On 1 October 2020, the UK Government ratified the Madrid Protocol on behalf of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Guernsey may be designated in applications for International Registrations and in subsequent designations bearing a date of 1 January 2021 or later. From 1 January 2021, it will also be possible for applications for International Registrations to be filed, using the Guernsey IPO as the office of origin. For more information please contact the author, Martin Chinnery, at martin@...

It has just been announced that, with effect from 1st January 2021, the UK’s membership of the PCT will be extended to include the Bailiwick of Guernsey.   In consequence, any new PCT applications that are filed on or after 1st January 2021 and which designate the UK will automatically also cover the Bailiwick of Guernsey.   This means that, if/when a patent is subsequently granted in the UK deriving from such a PCT application, protection will automatically be afforded in...

A new “Federal Law for Protection of Industrial Property” came into force in Mexico on 5th November 2020.   Vis-à-vis patents, the new law:   • Provides new, broader rules regarding the one-year grace period for prior art disclosures in relation to patent applications;  • Prohibits double patenting; • Expressly provides that the patentability of substances, compounds or compositions contained in the state of the art cannot be excluded from patentability as along as a new use...