia Forum 2023 held at the Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Centre on December 7th and 8th.

Under the theme "IP & Innovation: Steering New Economic Growth" the event brought together entrepreneurs, brand and design owners, industry leaders, academics/researchers in IP or IP-related areas, and other IP professionals from around the world.

Submitted by Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. in July 2022, the request for protection of a three-dimensional sign representing a biscuit - a “flat, round biscuit, on the front of which 144 squares with their protuberances or reliefs are represented in parallel and equidistant, surrounded by a thicker border with 33 oval rings, creating, as a whole, a characteristic and distinctive shape” - was recently denied.

Ever since Cape Verde has acceded to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) treaties (ie, Madrid Protocol, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement and Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property), as well as to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization's (ARIPO) Harare and Banjul protocols, the National IP Office has been actively making efforts to foster the role of Intellectual Property in boosting innovation and creativity, by developing information and awareness-raising activities to promote namely national economic

While various trademark applications confront reasons for refusal - such as a lack of distinctive character, contradiction with accepted moral principles, or replication of prior trademarks - there is one that stands out in particular for wine brands: refusal if a request conflicts with a traditional term for wine.

João Pereira Cabral explores the challenges associated with obtaining a European trademark registration for wine under this reason for refusal, including some possible solutions.

The "non-use of trademarks" is a legal concept that pertains to not using a registered trademark for an extended period after its registration.

Organized by the Intellectual Property Unit of the TT@Técnico – Technology Transfer Area, the second session of IP Talks took place on November 23rd. These sessions were organized with the aim of offering insights into the subject of Industrial Property for master's and PhD students, researchers, and professors. The events took place at the Alameda Campus of Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.

With the initiative of SENADIAC (National Service of Copyright and Related Rights), affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Forum on the National Intellectual Property System took place on November 13th and 14th in Luanda.

On November 14, 2023, Daniel Reis Nobre attended the INTA Leadership Meeting in Houston (Texas, EUA), joining other committee members of the International Trademark Association (INTA) to discuss key topics and emerging issues in intellectual property.

On November 16, 2023, the new European Regulation on GI protection for craft and industrial products (CIGIR) came into effect, applicable from December 1, 2025.

1. Introduction

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence has sparked significant changes across various sectors, including in the field of patent law. The ability of AI systems to develop new creations poses unique and challenging questions to the conventional structures of IP law. This article explores the implications of AI inventorship within the specific context of South African IP law, shedding light on the legal ambiguities and offering recommendations for future policy adaptations.