Insights

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.

Yasmon, Director of Cooperation, Empowerment and Education at Indonesia's Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) under the Ministry of Law, spoke for Indonesia and the Like-Minded Countries at the 53rd session of WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), held in Geneva in hybrid format from 16 to 25 September. According to the ministry's statement of 21 September, Indonesia is pushing to accelerate discussion of an effective and balanced international legal instrument to protect traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions against misappropriation and misuse. The Like-Minded Countries welcomed the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge adopted in 2024 and support faster implementation through international cooperation, technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries.

Thailand's Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) held bilateral talks with the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) in Beijing on 21 September. DIP Director-General Oramon Sapthaweetham led the delegation and exchanged views with NCAC Director-General Wang Zhicheng on how the two countries' copyright protection systems should develop. According to the DIP's announcement, the talks focused on three subjects: copyright management of the use of public-domain musical works, the suppression of online copyright infringement, and the relationship between copyright and artificial intelligence. The two agencies also agreed to extend their cooperation so that it keeps pace with technological change and with the ways works are now exploited. The DIP frames the meeting as part of meeting the challenges of the digital age, protecting rights holders and creating opportunities to exploit creative works.