Reading Time: 3 minutesOn 1 April 2019, Singapore’s Geographical Indications Rules 2019 will come into operation. The Rules, implementing the Geographical Indications Act 2014, create a new Registry of Geographical Indications administered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to enable producers of wines and spirits and of selected categories of agricultural products and foodstuffs, as well […]
Intellectual Property Commentary: The Lost Beat
Reading Time: 3 minutesBeats Electronics, LLC lost its opposition in Singapore against the registration of LG’s mark for “QuadBeat” applied for in Class 9 for various goods, including “Audio Receivers; Headphones; Earphones; Headphones with microphone function; Headsets”. In the opposition, Beats Electronics, LLC relied on nine of its registered trademarks, including the word “BEATS” for a range of […]
Lost in Translation: A Balancing Act in Southeast Asia
Reading Time: 8 minutesBrand owners with trademarks in English or another home country language who have strong business interests in Southeast Asia often wonder whether they should also protect their brands in local languages within targeted markets. One key factor in considering whether to file trademarks in multiple languages is typically cost. That said, sometimes it is better […]
The cost of litigation: Is it worth it?
Reading Time: 4 minutesWith globalization, more and more small to medium sized companies (“SMEs”) in developing companies have proven to be worthy opponents to the larger, more established MNCs (“multi-national corporations”). How so? With the spirit of entrepreneurship, these SMEs are now producing similar goods and services at much lower costs than those offered by the MNCs. From […]
Commentary: Trade Marks in Singapore [Samsonite IP Holdings Sarl v An Sheng Trading Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 18 ]
Reading Time: 5 minutesMost trade mark owners get frustrated when, legally, it is not possible to stop a parallel importer from importing and selling genuine goods in Singapore. Parallel importers are protected by the defence of exhaustion of rights under section 29(1) of the Trade Marks Act (“TMA”). Earlier this year, a case dealing with this very issue […]