On 6 July 2026, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam issued updated implementation guidance for trademark cancellation actions based on three consecutive years of non-use. The revised approach lowers the applicant’s initial evidentiary burden: once a basic market investigation shows no trace of genuine commercial use across relevant goods, services and sales channels, the proceeding is expected to move more quickly toward requiring the proprietor to explain and prove use. Rather than a complete reversal of the burden of proof, the change is better understood as a stronger evidentiary...
Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property has signalled this week, in its response to the 2026 U.S. Special 301 Report, that the draft amendment to the Patent Act has moved into the final accelerated stage of legislation. Thailand remains on the U.S. intellectual property Watch List, but the reform message is now more practical than political: companies filing patents, designs or technology-related matters in Thailand should revisit authorisation records, filing calendars and likely prosecution costs before the law changes rather than after.In Malaysia, MyIPO’s revised Guidelines of...
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) reopened requests for both SG Patents Fast and SG Trade Marks Fast on 1 September 2026 after a suspension lasting more than half a year. The updated operating guidance introduces tighter annual quota management for patent acceleration, more detailed limits on claim numbers, and closer attention to technology fields. Patent applications will generally need to stay within 20 claims, while areas such as artificial intelligence and green technologies may receive priority examination resources. For qualifying cases, IPOS is targeting an...
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) formally awarded the geographical indication (GI) registration certificate for T'nalak Tau Sebu on 13 July during the opening activities of the 60th T'nalak Festival. Provincial officials and representatives of seven cooperatives under T'nalak Tau Sebu, Inc. received the certificate. The GI, registered on 4 March 2026, covers the handwoven abaca textile produced by T'boli communities in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, using traditional backstrap looms and natural dyes. It builds on collective trademark protection secured in 2017 by...
Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched five new intellectual-property e-services covering copyright and neighbouring-rights recordals, certificate issuance, amendments, assignments and official file enquiries. The update is practical rather than cosmetic: for creators, rights holders and IP agents, copyright-related filings can now be handled with a clearer digital trail, reducing reliance on paper submissions and fragmented follow-up.The copyright upgrade sits alongside Qatar’s recent implementation of the 13th edition of the Nice Classification, after which all 45 trade...
Mexico’s amended Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property has turned ambush marketing into a more immediate compliance issue for brands planning campaigns around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The reform published on 3 April adds a specific administrative infringement to Article 386 of the LFPPI, covering acts that lead the public to reasonably assume an official sponsorship relationship between a distinctive sign and a mass public or private event.For non-sponsors, the risk now extends beyond unauthorised use of official logos. Social media copy, promotional hashtags, colour...
US enforcement around “Made in America” and “Made in USA” claims is becoming harder to treat as a routine advertising issue. Following the White House’s March executive order, the FTC has sharpened its attention on misleading origin claims, while the USPTO context also points to closer scrutiny where such language appears in marks, product descriptions and brand messaging. The practical risk is simple: a patriotic phrase can become a compliance problem if the manufacturing facts do not support it.Companies using US-origin claims should review them before they reach trademark filings,...
Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) is opening the second phase of its trademark fast-track programme from May 2026, with 3,000 places available across the year. For applicants that need a registration quickly for platform access, public funding, dispute handling or international portfolio coordination, the programme may become a practical timing tool rather than a procedural formality.The reform also changes how High Reputation Marks can be handled in Brazil. Under the rule effective from 1 May, an applicant may link registration numbers in several classes within a...
Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has placed examination efficiency at the centre of its 2026 action plan, with artificial intelligence tools expected to support searches, classification and substantive review for trademarks and industrial designs. For applicants, this should not be read as a simple IT update. If the new tools are matched with reliable data, examiner oversight and clear operating criteria, Brazil’s long examination timelines could begin to move in a more predictable direction.The plan also points to stronger regional protection for geographical...
Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) is extending the policy logic of its Green Patent fast-track programme into trade marks, with accelerated examination expected for applications covering goods or services linked to sustainable agriculture, clean energy and environmental recycling. For companies using brands to identify green technologies, circular-economy services or low-carbon product lines, the trade mark filing process may now carry a clearer industrial-policy dimension.The same package also responds to a long-standing problem in Brazil: trade mark squatting. A...
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) is preparing systems for the implementation of the Geographical Indications Protection Law and its executive framework, which are expected to take effect in mid-November 2026. The work is being linked to a broader cultural and handicraft protection strategy, encouraging makers in fields such as weaving, woodworking and leathercraft to review collective marks and industrial design protection before the GI registration system is fully operational.The practical message is to build a layered rights strategy rather than wait for a single new...
On 3 June 2026, the Paris Judicial Court ruled in a dispute brought by Hermès International and Hermès Sellier against Le Bidon Français, a French gallery operator. The defendant displayed and sold decorative objects—including crushed cans, trays and fire extinguishers—bearing Hermès word and figurative marks, while also using the Hermès name in product listings and social-media promotion. The court found that the signs were being used to market and sell goods, amounting to trademark infringement, and also upheld Hermès Sellier’s unfair competition claim.The ruling does not say that...
Regional IP industry briefings published on 5 August 2026 point to a concentrated round of reform across the Middle East, spanning design classification, trademark border enforcement and examination practice. The United Arab Emirates is approaching the effective stage of its accession to the Locarno Agreement, prompting practitioners to assess how fuller use of the international design classification system may standardise cross-border filing practice. In Saudi Arabia, the recently introduced Tahaqaq digital platform is bringing customs trademark enforcement and registered-rights...
Recent EU trademark decisions confirm that the public’s level of attention is only one element in the global assessment of likelihood of confusion, not a switch that determines the outcome by itself. In Kutxabank v EUIPO – Klarna Bank (K.) (T‑105/25, 13 May 2026), the General Court showed that confusion may still arise among a highly attentive public where the services are identical and the signs are strongly similar visually and identical phonetically. Conversely, greater attention can sharpen distinctions where the goods or services are more remote or the overall differences between the...
IP Australia’s 2026 Australian Intellectual Property Report shows that trademark filings reached a record 97,345 in 2025, up 13.3%, while applications by Australian residents rose 15.1% to 55,913. Domestic standard complete patent filings also increased, from 2,578 to 2,810, a gain of 9.0%. Taken together, the patent, trademark and design data suggest that Australian businesses are making more deliberate use of IP to support branding, technology protection and product differentiation.The growth was not evenly distributed across filing origins. Standard patent applications from the United...
According to an update published by Adams & Adams on 16 July 2026, Libya’s Commercial Registry Authority has resumed electronic publication of trademark notices through its official website. The 2026 electronic trademark gazette was issued on 14 May and covers applications numbered 55261 to 57597. Third parties may file oppositions online within 30 days of publication. Gazette publication had previously been suspended for an extended period, leaving the opposition process effectively stalled.The restart restores an important procedural checkpoint for applicants and rights holders, but the...
According to an update published by Adams & Adams on 16 July 2026, Sudan’s Intellectual Property Administrative Registrar has resumed strict application of section 19(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1969. A registration may now be renewed only within the statutory six-month grace period following expiry, subject to the applicable late fee. Renewal requests filed after that period will no longer be accepted. The more flexible practice adopted during conflict-related operational disruption has therefore come to an end.The change removes much of the room for retrospective correction. Owners of...
Singapore’s Intellectual Property Office (IPOS) has refined its practice guidance for trade mark applications covering virtual goods and Web3.0 services. Descriptions in Class 9 for downloadable virtual goods, Class 35 for retail services involving virtual goods, and Class 41 for virtual entertainment services are expected to identify the digital content or service with greater precision; broad wording such as “virtual goods” or generic NFT-related services may attract objections or require narrowing.The more consequential point concerns revocation for five years’ non-use. Displaying a...
From 1 September 2026, Uzbekistan increased its Base Calculation Rate (BCR) from UZS 412,000 to UZS 440,000. Under Presidential Decree PF-115 and notices circulated by regional IP practitioners, official fees for trademarks, patents and industrial designs that are calculated by reference to the BCR have risen accordingly across filing, examination, registration and renewal stages. The change therefore affects more than a single fee item: it raises the cost baseline for obtaining and maintaining IP rights in Uzbekistan.For applicants and rights holders, the immediate task is to refresh...
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) announced on 22 July 2026 that the implementing regulations under the Geographical Indications Protection Law had entered fully into force, opening the formal filing and examination process for geographical indications. The framework gives agricultural goods, food products and traditional handicrafts linked to a particular place, quality or reputation a protection route distinct from ordinary trademark registration. Applicants will need to support claims concerning the defined area, product specifications, the link with origin and the...
