Lysaght & Co

Intellectual Property Newsroom

(Developments within the last 6 months)

Cayman Islands - New Patents and Trade Marks Law 2011

For many decades, we have been able to file patent and trade mark applications directly at the Cayman Islands Registry. However, with the introduction of a new Patents and Trade Marks Law 2011 which became effective on 7 December 2011, we regret to advise that this situation will change. One of the new provisions in the law is that proprietors of patents and trade marks will only be able to transact business with the Registry via a registered agent who must be resident in the Cayman Islands.

Originally, this provision was set to come into force with immediate effect, but after our urgent negotiations with the Registrar, we have been able to secure a transitional period which will expire on 31 March 2012, within which we can still act directly before the Registry. However, after that time, we will have to appoint a locally-resident registered agent. We are currently in the process of negotiating with, and appointing, an appropriate person through which we will conduct our business after that date, our focus being on ensuring maximum quality of service, with as minimum an increase in our charges as possible.

In the meantime, we would recommend to all clients that as much work as possible is sent to us before the end of February to be transacted by us directly before the Cayman Islands Registry, so as to keep your costs to a minimum. This includes new applications for patents and trade marks, as well as instructions for the payment of maintenance fees for both patents and trade marks, and of course any recordals of changes of title.

If you would like to receive our current Cayman Islands scales of fees, please e-mail us at admin@lysaght.co.uk

3rd February 2012

Djibouti - New Intellectual Property Legislation

As we have previously reported, a new bill for the protection of intellectual property was passed in the Republic of Djibouti on 27 January 2009. As indicated at that time, the Djibouti Office of Industrial and Commercial Property was yet to be established, and the Implementing Regulations were not yet in place, and we therefore predicted that it would be some time before the new law finally became effective.

Importantly, inter alia, the new legislation provides for the filing of patent and design applications in Djibouti.

The new law was due to come into force six months after its publication in the Official Journal, and we understand that this publication occurred on 25 May 2011. The new law has therefore, in theory, been in effect from 25 November 2011. However, we understand that the IP office has yet to become fully operational, and it appears that the official fees are only now being set. Therefore, whilst it appears that it is now possible to file patent and design applications in Djibouti, we believe that we will only be able to lodge documents in support of such applications, which will then be held in abeyance until such time as the IP Office becomes fully operational and the relevant forms and fees have been set.

The new patent law also provides that maintenance fees are due in respect of granted patents, but again, we do not believe that these will be payable in practice until the official fees have been set.

As far as the official fees are concerned, we have just learnt that, at least insofar as the trade mark fees are concerned, the IP Office plans to set these fees at unduly high levels. This is despite ongoing lobbying by us and our local associate in an attempt to persuade the authorities to set the fees at levels that are commensurate with those payable in comparable jurisdictions worldwide. We have argued that the planned prohibitive fees do not fall into line with those adopted by other jurisdictions, and will dissuade applicants from registering their IP rights in Djibouti. This debate is still ongoing, and we hope that we will reach a satisfactory conclusion as a result of our arguments.

Further information will be posted on this website as soon as we have any news. In the meantime, we would be pleased to assist you in your IP matters in Djibouti to the extent that this is now possible.

17th January 2012

OAPI - Important news concerning our Cameroon office

We are pleased to announce the transformation of our OAPI (Cameroon) office 'Cabinet Ekeme' into 'Ekeme Lysaght SARL'.

This new name reflects the ongoing partnership between Lysaght & Co. and Cabinet Ekeme that has been in existence for more than 30 years, and the change in the legal structure of the Cameroon office enables Isabelle Ekeme to practise as an OAPI agent alongside her mother Jacqueline. Isabelle passed the OAPI qualifying exams in 2007 and has recently completed her Masters Degree in Intellectual Property.

Over the years, the combined skills and experience of our directors and staff in the Cameroon and Jersey, supported by state-of-the-art technology and computerised systems in our Jersey office, has earned us a strong reputation in the field of OAPI Intellectual Property, and a sizeable proportion of overall OAPI patent, design and trade mark matters is consequently handled by our offices. This reputation, combined with the trust and respect of the OAPI officials that we have built up over the years, as well as our active involvement in the overhaul and upkeep of the OAPI laws, enables us to work proactively with OAPI for the long-term benefit of our clients.

We look forward to being of continued service to our clients (both existing and new) and would be pleased to assist you with your enquiries. Should you wish to receive our current scale of fees for OAPI trade mark, patent and design work, please let us know.

6th January 2012

Brunei Darussalam - New Patents Order, 2011

We have just learnt that a new Patents Order, 2011 (S57/2011) has come into force in Brunei Darussalam, with effect from 1 January 2012. This legislation repeals the previous patent legislation ('The Inventions Act', Chapter 72).

The main provisions of the new Patents Order are as follows:

- Patents may only be granted in respect of inventions which satisfy the criteria of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. Previously, patent applications were not examined on substantive grounds, but were merely advertised for opposition by any interested third party. Under the new legislation, provisions are made for applications to be searched and to be examined on both formal and substantive grounds. It is possible to avoid the need to pay a search fee by filing a copy of a search report which has issued in respect of a corresponding patent application filed elsewhere.

- The novelty requirement is absolute (worldwide), although disclosures within the 12 months immediately preceding the filing date which result from various acts constituting breaches of confidence by a third party are discounted.

- Methods of surgery, therapy or diagnosis are excluded from patentability.

- Patents are granted under the new Patents Order for a term of 20 years from the filing date, and annuities are due in respect of the fifth and each subsequent year from the filing date. A grace period of six months is provided for the late payment of annuities. However, it appears that annuities are not yet being accepted in practice, and will not become payable until such time as the required Patent Rules have been promulgated.

- It appears that the official fees have been increased. We are currently looking into this in order to ascertain any changes which have occurred.

- Transitional provisions are included in the new law, which specify that any existing application for the reregistration of a granted UK (including EP(UK)), Singaporean or Malaysian patent which has been filed under the previous legislation will be granted as if the previous law had not been repealed. Furthermore, where such a UK, Singaporean or Malaysian patent has been granted within the 36 months immediately preceding the date of commencement of the new Patents Order, 2011 (1 January 2012) and is still in force at that date, an application for reregistration of that patent may be filed within 24 months of the date of commencement, i.e. before 1 January 2014. Finally, where an application for a UK, Singaporean or Malaysian patent has been made before the date of commencement of the Patents Order, 2011 and is pending on that date, the applicant may apply to reregister the eventual foreign patent within 12 months of the date of issuance of that patent.

- Any patent granted in Brunei under the previous law and still in force on commencement of the new Patents Order, or any patent filed and granted under the transitional provisions, will be treated in accordance with the provisions of the new Patents Order. We therefore believe that annuity payments will be required in order to keep such a patent in force. However, we are currently awaiting clarification from the Registry as to when such renewal fees become payable, and whether any back fees will be due.

- The new legislation provides that priority may be claimed from earlier filed patent applications under the Paris Convention. The law also includes provisions which will allow for the processing of PCT applications when Brunei has acceded to the Patent Co-operation Treaty.

We will provide further details on our website when we have received clarification of the above points. In the meantime, please do no hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

6th January 2012

Dominica - Calculation of annuities for reregistration patents

We refer to our correspondence over recent months regarding the requirement to pay annuities in respect of all pending patent applications and granted patents in Dominica, following the announcement by the Registrar that she is finally accepting annuity payments under the new Patents Act.

As we have detailed previously, there has been a great deal of ambiguity and conflicting information given out by the Registrar in Dominica regarding the due dates for the payment of annuities under the Patents Act, as the law simply states that annual fees are payable in advance 'starting one year after the filing date of the application for the grant of the patent'. As we have explained previously, the law does not clarify what is deemed to be the 'filing date' of an application, especially in view of the different types of patent applications available in Dominica (i.e. local applications, PCT national phase applications and reregistration applications based on granted UK or EP(UK) patents). At first, the Registrar indicated that all annuity due dates were to be calculated from the local filing date in Dominica, for all types of patent cases. Subsequently, she decided that the effective 'filing date' of PCT national phase applications should be deemed to be the PCT filing date, such that annuity due dates on these cases are now to be calculated from the PCT filing date. To date, conversely, annuity due dates in respect of local and reregistration patents have been calculated from the local filing date in Dominica.

We have been in lengthy correspondence with the Registrar to date, to try and clarify this discrepancy between the treatment of PCT national phase applications, local applications and reregistration applications (and for the latter type of case, we have argued that the due dates should be calculated from the EP(UK) filing date rather than the local filing date). We have finally, after much resistance, received the attached letter which advises that, contrary to her previous decision, the Registrar now agrees with our contention that annuities on reregistration patent cases should be calculated from the EP(UK) filing date rather than the local filing date. This now meets with our own interpretation of the Patents Act, as the EP(UK) filing date should rightly be considered as being the 'effective' filing date of reregistration patents.

However, this new development does mean that the annuity fees which have been paid on reregistration patents to date under the previous calculation method (i.e. on each anniversary of the local filing date) are now incorrect, and that additional fees are therefore payable in order to regularize these cases. We believe that, as with the regularization of PCT cases that became necessary previously, any additional fees that are now payable in respect of reregistration cases may be paid without penalty. Furthermore, we are not aware of any deadline for the regularization of reregistration cases at this time.

We are currently determining which of our clients' Dominican cases require additional annuity fees to be paid.

We trust you will appreciate that these changes in the policy decisions of the Dominican Registry are entirely beyond our control. Should you have any questions in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

18th November 2011

Libya - Patent Office resumes operations

We have just learnt that the Libyan Patent Office has resumed its operations after a nine-month period of closure. All deadlines which fell due during this period of closure were extended until the Patent Office became operational again, and as this has now occurred, national phase applications with filing deadlines falling due during the closure period may still be filed.

Libya has a requirement of only local, and not absolute, novelty, and so the disclosure of an invention after the expiry of the Convention deadline will not necessarily constitute a bar to the valid filing of a patent application there.

Under the current patent legislation, patent annuities are due on each anniversary of the filing date, but are payable only after the grant of a patent.

The Libyan Trade Mark Office is also expected to resume its activities shortly, and we will post an update to this effect at the relevant time.

16th November 2011

Libya - Change of country name

The official country name of the former Libyan Arab Republic (also known as the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) has been changed to 'Libya'. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for Libya remains as 'LY'.

11th November 2011

Singapore - New official fees

We have just learnt that the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ('IPOS') has adjusted the official fees relating to patents, trade marks and designs. The new fees will take effect from 1 December 2011. The adjustments all result in increases in the fees payable for the filing, prosecution and renewal of IP rights in Singapore, although not all relevant fees have been changed.

For specific details of the new fees payable in Singapore, please do not hesitate to contact us.

26th October 2011

Angola - New calculation method for patent annuities and term

As previously advised, a recent change in policy by the Angolan Patent Office has resulted in the due dates for the payment of annuities now being calculated from the international filing date, rather than from the date of filing the application in Angola, for PCT-derived cases. No back annuities will be payable on existing cases, but moving forward, annuities are now payable on the first and each subsequent anniversary of the international filing date, starting with the next such anniversary on existing cases.

In addition, the term of such patents will now be 15 years from the international filing date, rather than from the local filing date.

25th October 2011

Turks and Caicos - Annual maintenance fees due on trade marks

The Turks & Caicos Islands introduced a new Trade Marks Ordinance in October 2007 which made provision for the payment of an annual maintenance fee for all trade marks. We have recently been advised that a new schedule of official fees came into force on 29 July 2011, which provides that annual maintenance fees are payable in January every year, starting from 1 January 2012.

The main points of the new requirements are as follows:-

- Annual maintenance fees are due in respect of all trade marks with effect from 1 January 2012;

- The due date for the payment of the fee is 1 January each year. The Registrar has advised that, at the moment, no late fines will be applied if fees are paid after 1 January.

- It is possible to pay all of the annual maintenance fees due on a registration up to and including the next renewal date in one lump sum. However, if the owner does opt to pay all maintenance fees upfront and then subsequently decides to abandon the mark, no refund of the fees already paid will be available.

- The annual fees need to be paid in full before a renewal application can be filed.

- Default in payment of the annual fees for more than one month causes the trade mark rights to be suspended until the fee is paid.

- No 'back fees' for the years 2007 through to 2011 need to be paid.

If you have any questions in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Clients with existing Turks & Caicos trade marks on our records will receive case-specific reminders shortly.

3rd October 2011

Puerto Rico - Amendment to Trade Mark Law

The trade mark law of Puerto Rico has been amended. Although the new regulations entered into force with effect from 12 July 2011, the Governor of Puerto Rico has only recently announced the amendment. The following are the most important changes:

- Within three years of the filing of an application based on 'intent to use', the applicant must file a Declaration of Actual Use, together with evidence of such use. One extension of time of up to twelve months may be available upon request. However, the request must be filed prior to the expiration of the three year term and must show that justifiable reasons for non-use exist at the time the request is made.

- Failure to bring the mark into use in Puerto Rico within the above-mentioned time frame will lead to the abandonment of the application/registration.

- Declarations of Use, together with one specimen showing use of the mark in Puerto Rico, must be filed in respect of all trade marks between the fifth and the sixth anniversaries of the application date. One extension of six months is available.

- A six month grace period for late payment of renewal fees has been introduced, subject to the payment of additional fees.

The foregoing changes are applicable to all applications filed on or after 12 July 2011, including those filed on the basis of an existing US registration. Any 'intent to use' applications filed prior to 12 July 2011 need not show use in commerce until the fifth/sixth anniversary dates.

If you have any questions in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

3rd October 2011

Angola - New calculation method for patent annuities

We have recently learnt that, following a change in policy by the Angolan Patent Office, the due dates for the payment of patent annuities are now calculated from the international filing date, rather than from the date of filing the application in Angola. However we have yet to receive formal notification from the Patent Office as to whether any back annuities will be payable on existing cases. We are awaiting the Patent Office's decision in this regard, and we will update this website and notify our clients on their individual Angolan patent cases shortly.

3rd October 2011

Montenegro - Revalidation of Serbian IP registrations

As previously reported, the Montenegrin Intellectual Property (IP) Office was inaugurated on 28 May 2008. Please refer to our previous articles on this website for further details. The below discussion relates to recent developments in the laws of Montenegro.

Trade Marks
The new trade mark law entered into force on 16 December 2010.

Prior to the new law entering into force, national registrations in Serbia registered prior to 28 May 2008 remained valid in Montenegro until the next renewal date. However, the new law requires owners of Serbian trade marks registered prior to 28 May 2008 to be revalidated in Montenegro in order to remain in force.

The deadline for revalidating Serbian registrations in Montenegro is 16 December 2011. In order to do so, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of validity from the Serbian IPO, to be filed in Montenegro. Once registered, Serbian trade marks which have been revalidated in Montenegro will retain the same registration and renewal dates as the registrations in Serbia.

If you would like us to attend to the revalidation of any Serbian registrations in Montenegro, we would stress that we require your instructions by 16 November 2011 at the very latest.

Patents
Regarding patents, all national Serbian patents registered prior to 28 May 2008 automatically became valid in Montenegro, without any need for revalidation, and these patents preserved the same registration number. In order to keep them in force in Montenegro, it was simply necessary to submit the original Serbian Validity Certificate and to pay annuities directly before the the IPO of Montenegro.

Designs
Regarding designs, a new Law on the Protection of Industrial Designs entered into force on 8 January 2011 in Montenegro. According to the provisions of the new Law, all national designs registered before the IPO of Serbia prior to 28 May 2008 must be revalidated in Montenegro prior to 8 January 2012, unless some legal action (such as payment of annuities, recordal of any change, claim for issuance of Montenegrin Validity Certificate, etc.) was taken directly before the IPO of Montenegro in the period between 28 May 2008 (the date of opening of the IPO of Montenegro) and 8 January 2011.

In order to file claims for entry into the Design Register for those Serbian designs that are eligible to be revalidated in Montenegro, it is necessary to submit the Serbian Validity Certificate and a Power of Attorney, simply signed in the name of the owner of the design (there is no need for legalization/notarization). Once these designs are revalidated, the IPO of Montenegro will publish them in the Intellectual Property Gazette of Montenegro. Also, respective Decisions on entry will be issued, along with Montenegrin registration numbers (the application number will remain the same as that accorded in Serbia).

Furthermore, according to the provisions of the new Law on the Protection of Industrial Designs, renewal fees should be paid once for a 5 year period, and not annually as was prescribed by the former Law. Renewal due dates are calculated from the application date (which will remain the same as that in Serbia, for revalidated Serbian designs). Namely, on grant of a design registration, the proprietor must pay protection fees for the first 5 years. Once the first five-year term has expired, it is possible to renew the registration for further periods of five years, up to a maximum term of 25 years from the application date. The renewal fees can be paid during the last six months of the previous five-year protection period, or up to six months after the expiration date with a fine of 100% of the renewal fees.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

29th September 2011

Kosovo - New Industrial Property Laws

Further to our earlier article in which we announced that the Kosovo Assembly has recently approved three new laws in the field of industrial property, we now write to provide further details of these laws.

The Law on Trade Marks No. 04/L-026
This new law was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-017-2011 on 9 August 2011. It was published on 29 August 2011 in the Official Gazette and entered into force on 13 September 2011, although the Implementing Regulations have not yet been drafted.

The new trade mark law does not introduce any significant changes to the current system in Kosovo, but was mainly intended to correct certain discrepancies in the previous law. However, points of particular relevance in the new law compared with the provisions of the previous law are outlined below:

- The new law specifically provides that all signs distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those on other can be the object of trade mark protection. The law specifically mentions some non-traditional trade marks, such are colours, shapes of goods and wrappings.
- Oppositions can be filed against trade marks, based on the grounds of: an earlier registered or filed trade mark (identical or similar, and covering identical or similar goods/services); a non-registered well-known trade mark (in compliance with Article 6bis of the Paris Convention); or a trade mark with a reputation and which is registered for dissimilar goods/services.
- Trade marks must be renewed within a period of 6 months preceding the date of renewal. It is also possible to pay renewal fees within a 6 month grace period after the expiry date, along with a late fine amounting to 100% of the renewal fee.
- A revocation action based on non-use can be filed against any trade mark which has not been used for a continuous period of 5 years or more.
- An invalidity action may be based on various grounds, including absolute grounds for refusal, earlier registered rights (as for filing an opposition), and if the application for the registration was filed in bad faith.
- The law also recognizes collective and certification trade marks.

The Law on Patents No. 04/L-029
This law was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-016-2011 on 9 August 2011.

Provisions of particular significance in the new law are highlighted below:

- The new law provides that the inventions which are novel, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable can be protected by a patent. The law further defines what cannot be considered as a patentable invention, and these provisions fully correspond with the wording of the EPC.
- The Patent Office of Kosovo will perform a formal examination of patent applications, and if the formal conditions set by law are fulfilled and the application at first sight satisfies the conditions of novelty, industrial applicability, inventiveness and unity, the Office will grant a patent and such a notice of this granted right will be published in the Official Gazette.
- The law provides that a patentee must submit, before the expiration of the 9th year of protection of a patent, proof that a patent for the same invention has been granted by the EPO or another institution authorized to examine patent applications. If such proof is timely submitted, the Patent Office of Kosovo will grant a patent with the same scope of protection as the corresponding granted patent, for a period of 20 years from the filing date. Conversely if proof of grant of a corresponding patent is not timely submitted, the patent will expire after the expiration of the 10th year of validity from the filing date.
- Annual fees are payable in respect of the 3rd and each subsequent year of protection, and fall due on the 2nd and each subsequent anniversary of the filing date.
- Reinstatement of patent rights or continuation of the proceedings may be requested under certain circumstances, but not when the following deadlines are missed: filing a claim for reinstatement or continuation; filing of the patent application; payment of annual fees; extension of term; or in proceedings with two or more parties involved.
- Invalidity of a patent can be claimed at any time during the duration of a patent, on the following grounds: the patent lacks clarity; the invention is not patentable; the invention is not novel, industrially applicable or inventive; or there is no unity of the invention.
- Supplementary Protection Certificates are provided for under the new law, but these provisions are not yet in force.
- Decisions of the Patent Office of Kosovo can be appealed within 15 days from the receipt of the decision, before the Appeal Commission.

The Law on Industrial Designs No. 04/L-028
This law was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-013-2011 on 9 August 2011.

Significant provisions in the new law are as follows:

- According to new law, registration may be achieved in respect of industrial designs which are new and have an individual character. The law allows the filing of multiple design applications, provided that the designs all belong to the same class of the International Classification.
- An application for protection of industrial design must contain: a request for registration of the industrial design; identification of the applicant; representation(s) of the design that are suitable for reproduction; information regarding the designer or his declaration stating that he does not wish to be mentioned in the application; identification of the product that is the subject of the design; a description of the design; (if relevant) a request for deferment of publication of the registration; and a Power of Attorney if the application is being filed by a legal representative.
- Formal examination of design applications is carried out by the Patent Office and, if the formal requirements are satisfied, an Industrial Design will be registered and the granted right will be published, provided that no claim for postponement of the publication is filed.
- The scope of protection conferred by an industrial design includes any design which does not produce a different overall impression on the informed user.
- Industrial designs are valid for an initial term of 5 years from the filing date, which term may be extended for up to four periods of 5 years each, i.e. for a maximum term of 25 years.
- An industrial design may be cancelled on certain grounds, including that the design is not novel and does not have the individual character; the subject matter of registered design cannot be protected by an industrial design right; or the applicant or holder of the registered design is not its holder.
- Decisions of the Patent Office of Kosovo may be appealed within 15 days from the receipt of the decision, before the Appeal Commission.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any information or assistance in respect of the above matters.

23rd September 2011

South Sudan - New jurisdiction

The Republic of South Sudan was established on 9 July 2011, following a referendum approving independence from Sudan. Existing Sudanese trade mark registrations ceased to have effect in the new jurisdiction on that date.

Notwithstanding that no formal IP laws have been established, there is a Trade Marks Registry which is a part of the Companies and Business Names Registry. Applications are being accepted, but they have not been processed due to a lack of regulations and procedures; central issues such as official fees and documents required have yet to be determined. The provisions of the Transitional Constitution mean that the Sudanese Trade Marks Act 1969 is being followed until such time as new IP laws are established, but we take the view that until proper procedures and regulations regarding fees are in force, we are unable to file applications.

Furthermore, we understand that the authorities in South Sudan are unable to process patent and design applications, and the status of Sudanese patents and designs is uncertain. However, as Sudanese trade marks are no longer in force in South Sudan, it seems unlikely that Sudanese patents and designs will be held to be valid either.

Further information will be posted on this website as and when it is received.

23rd September 2011

Caribbean Netherlands - Deadline to file Reconfirmations

As you may be aware, the jurisdiction of the Netherlands Antilles split into three separate jurisdictions on 10 October 2010. Existing Netherlands Antilles trade mark registrations remain in force automatically in Curacao and St Maarten until the next renewal date.

However, the smaller islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES Islands) are now part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and have been renamed the 'Caribbean Netherlands'. A Caribbean Netherlands Trade Mark Office has been set up, and is administered by the Benelux Trade Mark Office.

Existing Netherlands Antilles registrations need to be reconfirmed at the Caribbean Netherlands Trade Mark Office by 10 October 2011. This deadline is final, and no extensions of time are permitted.

If you would like us to attend to the reconfirmation of any Netherlands Antilles registrations, we would stress that we require your instructions by 3 October 2011 at the very latest.

14th September 2011

Burundi - New Intellectual Property Law effective 28 July 2009

As previously announced, a new Burundi Intellectual Property law was enacted on 28 July 2009 which has provided much needed modernisation of the law. In the absence of implementing regulations, however, the Registry has continued to treat applications in accordance with the provisions of the old law and regulations.

The regulations have still not been issued, but in the intervening period we have been seeking confirmation that all rights registered since 28 July 2009 are in fact subject to the provisions of the new law and the Registry has finally conceded this point.

Unfortunately, however, the new law requires foreign proprietors to use the services of a local agent and we are no longer able to file applications directly with the Registry, resulting in an increase in our costs. We confirm that we have found a suitable local representative with whom we have negotiated competitive fees and we will be pleased to continue to file applications on our clients' behalf in Burundi.

We are awaiting the issue of regulations to establish the filing requirements and official fees under the new law, including with regard to the payment of renewal and annuity fees, which were not payable under the old law. In the interim, the existing fees and formalities will continue to be applied.

We will keep you informed of further developments and we will be pleased to answer any enquiries.

31st August 2011

Kosovo - New Laws on Industrial Property

The Kosovo Assembly has recently approved three new laws in the field of industrial property:

- The Law on Trademarks No. 04/L-026 was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-017-2011 on 9 August 2011

- The Law on Patents No. 04/L-029 was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-016-2011 on 9 August 2011

- The Law on Industrial Designs No. 04/L-028 was approved by the Kosovo Parliament on 29 July 2011 and promulgated by the President's Decree DL-013-2011 on 9 August 2011

We understand that these laws will enter into force 15 days after they are published in the Official Gazette, which we believe will occur shortly, and it is therefore likely that the laws will enter into force early in September 2011.

Further news in this regard will be reported as soon as it becomes available.

17th August 2011

Rwanda - Accession to ARIPO

The Republic of Rwanda has become the latest African country to join the regional designation of ARIPO, by depositing its Instrument of Accession to ARIPO on 24 June 2011. The Harare Protocol on patents, industrial designs and utility models will enter into force with respect to the Republic of Rwanda on 24 September 2011, and it will therefore be possible to designate Rwanda in ARIPO applications filed on or after that date.

10th August 2011