Industrial Design

The greater heritage of a nation remains in the creativity of its citizens. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the world has continued to experience astronomical advancement in scientific and technological innovations, which has changed the phase of modern society, leading many thinkers to term this present civilization “the jet age”.

This technological advancement has had an enormous impact on the world's legal systems. It has disrupted traditional modes of IP protection, which have been forced to change to keep abreast with the ever-changing forms of innovation.

Inventa has been contributing to updating several chapters related to African jurisdictions in the Manual of Industrial Property (also known as The Brown Book), published every year by Wolters Kluwer International Group.

As usual, the contribution of Inventa outlines the procedures and laws involved in filing applications for patents, trademarks or designs specifically in ARIPO, OAPI, Somalia, South Sudan, Madagascar, DR Congo, Seychelles, Zambia, Malawi, Gambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, and Sierra Leone.

At a ceremony held in the Embassy of Cape Verde in Geneva, the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry of Cape Verde, Alexandre Monteiro, deposited the instruments of Accession to the Lusaka Agreement, Banjul Protocol, Harare Protocol, Swakopmund Protocol, and Arusha Protocol with the ARIPO Director General on 14 July 2022.

4D printing adds a new dimension to the process: time. Whereas 3D printing technologies allow users to construct a 3D product, 4D technologies allow a 2D product to gradually change its shape over time in response to an external stimulus or energy source. This technique is also known as active origami or shape-morphing.

Inventa joined the Innovation & IP Forum and Awards on May 31, 2022, in Paris. Organized by the Leaders League, this event is dedicated to discussing global challenges and opportunities related to in patent, trademark, IT,  IP litigation and other related IP rights.

Represented by Diogo Antunes and Diogo Maroco, Inventa was recognized with a special distinction in the category of Best IP Advisory in Portugal.

World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on April 26 and, this year, with the theme chosen by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): “IP and Youth: innovating for a better future”. The relationship between youth and IP has at least two directions. In one direction, youth innovate and get protection through IP. In another, youth are the main addressees of IP-protected innovations. It is mainly in this direction of the relationship that the sub-theme of trademarks in the metaverse is situated.

What is the metaverse?

Following the approved accession of Cape Verde to the Lusaka Agreement (ARIPO), the country now joins four key WIPO treaties: Madrid Protocol, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement and Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

On January 7, 2022, the Cape Verdean Parliament approved the accession of the country to the Lusaka Agreement, which also incorporates the accession to Banjul and Harare Protocols. On January 27, the parliament approved the accession to the Swakopmund Protocol. The Instruments of Accession will be deposited with the ARIPO Director General on a later date, yet to be defined.

Inventa offers a compilation of articles, authored by our team, on some relevant topics that marked the field of innovation, trademarks, patents and IP rights, mainly in Africa, Europe and Asia.

The year 2021 has been in the spotlight since the previous year. With expectation, in almost every part of the planet, it was a year to strengthen ambitions and achieve objectives, as we all try to adjust to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The design of a product can be protected by an intellectual property right through a registration before an intellectual property office. In this article, it will be compared the design systems of China and European Union.

In general terms, the scope of protection of a design encompasses the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colors, shape, pattern, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.