KASS | IP Experts

Intellectual Property

Bigfoot tramples on Apple’s Trademark in Singapore

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By Alisa Rajamalar

Have you ever wondered if your registered trademark is absolutely safe? Is registration of your trademark sufficient enough to fortify your rights on that trademark?

Though registration of a trademark gifts the proprietor exclusive rights, this does not provide them with absolute rights under all circumstances to secure their registered trademark.  A trademark may be subjected to the grounds of revocation based on non-use or suspended use for 3 years or more, depending on the jurisdiction where the trademark is registered. By non-use or suspended use, it means that the trademark has not been genuinely used for a specific period of time.

 

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Factually Fraudulent – The effect of fraud on the assignment of trademarks

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By Daniella Fiocco

The recent Malaysia High Court case of Doretti Resources Sdn Bhd v Fitters Marketing Sdn Bhd & Ors (2015) has been the subject of discussion in IP circles because of its controversial decision that permits manufacturing companies to get away with infringement of a trademark provided they don’t sell the product directly to members of the public. While this is an interesting aspect of the decision that does warrant further comment, my reading of the case brought to mind another interesting question;

What happens to the assignment of a trademark when it was originally acquired through fraud?

It is with the intention of finding an answer to this question that I turn to examine the facts of the case.

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Shall I file for a Patent Application first or develop a Prototype of the invention first?

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By Mayuri Nanjappan

Most of our clients who meet us for the first meeting ask us this question:  What should they do first- file a patent application or develop a prototype before filing a patent application? There is no correct answer to the question as there can be arguments in favour of both options.

FILE PATENT BEFORE PROTOTYPING…

Let us now look at the point of filing a patent application before prototyping.

Generally, a prototype is fabricated by third party companies. There are inventors who have the capabilities to fabricate the prototype in their premise. The inventor could ask the third party company to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before disclosing the inventor’s idea to the third party. Having said that, not all the third party companies would agree to sign the NDA since they might be involved in similar technology. Therefore to avoid such circumstances it would advisable to file the patent application to obtain protection before embarking in the manufacturing of the prototype.

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