Case highlight: Mesuma Sports Sdn Bhd v Majlis Sukan Negara Malaysia [2014] 1 LNS 1054
What happens when the owner of a trade mark wakes up one morning to find that their mark has been registered by their business partner without consent? This recent case from September 2014 takes a closer look at the issue. The Appellant, Mesuma Sports Sdn Bhd (“Mesuma”), is a supplier of various sporting goods, and […]
A Tale of Two Foxes – in the case of Fox Street Wear Pte Ltd v Fox Racing, Inc. [2014] SGIPOS 13
Two companies were recently caught up in a contentious saga in Singapore over their trade marks relating to the above-captioned mammal. At the end of its tale (pun intended), the opponents succeeded in putting the brakes on registration of the applicants’ mark, notwithstanding that one of the earlier marks relied upon by the opponents could […]
Revamped Geographical Indications Regime in Singapore Beckons
A new Geographical Indications (GIs) Registry and other legislative changes relating to GIs are being introduced in Singapore. Briefly, a GI is an indication that serves as an identifier in trade of the geographical origin of products (this is unlike the more commonly known concept of a trade mark (TM), which is a sign that […]
New Data Protection Law in Singapore
On 2 January 2014, Singapore embarked on the 1st phase of implementing the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The PDPA is a huge step up from the previous lack of a comprehensive regime for privacy and data protection in Singapore despite the rising prevalence of electronic commerce and social networking. The 1st phase of implementation […]
Voluntary Notification in Malaysian Copyright Law and Copyright Issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
In Malaysia, copyright is protected under the Copyright Act 1987. It was recently amended in 2012. One of the more significant aspects of these amendments is the option for authors or licensees of creative works to provide voluntary notification of copyright to the Controller of Copyright, thereby providing prima facie evidence of authorship or licensed […]
Review of Registered Designs Regime in Singapore
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) is carrying out its first major review of Singapore’s registered designs regime since the year 2000. The key objectives of this review are to accommodate new technologies and business models as well as to support the growth of designs-related industries. As part of the review, IPOS conducted a […]
IKEA v IkeaHackers: the Trade Mark Dispute That Never Was
The Malaysian IP scene was recently abuzz with a brief yet colourful trade mark feud involving one of the country’s most beloved brands. IkeaHackers.net is a fan-run website which hosts user-generated ideas on modifications and repurposing of products made by the Swedish furniture giant IKEA. The site was established in 2006 as a compilation of […]
Can Amendments to the Copyright Act 2014 finally keep the Pirates at bay?
For many years, Copyright owners have struggled with a generation of IT-savvy individuals who relentlessly upload copyrighted materials for free access by the general public. Under the previous provisions of the Copyright Act, right holders are stranded with the options of issuing “take-down” notices to Internet Service Providers (ISP) to disable or remove copyrighted materials […]