Insights

On 23 September the Mexican Senate's joint committees on Justice, Economy and Legislative Studies (First) approved, with modifications, the report on the bill sent by President Sheinbaum on 29 May 2026 to amend the Federal Criminal Code and the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property; Milenio reports 25 votes in favour, 11 against and 2 abstentions, and the report now goes to the steering board for a floor vote. The core change replaces the intent-to-profit element of intellectual property offences with a commercial-scale standard: conduct is at commercial scale when its value equals or exceeds 170 units of measurement and update, calculated on the retail price of the genuine product (about 19,942.70 pesos), and shipments below the threshold are aggregated when made within 90 calendar days with the same or connected sender, recipient, delivery address or distribution network.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) issued Information Notice No. 41/2026 (MADRID/2026/41) on 23 September: the Government of Canada has notified the WIPO Director General of a declaration modifying the amounts of the individual fee payable in respect of Canada under Article 8(7) of the Madrid Protocol. The new amounts apply as from 1 January 2027: for an international application or subsequent designation designating Canada, 291 Swiss francs for one class of goods or services instead of 282, and 88 Swiss francs for each additional class instead of 86; for renewal, 353 Swiss francs for one class instead of 342, and 110 Swiss francs for each additional class instead of 107, the current amounts remaining payable until 31 December 2026.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) issued patent Opinion 11/26 on 23 September and added it the same day to its list of 2026 patent opinions. The opinion, given under section 74A of the Patents Act 1977, concerns UK patent GB2602159 B, Method and system for redacting undesirable digital content, whose proprietor and requester are both Lighthouse Technologies Limited. The request was filed on 24 June 2026, the product examined is the content moderation system offered by Unitary Ltd., Cooley (UK) LLP filed observations on behalf of Unitary, and only the two independent claims, claims 1 and 8, were put in issue.

The list of case-library entries published by the Supreme People's Court Intellectual Property Tribunal on 27 January 2026 shows that (2022) Zui Gao Fa Zhi Xing Zhong No. 255, a patent invalidation dispute between a Guangzhou biotechnology company, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and a United States diagnostics company, has been selected as a reference case in the People's Court Case Library; the tribunal had published its analysis of the case on 5 September 2024. The patent, titled an in-vitro medical diagnostic device and system and relating to a blood-gas biochemical analyser, is held by the United States company. The petitioner argued that the technical solution was the outcome of a Guangdong provincial research project and that the patentee had filed abroad for an invention completed in China without requesting a confidentiality examination, so that the same solution filed in China should not have been granted.

Qatar's Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced on 22 September that its Intellectual Property Rights Protection Department, in cooperation with the GCC Intellectual Property Training Centre, had concluded a two-day training programme on the Madrid Protocol for the international registration of trademarks, attended by a number of Ministry staff. The programme covered the Madrid Protocol and its procedures, including the process for registering trademarks internationally, and examined the main practical aspects of international registration to build the participants' knowledge and skills in trademark registration and the protection of intellectual property rights. The Ministry describes the programme as part of its efforts to strengthen cooperation and exchange expertise with specialised organisations and to develop staff capabilities in intellectual property, contributing to the development of Qatar's protection system and to the competitiveness, diversification and investment appeal of the national economy. The announcement contains no new fees, examination deadlines or trademark rule changes.

The list of case-library entries published by the Supreme People's Court Intellectual Property Tribunal on 27 January 2026 shows that (2022) Zui Gao Fa Zhi Xing Zhong No. 870, a German patent company's action against the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and a Japanese company over the invalidation of an invention patent, has been selected as a reference case in the People's Court Case Library. The headnote states that when, in the oral hearing of a patent invalidation review, CNIPA finds some amended claims unacceptable, it must allow the patentee to delete the unacceptable claims from the current claim set and proceed on the remaining acceptable claims.