A new law, The Industrial Property Act 2019, has been recently passed by the Mauritius Parliament. The new Act received approval on 9th August 2019 from the Interim President of the Republic of Mauritius and was published in the Mauritius Government Gazette on 10th August 2019. It will come into effect from the date of its proclamation (as decided by the Parliament), although the various section of the Act may come into force on different dates.   The new Act consolidates all IP-related...

It has been announced that Hong Kong will introduce a new system for standard patents, which will present an alternative option for applicants seeking patent protection in Hong Kong.  Amendments to the Patents Ordinance and Patent Rules were published on 11th October 2019, and the new patent system will be implemented on 19th December 2019.   Under the new system, applicants can file standard patent applications directly in Hong Kong, and these need no longer be based on granted...

The new trade mark law passed by the Myanmar Parliament earlier this year is expected to come into force in mid-2020. Whilst the exact commencement date has yet to be confirmed, it is assumed that this will be in the first week of July 2020.   There is expected to be a “soft opening” of the Intellectual Property Office in January 2020, 6 months before the new law enters into force. During this transitional period, the IPO will accept applications for trade marks which have been recorded...