Patents

On 30 July 2019, the Mauritius Parliament approved and passed the Industrial Property Bill 2019, it was then published in the Government Gazette on 10 August 2019. The bill aims to update and strengthen protection for IP rights, as well as to harmonize the current legislation in order to meet the challenges of the globalized industry.

Vítor Sérgio Moreira of Inventa International examines the growing trend in EU priority claims in ARIPO patent applications and looks at which sectors those applications are most likely to originate from.

This study aims to identify the profile of the filing of patent applications before the European Patent Office (EPO), wherein at least an applicant is domiciled in Africa, and to acquire more information about the main technological fields and applicants from Africa that seek patent protection within the member states of EPO.

Following the previous deadline extension until 1 May 2020, the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) Executive Director has issued Decision No EX-20-4, which extends until 18 May all time limits expiring between 1 May 2020 and 17 May 2020 that affect all parties in proceedings before the Office.

The Angolan Patent and Trademark Office has announced by Notification n.º 7/2020, the resumption of its activities from April 27.

This Notification follows the Presidential Decree No. 120/20, of April 24 which, despite extending the state of emergency, provides in its Article 14 the reopening of the Public Services and foresees some security measures.

The world is constantly changing. The changes, however, cause friction with the old habits and represent a threat to the eyes of those who have benefited so much at the expense and detriment of the environment. Climate change, air and water pollution, rising water levels in the oceans, and other circumstances that threaten terrestrial fauna and flora have been in the spotlight in recent years.

In 2019, China became the world leader in international patent applications, according to the annual report of the World Intellectual Property Organization, presented in Geneva, having overtaken the United States of America and ended a period of leadership that had lasted since the creation of the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 1978.

While called “international” patent, not all countries are covered.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), commonly referred to as International Patent, provides a common application mechanism for inventors wishing to protect their inventions around the world.

During its short existence, the Cape Verde Institute of Management and Quality of Intellectual Property (IGQPI) has mainly focused on protecting trademarks and patents. Other IP rights – such as appellations of origin and geographical indications (GIs) – have therefore been ignored.

Many African countries have raised their IP fees in the past few years. This is due to economic growth, a rising interest in protecting IP assets and the modernisation of countries’ IP systems. For example, in 2017, the Democratic Republic of Congo hiked up its prices by roughly 15% and South Africa’s Trademark Office announced an increase in official fees (effective from 1 October 2019). Egypt has also stated its intention to follow suit for industrial property services payments. This article focuses on Ghana and Tunisia, which have both raised costs for their IP services this year.