The current Intellectual Property Law in Rwanda is dated 26th October 2009, and entered into force following its publication on 14th December 2009.  The current law provides that trade mark registrations are valid for 10 years from the application date.   Trade marks filed under the old law which was in force prior to 2009 did not have to be renewed at any time.  The provisions of the current law require trade marks filed under the old law to be renewed within 10 years of the...

On 13th March 2018, some amendments to certain chapters of the Industrial Property Law concerning patents, designs and utility models were published in Mexico. These amendments will come into force on 27th April 2018.   Inter alia, the amendments will:   Define ambiguous terms in the IP Law, including with respect to the requirement for novelty for industrial designs. Currently, the law does not define the terms "independent creation" or "significantly" as stated in the following...

With effect from 13th June 2018, the UK will become a member state of the Hague Agreement for industrial designs, which gives applicants the opportunity to register designs in up to 82 countries through a single international application and a single set of fees.  From that date, users will be able to designate the UK when filing international applications under the Agreement.  Since 2008, UK businesses have had to access the Hague Agreement through the EU’s membership, but...