The European Patent Office (EPO) released the new Espacenet on November 19, 2019, a substantially revised and improved version of the Office’s patent information search tool. New Espacenet’s state-of-the-art features and enhanced functionality will make it even easier for users to conduct patent searches and access over 110 million patent documents from all over the world free-of-charge. “Patent information is an incredible resource for everyone involved in IP and with the launch of new Espacenet, we’re delivering on our commitment to making that resource more accessible,” says EPO President António Campinos. “New Espacenet means inventors can better assess the state of the art, enterprises can make more informed strategic IP decisions, and policy makers can gain a better understanding of the patent landscape. Because ultimately, access

At the thirteenth meeting of China-European Commissions held by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the European Patent Office (EPO), the two parties reached a consensus on designating EPO as international searching authority for the international applications filed with CNIPA under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two offices under the PCT framework. The cooperation is expected to be implemented in 2020, and the international application filed in English will be piloted for two years. At present, the applicant’s PCT case filed with CNIPA as the receiving office, whether it is filed in Chinese or English, the international search can only be performed by CNIPA. This cooperation provides another option for applicants from China who intend to strengthen their

The “Regulations on Regulating Trademark Application and Registration Acts” issued by the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration of China was launched on December 1, 2019. Malicious registration of trademarks and hoarding of trademarks will be severely punished. The new regulations for “non-use for malicious application for trademark registration”, or other applications that violate the principle of good faith, in addition to being rejected or not registered, the applicant will be given a warning according to the circumstances, or be illegal a fine of three times the income up to a maximum of RMB 30,000; if there is no illegal income, a fine of less than RMB 10,000 may be imposed. In addition to expanding the punishment for malicious registration of trademarks, the regulation

It was reported on November 26, 2019 that the EU joined the “The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications” (hereinafter referred to as the “Lisbon Agreement Geneva Act”). The pivotal fifth member, a milestone that made the bill come into effect. This international registration system provides international protection for the names that identify the geographic origin of products such as coffee, tea, fruits, wine, pottery, glass and cloth. With the accession of the European Union, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement will enter into force for all its contracting parties on February 26, 2020. Mr. Gurry, Chairman of the European Union, said: “The accession of the European Union has brought into force the Geneva Act of the

With the entry into force of the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) on November 21, 2019, the following provisions of Singapore’s Geographical Indications (GI) Act 2014 came into effect on the same day: Article 4 (6)-(9) (Stakeholders may bring a lawsuit against certain persons who use geographic indications in violation of regulations). Article 15-16 (Registration Exceptions). Article 75-76 (Preliminary Evidence and Proof of Legality of Registration). For more information, please refer to EUSFTA. Geographical indication is an IP mark used on a product to recognize the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product, which is mainly attributed to the geographical source. After the above regulations come into effect, manufacturers and traders of geographically labeled products will enjoy a higher level of protection.

IP Australia has recently launched a secure and scalable platform providing the capability for global access to cutting edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools and services. The new platform IP Global AI Network known as IP GAIN, is like an app store for digital capabilities including AI/ML offerings to be made available. The platform will significantly reduce duplicated effort through increased collaboration and co-developed services. This will support improved capability of domestic and international partners, and enhanced quality through common and consistent use of global AI practices. IP Australia outlined an AI program as part of their Strategic Roadmap to 2030, including a focus on improved international collaboration and co-development. Since then, IP Australia has finalized an end-to-end review of patent search and

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has recently updated its patent practices with regards to expedited examination requests under the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) pilot program. These changes primarily affect how GPPH requests are assessed at IPONZ. When assessing whether a patent application’s claims “sufficiently correspond” to the claims accepted by a participating overseas office, IPONZ will consider Swiss-style claims to correspond to other formats of second medical use claims allowed overseas. In some circumstances, a submitted GPPH expedited examination request may not meet mandatory filing requirements. In these cases, IPONZ may opt to seek clarification or request further documents, instead of declining the request outright. The requestor will then be provided with a response within the prescribed term. IPONZ may still

Hong Kong’s new patent system will hit the road on December 19, 2019. Two important changes brought about by this new system: the introduction of “original patent system” and “optimization of the current short-term patent system”, and the implementation of a regulatory measure. Under the new patent system, patent applicants can choose to file a standard patent application through the “original patent system” or the current “re-registration” system. According to the current “re-registration” system, before a patent applicant applies for a standard patent in Hong Kong, the applicant has to file a prior application for the same invention with one of the designated patent offices outside Hong Kong, such as the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the European Patent Office (designated British patents) or the

On 27 September 2019, Malaysia became the 106th member of the Madrid Protocol System upon depositing the instrument of accession of the Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Protocol will enter into force in Malaysia on 27 December 2019. The accession will enable Malaysian businesses to protect their trademarks internationally in 122 countries around the world. This most awaited accession to the Protocol reflects the Malaysia’s Government initiative to become one of the ASEAN countries to accede to the Protocol to ease traders in doing business in this region. This also makes Malaysia accessible to the global market. By acceding to the Protocol which provides an efficient and cost-effective registration mechanism, it