Five things you need to know – IP office insights

Australia

IP Australia has announced that its trademark data – made up of 1.6 million trademarks – has been added to the EUIPO’s TMview search platform. With IP Australia added, TMview now comprises more than 59 million trademarks from around the world.

EUIPO

The EUIPO has announced a new electronic version of its Guidelines for Examination of EU trademarks and registered Community designs. Various new features have been implemented following feedback from users. Improvements include an advanced search function and the ability to download PDFs of parts or sections of the guidelines. The office has also announced the launch of new versions of its TMview and DesignView platforms.

Singapore

The IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) has announced the postponement of its IP Week @ SG 2020 Conference for approximately 12 months. The move follows the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, with the registry confirming that holding the event was not appropriate at this time. IPOS further confirmed that it will celebrate IP Week “electronically”.

Uzbekistan

The Uzbekistan IP Office has reported a significant increase in fraud attempting to take advantage of a rise in unemployment due to the covid-19 pandemic. The most common form of fraud has been promotions sent on messenger apps (eg, Telegram and WhatsApp) that promote donations, online purchases of goods and services, crowdfunding and offerings to earn money. The main purpose of these fraud messages – the registry adds – is to send malware to communication devices.

WIPO

Daren Tang has been officially appointed as the next director general of WIPO. Currently chief executive of the IP Office of Singapore, he succeeds incumbent WIPO director general Francis Gurry. With his appointment by WIPO’s full general assembly, Tang is now set to fully take over the role in October, when Gurry will step down. In his acceptance speech, Tang outlined the global challenges faced today, including the “deeper forces of unilateralism and parochialism that threaten to undermine the very basic tenets of our institution”.