Patents

This year’s AIPLA Annual meeting was held in Washington. Numerous Intellectual Property - IP professionals from across the globe got together, to overview major issues concerning this business.

A wide range of topics, related with Trademarks, Copyright, Patent Licensing and Patent Litigation were on the agenda that also approached the concerns with Artificial Intelligence and Copyright.

Over the past four years, Angola has been trying to get out of the deep crisis that has plagued the country. With the fall in oil prices, the economy has shaken and the stability of companies has never been the same. The Angolan economy was supported substantially by Petroleum. This is evident when we look at the 3600 patent applications in Angola, which mostly belong to the petroleum sector.

The new Industrial Property Regulations were finally published in the Namibian Government Gazette on the 1st day of June, 2018 and the law came into effect two months after, on the 1st of August.

The Act means to repeal the Trade Marks in South West Africa Act, dated 1973, introducing new provisions for trademarks, patents and industrial designs.

The new legal frame has been long anticipated and concerns several changes in what relates Industrial Property.

The gaming industry has grown exponentially over the last few years, having largely overcome the revenue generated by the cinema industry of Hollywood. The transition from a niche entertainment to a very lucrative business further dictates an increase of the risk and the proportional cautions that must be taken. In this sense, considering every factor that encompasses the gaming industry, the importance of all Intellectual Property rights should not be overstated and must be perceived as a priority when a new project is initiated.

On April 26th and 27th, it was held the 1st Angolan Congress of Industrial Property, organized by Ponto de Vista, in partnership with Inventa International and the Angolan Institute of Industrial Property (IAPI).

This article was published on November of 2017, on IPPro.

Macau has a peculiar system for protection of patents and applicants should pay attention to deadlines.

The Industrial Property (IP) Laws of the Macau Special Administrative Region have a great influence from the Portuguese IP Law and there are still Portuguese IP rights that were extended from Portugal to Macau and that are still in force today. The system for trademarks is in line with all the major IP systems that most applicants are used to.

The online system enters in force on 18th December of 2017.

On 18th December, the online registrations for all trademarks, patents, renewals and recordals (change of address, name and assignment) will enter in force in Tanzania, meaning that the manual system for filing applications at the Registry will no longer be applicable.

By having an online system, the same will ease the workload at the Registry and the time for registration will be faster.

Contrary to the real estate business, where the system favors the concentration of wealth in only by just a few economic agents, intellectual property has the virtue of being more democratic. With an insatiable, curious, irreverent and inspired intelligence, anyone may can create wealth. The power of the mind is huge enormous.

Introductory note

By the Resolutions of ARIPO’s Administrative Council, on its 40th Session which was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in December 2016, amendments to the Harare Protocol were introduced and have been in force since January 1st, 2017.