Newsletters

MyIPO and Japan Patent Office launch PPH Pilot Program

Effective 01 October 2014, the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) have commenced a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. The program will initially run for a trial period of three years, followed by…

Motherhood Pte Ltd v Lau Elaine and others [2013] SGHC 258

The Plaintiff’s monthly printed “Motherhood Magazine” relating to parenting issues had been published in Singapore since 1983. An application to register the trade mark “Motherhood” was made on 23 May 2012 and was granted on 04 July 2013 on the…

Modified Substantive Examination

The pendency of a Malaysian application normally lasts 3-4 years before it proceeds to grant where much of it is spent waiting for its examination. The pendency period is not shortened even if substantive examination is requested early. With the…

Voluntary Notification of Copyright is Here to Stay

Time has certainly flown by since this writer’s initial article on the topic in August 2012. Fast forward to June 2014, it is now the second anniversary of the voluntary notification system for copyright coming into force in Malaysia. In…

Novartis AG and Another v Ranbaxy (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

In the case of Novartis AG and Another v Ranbaxy (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. [2013] 2 SLR 117, the plaintiff was the proprietor of a Singapore patent and the defendant sought to import a pharmaceutical product which related to the plaintiff’s…

Exceptions to Loss of Novelty for Malaysian Patents

Malaysian patent law has a worldwide novelty standard, qualified by a 12-month grace period. Section 14(3) of the Malaysian Patents Act stipulates that this grace period is available to a patent applicant in respect of disclosures that are by reason…