Five things you need to know – IP office insights

Australia

There has been a delay in trademark examinations following a “significant increase” in the number of filings, IP Australia confirmed. It clarified that this setback will not change the date from which any rights granted will take effect as they stem from the date of filing rather than the date of examination.

European Union

The EUIPO’s new multimedia resource has been launched, with the aim of bringing “intellectual property closer to classrooms, which will help schoolchildren across the European Union to develop their creativity and innovation skills”. ‘www.ideaspowered.eu’ offers teachers, lecturers and parents a set of modern learning materials to use in daily teaching practice. The platform also provides a structured outline on how to organise an IP awareness day for children. Christian Archambeau, executive director of the EUIPO, asserted that: “Protecting your own work and respecting the work of others plays an increasingly important role in the professional and private lives of all citizens in the 21st century. This new resource represents a valuable instrument to increase the creative and innovative skills that are at the heart of European economic, cultural and social wealth.”

Ireland

With effect from 2 December 2019, the Patents Office has become the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI). The title of the controller of patents, designs and trademarks has also changed to the controller of intellectual property. The new name aims to better reflect the role of the IPOI in managing a range of IP rights, including registered trademarks and designs, patents and supplementary protection certificates, as well as certain statutory functions under the Copyright Act. The office’s domain has changed to ‘www.ipoi.gov.ie’ and its email addresses to ‘[email protected]’. The existing address ‘www.patentsoffice.ie’ and email addresses automatically redirect to the new ones. The office has warned about “an ever-increasing number” of solicitation campaigns targeting IP applicants and registrants so it is worth noting the name change in case scammers seek to capitalise on the existing identity.

Mauritius

The government of Mauritius has declared that it wishes to “gradually move towards the international exhaustion of trademarks”. It confirmed that this transition will occur through an incremental process, which “will require a change in the IP ecosystem” in the country.

South Korea

The South Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has announced that it will hold a briefing session for Korean companies and publish a manual on how to search for trademarks in China and Vietnam, as well as through global databases after it uncovered 1,140 suspected instances of trademark squatting on 279 marks across 62 countries. KIPO’s research revealed that 52.1% of this infringement occurred in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Electronics and electricity products were the most targeted (31.7%), followed by cosmetics (10.6%), foods (9.0%), franchises (8.8%) and clothing (7.2%).