KASS | IP Experts

Intellectual Property

Wherefore Art Thou Spider-Man?

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By Hoh Jerick

Tensions rose, jaws floored – will Spider-Man no longer be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after the sequel “Far From Home”? The recent uproar and disagreement between Sony Pictures and Disney hinged on the fact that fans of the MCU movie series may not be able to enjoy the portrayal of the web-slinger by actor Tom Holland any longer. The internet went awash with multiple articles and comments on what would happen to everyone’s favourite superhero, or what would become of the Marvel Universe. But regardless of the dispute, conglomerate giants Sony and Disney have currently managed to compromise on a deal where the web-slinger would continue its appearances within future MCU movies.

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Strategic Moves When Patenting in ASEAN

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN in short, is a group of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which are, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Established on 8 August 1967, the purpose of ASEAN was to promote the development of the Southeast Asian region into a peaceful and stable region with a strong economy and improved standards of living.

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Common Law Proprietorship: Is Evidence Territorially Restricted?

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By Amir Murshidi

The established principle of trademarks is that the protection is territorial in nature. Does that mean without a registration, trademark owners do not have rights in a particular country? Yes and no – yes in countries that adopt the “first-to-file” rule while in common law jurisdictions (Malaysia included), owners who use the trademark first in the country can still rely on unregistered rights. However, the latter requires substantial evidence to be adduced before the Court and could be slightly difficult to enforce.

What if there is no evidence of use locally? Will use of a trademark abroad constitute use in the particular country? Well, this depends on the relevant laws in each country.

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iInventedthat: Products (Co-)Invented by Steve Jobs

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By Joel Cheong

On 5 October 2011, the world lost a brilliant visionary and entrepreneur whose legacy includes a half-eaten piece of fruit, a computer animation studio whose mascot hates the letter ‘i’ with a passion, and prohibitively expensive consumer electronics products beginning with the letter ‘i’. Born on 24 February 1955, Steven Paul Jobs was a constantly hungry non-Malaysian who’s known as the other Steve from Apple who doesn’t really code or build a product.

In spite of the fact that he lacked the programming or engineering prowess of Wozniak, Gates, or Musk, he was nonetheless a prolific designer whose relentless demand for perfection resulted in a great number of iconic Apple products. It comes as no surprise, then, that there are hundreds of registered designs for products which he designed or co-designed. What’s less known is that he also contributed to the invention of many useful technologies that gave Apple products a leg up on the competition.

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ASEAN Big Players Using AI to Transform Their Industries

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Think of AI and what comes to mind is an image of a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger and his equally unclothed metallic friends with ominous red glowing eyes gunning after you and your other squishy out-of-shape human friends who are deemed to be “low threat”.

Thanks to Hollywood, we may subscribe to the idea that artificial intelligence will one day achieve sentience, grow out of human control and seek to enslave all of mankind. But artificial intelligence is in fact, far less malicious, far more mundane and has made life all around much, much better.

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Caught with Their Pants Down: Mohammad Hafiz bin Hamidun v Kamdar Sdn. Bhd.

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What grounds, if any, do famous personalities have to prevent their name from being used by others under the guise of false endorsements or association? Here’s the story of what singer and song composer, “Hafiz Hamidun” (the Plaintiff), did.

Apart from his musical pursuits, the Plaintiff had also incorporated a company selling clothes including Baju Melayu (a traditional Malay outfit for men) and fabrics (hereafter referred to as “the Plaintiff’s goods”) in boutiques and online.

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Patenting Biotechnology Inventions

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By P. Kandiah & Sharrmila Palanyandy

In recent years, research and development in biotechnology field, especially in medicine and agricultural biotechnology is emerging rapidly. Researchers are encouraged to patent their inventions in order to commercialise their inventions and enjoy the benefits obtained thereafter. Mostly, biotechnology inventions are associated with materials present in nature which require intervention of human being. For example, if the invention is related to Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), it needs intervention of human being to utilize genetic engineering techniques whereby genes are modified in order to produce altered genetic information which will be [Read more…]

Enforcement of Trademarks in Myanmar

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Enforcement and Border Control Measures

Myanmar is the largest country in the Southeast Asian mainland and is bordered by India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and China. Geographically, Myanmar is strategically located to make trade deals with the two most populous countries and fastest growing markets in the world, India and China. Currently, the Myanmar Customs Department authorizes border control measures and scrutinizes the flow of counterfeit goods and marks into the country. To officially ensure that only goods using genuine trademarks are allowed to pass through in cross-border trade, the Myanmar Customs Department accepts the recordal of trademark registrations.

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No Noodling About: Hakubaku Co. Ltd. v Asiamega Food Manufacturers Sdn. Bhd.

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This recent case provides food for thought by enforcing once again that the first user of a trademark in good faith in Malaysia is the rightful common law owner of the mark. Attempts to noodle around with the core principles of trademark and copyright law do not mix well with the Courts’ stand to uphold justice, and will surely reach a stale ending!

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Malaysia! Merdeka! Eureka!

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By Joel Cheong

August is the month when proud Malaysians display their patriotic spirit by flying the Malaysian flag. As people who did not fail their History paper would know, the Malayan Federation achieved its independence on 31 August 1957, and on 16 September 1963, Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia. Singapore became its own country in 1965, leaving Sabah, Sarawak and West Malaysia to be the Malaysia as we know it today.

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