WIPO had an online training on 17 December 2019 and a consultation meeting with IP lawyers on 18 December 2019. We have good news and bad news to share with you:
Bad news first – because why not? Let’s get that out of the way!
Who owns Christmas?
By Harley Rose
How trademarks have been used to capitalize on the most wonderful time of the year
It’s a holiday shared and celebrated by billions of people worldwide, religious or otherwise, so it would be an obvious assumption that nobody truly owns Christmas, right? Not exactly. Many companies have recognised the profitability of the merry season and have taken advantage of it by registering Christmas-themed trademarks.
All Aboard! FINAL Opportunity to Request for Supplementary Examination in Singapore…
We are about two weeks away from closure of the Supplementary Examination Route of patent examination in Singapore. The Circular No. 5/2016, dated 7 December 2016, with the aim of strengthening the Singapore patent regime and increasing the quality of patents being granted announced closure of this route of patent examination.
[Read more…]
Golden Myanmar: The Land Of “Shwe”
By Thein Thein Win
Myanmar, also called the “Golden Land”, is known for its many ancient golden pagodas, sacred Buddhist monasteries and gilded monuments. Myanmar people adore yellow gold (“Shwe” in the Burmese language) with gold being a common investment and store of value. It is no surprise then that locals also use “Shwe” as a name not just for people but also as business names in the hopes that the person or business bearing the name would also be successful, special and have a propensity for wealth creation like its namesake. Seeing the popularity of “Shwe”, it would be interesting to see how “Shwe”-related trademarks in Myanmar will fare now that Myanmar has enacted its new Intellectual Property Laws – which includes the Trademark Law – in early 2019.
From Tatooine to Naboo: Intellectual Property Protection in The Star Wars Franchise
By Hoh Jerick
’Tis the season when the force awakens fans of the Star Wars franchise around the galaxy far, far away. With “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, the last in the current trilogy coming out this month, let’s take a look at the various Intellectual Properties (IP) under Lucasfilm (now acquired by Disney), a film and television production company founded by George Lucas in 1971. Known for being litigious in the protection of its IP, we may run into a few cases where companies that used terms and aspects derived from the Star Wars franchise faced the wrath of the Death Star in trademark and copyright infringement lawsuits.
Wherefore Art Thou Spider-Man?
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. The issue arose when Sony, who owns the film rights to Spider-Man, disagreed with Disney (who acquired Marvel, the owner of the IP rights to Spider-Man) when Disney wanted a bigger cut from the movies that were made. Disney had proposed for a 50-50 co-financing of any future Spider-Man films between themselves and Sony, which would benefit Disney more than the current agreed amount of around 5% of the first dollar gross on any Spider-Man films that was made. But regardless of the dispute, the conglomerate giants have currently managed to compromise on a deal where the web-slinger would continue his appearances within future MCU movies.
[MGCC Perspective] Can Slogans Be Registered as Trademarks?
[Malaysia SME] A True Trademark Conspiracy
Strategic Moves When Patenting in ASEAN
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.
“Soft Opening” For Trademark Registration in Myanmar
Myanmar’s new Trademark Law was enacted on 30 January 2019. However, the implementation of the new law has yet to take place and the corresponding regulations have yet to be released. Trademark registrations under the new law will follow the first-to-file rule and further information can be found here and here.
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