Archives for November 2015
[The Petri Dish] Everyday Encounters with Intellectual Property
[Malaysia SME] Navigating Patents and Copyrights for Software
By Megha Anand
The debate on the patentability of software has always surrounded inventions in the domain of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) / Computer Implemented Inventions (CII). This uncertainty can be attributed to the fact that the ICT / CII domain was a nascent and evolving technology. Hence, most patent offices did not have definite guidelines for examining inventions in this domain.
[New Straits Times] Speedier Trials for IP Offenders
Who has the final say?
By Rebecca Chong
In the race to secure the registration of their trademarks, many think that once the trademarks are in the Register, they are “safe”. Although registration grants you certain rights and protection, it does not guarantee immunity from being cancelled or expunged from the Register. In other words, registration cannot be used as a defense in an infringement or cancellation suit.
Such a defense was attempted in a recent appeal case. In the Malaysian High Court earlier on, an infringement action was brought by Rotta Research Laboratorium S.p.A, owner of the registered trademark “Viartril-S” for glucosamine sulphate based drug and its distributor (henceforth collectively known as “Rotta”), against Ho Tack Sien, Advanced Pharma Sdn Bhd (registered owner of the trademark “Atril-250”) & Others (henceforth collectively known as “Ho Tack Sien”). Rotta contended that the product bearing the name of “Atril-250” bears a colourable and deceptive imitation of its trademark “Viartril-S” and get-up. Hence, Ho Tack Sien had infringed Rotta’s trademark.