Archives for January 2013
[Asia IP] Much Ado about Nutting: Nutella Vs. Nutello
[Business Today] Ignite Your Senses + Colour Wars
Amendments To Diovan Patent Claims Allowed
A recent decision in the High Court of Singapore involved yet another dispute in the pharmaceutical industry between an innovator giant and a generic manufacturer. This time, the case refers to a patent litigation battle between Switzerland-based Novartis and its exclusive licensee in Singapore (the Plaintiffs), and Ranbaxy (M) Sdn Bhd (the Defendant).
On the facts, the Defendant had made an application to the Health Sciences Authority on product licences for the product, Starval, to be imported into the Singaporean market.Starval is a generic version of the Plaintiffs’ product, Diovan, a blockbuster drug for treating hypertension. Novartis then brought an action towards the Defendant when the application was made known to them via notice, asserting that the Defendant’s product could possibly infringe the Diovan patent.
[Malaysia SME] Santa Cola: Trademarking People
The Next Generation Of Offensive Trademarks
By Lydia Rhanakumar
Disclaimer: Some words in this article may offend the sensitivities of certain individuals. Please exercise discretion when reading.
Callipygian.
Intrigued? Well, you should be – the word means “having well-shaped buttocks” and is a registered trademark in the US! Now for those of you whose curiosity was aroused by the said word, let’s start from the very core of the matter by asking a rather valid question – can offensive trademarks be registered?