Enforcement

The Inventa IP Review magazine highlights some of the IP news of the previous year, written by our team, through opinion articles, interviews or press releases. We cover relevant topics that have marked the field of innovation, trademarks, patents or intellectual property rights, mainly in Europe, Africa and Asia.

The 2022 edition shares useful information on the protection of trademarks in different jurisdictions, the entry into the Unitary Patent system and also the impact that may arise from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the IP field.

In simple terms, a counterfeit is a product that imitates the genuine one and constitutes an infringement of IP rights. This vice is a global concern that denies IP owners their deserved benefits, the result of their resilience, innovation, and financial effort.

Due to its geographical position, bordering Somalia, Uganda, and Tanzania, and its proximity to the Asian sea, Kenya may be deemed as an appealing key distribution point for counterfeit products.

To understand how trade dresses are being safeguarded in Europe, we need to answer the question, what is “trade dress”?

We can define trade dress as a set of characteristics – not only visual, but also sensorial – that allow a consumer to distinguish a particular product or service from the others that coexist in the market. These characteristics can include the way some products are displayed in a store, furniture patterns, ambient music, a smell and so on. Also, a particular packing or product shape can be understood as a trade dress.

On November 29, the Parliament of East Timor approved the country's first Code of Copyright and Related Rights, intended to protect the creation, production and commercialization of literary, scientific and artistic works and their respective authors.

This law, which will come into force 180 days after its publication, proves to be an essential regulatory basis for the recognition of national innovation and culture, rewarding its authors and thus stimulating the creation of new intellectual assets in the most diverse areas of expression.

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.