Hong Kong: A glimpse of hearing at Hong Kong’s Trade Marks Registry

Reading Time: 5 minutesIntroduction Whilst trade mark infringement and passing-off are common areas of dispute in the courts in Hong Kong these days, contentious matters arising from or in connection with trade mark registration, such as opposition to registration, request for a declaration of invalidity in respect of a registered trade mark which did not qualify for registration […]

Hong Kong: A blow to the giant – Adidas loses trademark battle against Shoe Branding Europe BVBA

Reading Time: 5 minutesIntroduction On 19 June 2019, The European Union General Court (the “General Court”) dismissed the appeal application filed by Adidas and upheld the decision of European Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”)’s Second Board of Appeal that, among other things, Adidas’ signature mark of parallel equidistant stripes lacks the distinctiveness required for it to be qualified for […]

Why was McDonald’s “BIG MAC” trade mark revoked in Europe?

Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction In the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (“EUIPO”) decision in Supermac’s (Holdings) Ltd v McDonald’s International Property Company, Ltd dated 11 January 2019, the EUIPO revoked McDonald’s rights in respect of the trade mark “BIG MAC”. The reason for the decision was that McDonald’s had failed to provide sufficient evidence to the EUIPO to prove that […]

Cybersquatting in 2019 Series : New Challenges for Business

Reading Time: 6 minutesIn this series, we will look at the everchanging world of cybersquatting and how companies should be approaching the issue in 2019. Cybersquatting has been a problem for businesses since the nineties but, following a number of recent events, companies (and their customers) are more vulnerable than ever before. Take, for example, the introduction of […]

香港:知识产权争议能否透过仲裁解决?

Reading Time: 1 minutes随着全球知识产权交易日益增加,人们更需要高效的争议解决程序。为推动香港成为知识产权交易枢纽及国际知识产权仲裁及调解中心,律政司于2015年12月发布了《2016 年仲裁(修订)条例草案》咨询文件,旨在了解是否需要就知识产权争议的仲裁问题修订法例。目前,香港既没有具体法例条文、亦没有权威性的判例清楚说明,香港法律是否承认涉及知识产权争议的仲裁结果。香港法例第609章《仲裁条例》并无说明哪些种类的主题事宜可透过仲裁解决。

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香港:前雇员申请类似专利,雇主可如何追究?

Reading Time: 1 minutes在Acron International Technology Limited v Chan Yiu Wai & Anor HCA 1709/2010(裁决日期:2016年1月25日)一案中,原告人成功控告一名前雇员在终止受雇后,申请一项与原告人开发的技术相似的专利,这是原讼法庭首次就《专利条例》第57(1) 条作出裁决。

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原告人是一间在香港注册、从事科技行业的创新企业,第一及第二被告人为其前雇员。两名被告人于2004年10月18日递交辞职信,并于离职后8日,即2004年11月26日,在中国内地共同提出专利申请(「被告人申请」),最后于2009年1月7日获授予专利。

A Practical Guide to Registering Designs in Singapore

Reading Time: 6 minutesGreat designs provide great value. They attract customers, build loyalty and help increase market share. Given the importance of design in today’s world, understanding how to obtain proprietary rights over valuable designs can give you a serious leg up on the competition. What Are Registered Designs? Simply put, registering a design protects a product’s aesthetic […]

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions answered by an Intellectual Property Lawyer

Reading Time: 6 minutesAsia Law Network sits down with Jeremiah Chew, an intellectual property and technology lawyer based in Singapore, to get his views on the top questions frequently asked about Intellectual Property. Jeremiah specializes in intellectual property, technology and competition law. He regularly advises on IP registration, licensing and transactions involving the sale and acquisition of IP […]

Vietnam: Disputes arising from NDA – who volunteers to put “Wukong’s magical circlet” on?

Reading Time: 7 minutesIn the case of a company that has sued its employee (“Employee”) for breaching a Non-Disclosure and Non–Competition Agreement limiting the Employee from working for the company’s competitors (non–competition agreement), several controversial assessments and legal precedents have followed. As made by the Commercial Arbitration Council (CAC), these have delivered different opinions to the concerned parties, […]