Malaysia Among Countries Worldwide Posting Double-digit Growth In IP Filings

Malaysia is one of the four Asean member states to register double-digit growth in intellectual property (IP) filings.

The others are Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Colombia, Russia and Ukraine also posted double-digit IP filings.

Intellectual property filings rose significantly worldwide in 2010, underscoring global innovation initiatives driven mainly by the United States and China despite the global economic crisis, according to the latest report released by the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

The report provides an indication of strong growth in intellectual property filings worldwide in 2010 despite the global economic crisis plaguing advanced nations and developing countries.

The report highlights the strong rebound in IP filings after the 2009 slump.

Patent application filings were 7.2 per cent higher in 2010 over the previous year. This was the highest growth rate in five years compared to a 3.6 per cent decline in the previous year.

WIPO director-general Francis Gurry said the increase in IP filings showed companies across the globe have continued to innovate despite the difficult economic conditions.

“This can help create new jobs and generate prosperity once macro-economic stability is restored,” he said in the report’s foreword.

Gurry also cautioned that “if economic conditions were to deteriorate sharply in the short term as happened in 2009, companies might be forced to abandon their investments in innovation, stifling an essential source of growth.”

Total number of patent applications worldwide rose by 7.2 per cent, reaching 1.98 million, while trademark filings increased by 11.8 per cent, touching 3.66 million, both all-time high figures according to WIPO.

Computer technology, electrical machinery, audio-visual technology and medical technology accounted for the largest share of patent filings worldwide.

source from : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=638263

 

Chinese Trademark Office Refuses Registration for “FRACOGNAC” Mark

The Chinese Trademark Office refusal to register Shenzhen Ying Jun Wine Company’s mark “FRACOGNAC” because it is a geographic indicator continues a tradition of stringent registration standards in geographical indicators despite China’s sometimes lax enforcement in other areas.

China, a country where a good’s location of origin can be as important to consumers as the company producing the goods, will refuse to register a trademark that incorporates a geographical  indication if that indication is false or misleading. The Chinese wine and spirit company Shenzhen Ying Jun attempted to register the mark “FRACOGNAC,” a mark which the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) and the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) opposed.

This is the second time Shenzhen Ying Jun has had a mark for “FRACOGNAC” within Class 33 of the Nice Convention  (Alcoholic Drinks except beer) denied. In both applications the BNIC and INAO argued, and the Chinese Trademark Office (CTO) agreed that the use of FRA, a common indicator for the French Republic, combined with the geographic indicator Cognac would mislead the public, even if the product were clearly marked with a different origin in Chinese.

Cognac is closely protected by BNIC and INAO as a geographic indicator as well as a standard of quality, a common trait among geographic indicators. Cognac is a brandy named for the wine growing region surrounding the town of Cognac in southwestern France. In addition to being produced from grapes grown in the region it must meet specific distilling requirements to receive the “cognac” mark. China has a large market for the drink, which has encouraged domestic production of brandy in the cognac style.

China established domestic trademark protection in 1979 and has since become a member of the Paris Union and a signatory of the TRIPS Agreement. Chinese trademark law prohibits the registration of a mark that suggests a geographic origin when the goods being represented by that mark do not originate from that geographic region.

source & read more from : http://www.ipbrief.net/2011/11/16/chinese-trademark-office-refuses-registration-for-%E2%80%9Cfracognac%E2%80%9D-mark/