Enforcement

With the technological advance of the internet, increased access to content and information is proportional to the heightened access to content that infringes IP rights.

If it is possible to access entertainment content on a paid streaming service, it is also possible to find on the internet the same movie, music or game on platforms that provide this access sometimes for free and without the proper authorisation. The same occurs with counterfeit clothing and footwear, available for reduced prices. 

EUIPO’s 2022 IP Youth Scoreboard

Kenya has taken recent measures regarding anti-counterfeiting to be implemented by the Anti-Counterfeiting Authority (ACA). The ACA’s Public Notice (No.1/2022), issued on 26 April 2022, established that all IP rights for goods imported into Kenya must be recorded with the ACA starting July 1, 2022. This applies to all imported goods freed of where the IP right is registered. The second Public Notice (No.2/2022) states the deadline extension to submit a mandatory record to 1 January 2023. Not complying with the legislation can lead to legal consequences.

According to the World Health Organization, Africa accounts around 42% of the world’s counterfeit drugs. As we see counterfeiting and other illicit trade an ongoing problem in the continent, what challenges exist and what has been done to tackle this problem?

Promoted by Wolter Kluwer, Martin Luten, from  Arnold & Siedsma, interviewed Vera Albino, who explained some of the mechanisms used to enforce IP rights in Africa, efforts made by governments to put legal frameworks in place, as well as precautionary measures that a brand owner can take.

We are delighted to see Vitor Palmela Fidalgo, Legal Director at Inventa, acknowledged as one of the WIPR Leaders 2022 in Portugal, for the categories Patent and Trademark Leader. Thank you to WIPR, our clients, colleagues and peers for the nomination.

The World Intellectual Property Review - WIPR Leaders ranking highlights the world’s leading IP practitioners and Inventa is proud to be distinguished once again in this ranking.

In March 1977 the Bangui Agreement (hereinafter, also referred to as “Agreement”) created OAPI, the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (African Organization of Intellectual Property). OAPI is an organization mainly composed of francophone jurisdictions, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoro Islands, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

Inventa contributed again with the Portugal chapter in the latest edition of International Comparative Legal Guides - Trade Marks 2022, published by Global Legal Group.

These guidelines summarize legislation and regulations regarding trademarks in Portugal focusing on many aspects as the main steps, timings, requirements and other related rights applied to this jurisdiction.

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.

In many countries, a patent can only be registered if it is new, has an inventive step, and is industrially applicable. In addition to meeting these substantial requirements, you also must meet other formal requirements, including legal deadlines.

It turns out that in many jurisdictions there are types of patents with substantial lighter requirements, namely utility models.

One of the requirements in Angola for the registration of any IP right through a legal representative is a power of attorney on behalf of the applicant. In cases where the applicants are foreign persons or entities, this document is even mandatory, as they are required to be represented by a local attorney at law, according to article 67 of the Angolan Industrial Property Law (IP Law).

Additionally, for these applicants, it will be required that the power of attorney will be certified at an Angolan consulate or embassy.

The amendments introduced through The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act Number 18 of 2018, which come into effect in January 2019, have provided significant changes in intellectual property rights (IPRs), as this Act involves amendments in several laws of the Industrial Property Act (2001), the Copyright Act (2001), the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act (2016) and The Anti-Counterfeit Act (2018) (“the ACA Act”).