Patents and trade secrets seem like opposite sides of a scale. Trade secrets derive their legal protection from their inherently secretive nature whereas patents can only be protected through disclosure of the invention – the specification in a patent application…
What are parallel imports? The court in Tien Ying Hong Enterprise Sdn Bhd v Beenion Sdn Bhd [2010] 8 MLJ 550 stated that parallel imports refer to goods, which are lawfully manufactured overseas but imported and distributed in Malaysia by a person…
In the case of Ceramiche Caesar Spa v Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd [2017] SGCA 30, the Singapore Court of Appeal had to consider, inter alia, whether Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd.’s (“Caesarstone”) trademark “CAESARSTONE” in Class 19 was similar to Ceramiche Caesar SpA’s…
One of the requirements for a trademark to be registered in Malaysia is that the mark or device has to be used in the course of trade. This raises the issue as to what would constitute ‘in the course of…
While the courts of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur remain the centre of gravity for IP disputes, it is encouraging to note growth in the number and scope of cases being decided in other states across the country. A recently…
Not many legal disputes capture the imagination of Malaysians like a good and scintillating food feud. We are referring to none other than the CHATIME bubble tea tug-of-war that has played out in the media extensively in the last six…
The Malaysian Intellectual Property Association (MIPA) has long played a role in the development and advancement of intellectual property in Malaysia. Through its constant consultation with the Malaysian Intellectual Property Office (MyIPO), many a rough edge encountered in patent, trademark,…
PATENTThe option to request supplementary examination as an alternative to substantive examination was introduced into Singapore patents prosecution system on 14 January 2014. It is a cost effective way to obtain grant of a patent application by relying on the…
Copyright law in Malaysia is governed by the Copyright Act 1987. Under the Act and pursuant to the Berne Convention, copyright exists automatically upon the creation of a work without the need for any formal registration. In the absence of…
The Federal Court’s decision in SKB Shutters Manufacturing Sdn Bhd v Seng Kong Shutter Industries Sdn Bhd & Anor (“SKB Shutters”) has been widely reported and commented on. Briefly, the Federal Court decided that if an independent claim of a patent was…