Legal perspectives: Asia-Pacific

Australia
Managing intellectual assets in the changing IP landscape

Most companies operate in a competitive and changing environment. Those at the helm need to reassess continually the company’s commercial strategy and understand the changing IP landscape and the company’s freedom to operate, while at the same time seeking to strengthen the company’s position through effective management of its intellectual assets. A number of Australian decisions issued this year have changed the IP landscape and have implications for the management of a company’s intellectual assets, including its patenting strategy. View PDF

China & Hong Kong
IP law continues to evolve in China and Hong Kong

This chapter looks at the major IP developments in China and Hong Kong over the past year. View PDF

India
Legal issues in advertising: major implications for IP rights

Heraclitus said that “a hidden connection is stronger than an obvious one”. In the world of advertising many hidden connections exist, which can be considered from two key angles:
• the legality of an advertisement or its claims – an issue that affects the advertiser and the agency, as well as consumers and society in general; and
• the benefits of advertising from the perspective of enhanced brand value – this can be measured not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of the licensing opportunities to which it may lead. View PDF

Malaysia
Recent developments in intellectual property

Over the past year the courts have considered a myriad of IP issues, contributing to the advancement of IP law and practice in Malaysia. This chapter highlights several interesting cases, two of which involved international marks. View PDF

Taiwan
Draft act looks set to rewrite the patent landscape

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has proposed a wide range of amendments to the Patent Act, even though the current act has been in force only since July 1 2004. In February and March 2009, TIPO held a series of public hearings with practitioners and various interested groups, and eventually published a new draft Patent Act on August 3 2009. The draft act would change all but eight of the current act’s 138 articles. TIPO argues that the proposed amendments will improve Taiwan’s patent practice and facilitate future industrial developments. View PDF

Thailand
New laws bring expanded rights and additional obligations

Thailand’s IP laws have come under increased scrutiny as the country pushes to overcome its long-held reputation as a haven for counterfeiting and piracy. Efforts to transform this perception – and the underlying reality – have taken two forms. First, increased enforcement, led by government officials and committed IP owners, is having a meaningful impact on the market. Second, there is a noteworthy trend among both policymakers and the judiciary to modernise existing laws and practices. New statutes are being implemented and existing legislation is being amended to help Thailand cope with the current challenges and integrate more fully into the broader framework of international IP law. Taken together, these legal and practical changes offer appealing options and expanded rights to IP owners, while also imposing certain new obligations of which boardroom-level executives must be aware. This chapter highlights some of the key changes that are underway. View PDF

Vietnam
Improved IP rights enforcement: benefits for IP rights owners and business

The Vietnamese legislation on the protection of IP rights is mainly contained in the Intellectual Property Law (November 29 2005). This law, along with other related laws such as the Civil Code 2005, the Penal Code 1999, the Competition Law 2004, the Customs Law 2001 and the Information Technology Law 2006, forms a clear legal framework for the protection and enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam. It is a framework that is seen by IP rights owners, IP practitioners and observers as compatible with international rules in the IP area. View PDF