Following the implementation of the 13th edition of the Nice Classification, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has updated its Conflicting Goods and Services List and the related Conflicting Class Table. The change that deserves close attention is the wider treatment of Class 9 goods: software, electronics and digitally enabled products are now more visibly connected with traditional product categories when similarity is assessed.This is guidance rather than a rigid rule, but it will affect how applicants read clearance results in New Zealand. A brand used for...

Discussion around deferred publication of UK designs has moved faster than the official text. The headline figure catching everyone’s attention is 30 months. Yet the verified position is narrower: the current UK regime still allows deferment for up to 12 months, and the 2025 government consultation compared 12, 18 and 30-month models while signalling a preference for 18 months rather than an already launched 30-month pilot.Another point is no longer hypothetical. Since 1 April 2026, the DF2C fee to register a previously deferred design has been set at £50. For fast fashion and consumer...

On 6 July 2026, the Casablanca Commercial Court issued two rulings barring Tecno Mobile and Itel Mobility, subsidiaries of Transsion Holdings, from selling smartphones in Morocco that were found to infringe Ericsson’s 4G and 5G cellular standard-essential patents. The decisions are being described as Africa’s first SEP injunctions, reached roughly six months after Ericsson filed suit in December 2025.The immediate commercial effect was overtaken by a subsequent settlement: on 8 July, Ericsson and Transsion announced a multi-year global patent cross-licence and agreed to withdraw their...