Industrial Design

Abstract: The UK has voted to leave the EU – what are the consequences for IP Rights?

The surprise came on the morning of Friday, the 24th of June: Voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Apart from all of the other economic and political issues, this event has created a chorus of concerns among IP stakeholders.

The Ugandan Industrial Property Act of 2014 is now in force.

The main features are summarised below:

a) Patents and Utility Models

Finally, PCT international and national phase applications will be recognised.

Apart from this, some major rules regarding biotechnological inventions are introduced, namely, some patent exclusions were provide, such as, natural substances, whether purified, synthetized or otherwise isolated from nature.

As from the 27th of February 2016, São Tomé and Principe will effectively become a member of ARIPO. It will therefore be possible to designate São Tomé and Príncipe in an ARIPO application filed on or after the 19th of August 2014.

The government of S. Tomé and Príncipe deposited its instrument of Accession to the Banjul Protocol on the 27th of November of 2015.

The accession of São Tomé and Príncipe makes it the 18th member state party to the Harare Protocol (patents, industrial designs and utility models).

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has informed that the official fees for most intellectual property transactions will be increased. The measure will most likely become effective as from the 21st of December, 2015.

The increase will affect all trademark, patents and industrial design applications filed after the aforementioned date as well as retroactively for pending applications.

The decision has not been officially announced yet, the announcement will most probably be published in the Official Gazette on the 21st of December this year.

There have been new developments regarding the digitization of the Nigerian Trade Mark database. The Nigerian Registry of Trademarks, Patents & Designs has issued an update regarding their data capture project. The announcement made by the Office claimed that the digitization of the Nigerian trade mark database will commence on the 1st of October 2015. The project counts with the collaboration of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The British government intends to introduce a new legislation that would enable registered UK and European Community design holders with the option to mark their products with the address of a website that links to the relevant registered design numbers. The initiative counts with the support of several interested parties within the intellectual property community.

The Industrial Property Act 2014 in the Seychelles entry into force on March 1, 2015.

The key contributions of the new Act include:

Trademarks:

On December the 18th 2014, the Act that governed Industrial Property in Morocco (Act No. 17/97) was amended by the new Industrial Property Law No. 23-13. This new Law came into full force on January the 15th 2015. This transition enhanced Industrial Property rights in Morocco in order to meet current international standards.

The main adjustments introduced into this new law include:

On February 13, 2015, USA and Japan deposited official instruments at WIPO headquarters in Geneva bringing the number of memberships of Hague System to 64. This Agreement came into effect on May 13, 2015.

The Hague System is an international registration system that facilitates the process of obtaining design protection in multiple countries by means of a single international application filed with the International Bureau of The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) either electronically or on paper.