Archives for February 2010
India Patent Update: Sequence Listing Mandatory for Patent Specifications
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks of the Indian Patent Office recently issued a notice informing patent applicants that filing a hardcopy of the sequence listing is mandatory as it forms a part of the patent specification. A softcopy of the sequence listing is also required to facilitate search as required under Rule 9(1) of the Patent Rules 2003 (as amended).
Additionally, it was also stated that should the patent specification (including the sequence listing) exceed 30 pages, an extra fee will be charged as per provisions made in the First Schedule of the Patent Rules.
KASS Training Activities: IPHarm Training Session – 27th January 2010
Did you know that KASS International has a training department set up to enlighten individuals and corporations on the many aspects of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights? Well, we do! As a matter of fact, KASS has already conducted training sessions for several universities, private research institutions, and business organizations in the past few years (Check out our 2009 list of talks for examples of some of these sessions).
Recently, we were invited by the Malaysian Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals (IPharm) to give a training session on “The Patent System: Understanding the Basics and Fundamentals”.
[Nanyang Siang Pau] An Introduction to Patents
Plavix Patent Invalidated in Korea
On 15 October 2009, the Supreme Court of Korea dismissed the appeal in the ‘(patent) registration invalidation’ trial that SANOFI-AVENTIS filed against 16 Korean generic drug companies.
The Supreme Court ruled that “the original trial decision stating that ‘the novelty and inventive steps (of the original product) are denied’ is fair and has no misunderstanding of legal principles and (there is) no contravention to judicial precedents”.
This decision of the Supreme Court appears to prevent the “evergreening” strategies of the original drug companies to prolong their patents or their exclusive rights to a drug.
It is predicted that this decision will influence the “Lipitor” trial, among others, which is pending in the appellate court.
Beware of Unsolicited Letters and E-Mails
Recently, new scams which cheat unsuspecting trademark applicants out of large sums of money have mushroomed in a big way. Some of our clients have reported receiving unsolicited letters and e-mails from third parties. These letters seem legal and proper, appearing with seals and official sounding names such as “TM Collection Edition 2010 – International Register of Trademarks”, “RIPT – Register of International Patents and Trademarks”, “IBIP – International Bureau for Intellectual Property” and so forth, informing them that their trademark applications are due for registration, and requesting for a payment of registration fees.
Many of these scammers appear to originate from European countries, and attempt to con not only applicants filing international trademark applications, but also those filing national applications. A sample of one of the scam letters received by our clients is attached, to show just how convincing these scammers can be (Note: Details have been removed at our client’s request).
[The Edge Malaysia] Moving Up The Tech Value Chain
[Nanyang Siang Pau] Is Your Design Cool?
[Personal Money] Leveraging On Your Brand
Oftentimes, people see the successful registration of their trademark as the be all and end all of the trademark procurement process, and rarely go on to make full use of the marks once they have claimed ownership. Yes, they may now have a profitable brand in hand, but how can they leverage it?
[The Edge Malaysia] Malaysia as an Innovative Nation
KASS Managing Director, P. Kandiah, shares his thoughts on whether Malaysia is ready to become an Innovative Nation and what must be done so that our journey towards becoming a knowledge-based economy is not a wasted one: