Examination of design applications in Kuwait

The Kuwait Designs Office has reinstated examination of design applications. Design applications are now examined as to form, local novelty and industrial applicability. However, currently the Designs Office is only examining design applications filed since 1993, examination in respect of recently filed applications is still on hold. 

Reptile Wars

The High Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division) has ruled in favour of Lacoste in a case involving alleged counterfeit goods and the use of a “REPTILE” device which was contended to infringe its well-known registered CROCODILE device.  Judgment was handed down on 30 September 2008 in Lacoste S.A. (formerly La Chemise Lacoste) vs Long Chang Trading CC, TPD case number 29835/05.

Rwanda: Intellectual Property Rights Bill passed

Senate has approved the bill on protection of Intellectual Property Rights and effective enforcement mechanisms.

The bill on intellectual property covers patent rights on trademarks and copyrights, and gives creators exclusive rights to their creations thereby providing an incentive for the author or inventor to develop and share the information rather than keep it secret.

The legal protections granted by Intellectual Property bill are credited with significant contributions toward national economic growth.

The bill approved by the Senate also protects inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs.

Adams & Adams receives international publication award

Adams and Adams was voted the Best Intellectual Property Practice in Africa for 2008 by the international publication New Economy. 

New Economy Editor Jan Spiegel says award-giving bodies usually identify the world’s leading legal firms by criteria such as depth of practice, size of firm, international links and reputation.

“This, however, can skew the awards in favour of larger firms with global networks, leaving the excellent acquisition work of smaller, nationally based firms such as Adams and Adams unrecognised.

Triway Pilot Program

In order to eliminate the duplication of work done by three patent offices, the Triway Pilot Program, a search-sharing project between the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO), was launched in July 2008.

The purpose of this program is for the Offices of Second Filing and the Offices of Third Filing to utilize the search results of the Office of First Filing.