“Ponni” is Not Free For Use, Malaysian Court Decides

The Applicants, consisting of six correlated parties from India, had sued the registered owner of the mark “Ponni”, for obtaining the exclusive rights to the word “Ponni” by erroneous means. The six Applicants included the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of India (APEDA), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Indian rice farmers and two […]

Speedy Patent Examination System for Green Technologies

Looking at the current global trend to go “green” or develop a more “eco-friendly” lifestyle, it has become quite clear that the world now recognizes the need to resolve or mitigate environmental impact and to conserve our natural environment and resources. South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have recently enacted […]

“Maestro Swiss” Allowed For Malaysian-Made Chocolates

Maestro Swiss Chocolate Sdn Bhd (the defendant) manufactures and sells various types of chocolates under the brand names ‘Vochelle’ and ‘Maestro SWISS’ in Malaysia. Chocosuisse Union des Fabricants Suisses de Chocolat (the 1st plaintiff) is a cooperative society formed in Switzerland, whose responsibility is to protect the worldwide reputation and goodwill of its members – […]

Innovation Focus: Changes in Vietnam’s IP Landscape

With the increase in registered capital requirements, tax rise and the tightening of labor and environmental laws in China, many factories are now making the move to Vietnam. The growth of manufacturing companies in Vietnam, in turn, results in a higher need for intellectual property (IP) protection there.The Vietnamese Government is aware of this change […]

Vietnam IP Updates

The Vietnam National Assembly has amended its Intellectual Property (IP) Law, with the amendments coming into force on 1 January 2010. The amendment is part of Vietnam’s attempt to resolve the discrepancies between their current law and international IP law, and is also aimed to resolve some of the inconsistencies found within their current law. […]