Colombia's Madrid fee rises about 38% from 2027; a Shenzhen company's bum bag design survives a UK challenge; the UPC refuses Ericsson an injunction against ASUS

WIPO Madrid information notice No. 45/2026 of 9 November: from 1 January 2027 the individual fee for designating Colombia rises by about 38%, from CHF 276 to CHF 382 for the first class of an ordinary mark, so a three-class designation goes from CHF 552 to CHF 764.

WIPO: Colombia's Madrid individual fee rises about 38% from 1 January 2027, and the International Bureau lists eight closing days for 2027

WIPO published Madrid information notice No. 45/2026 on 9 November: Colombia has made a declaration under Article 8(7) of the Madrid Protocol raising its individual fee from 1 January 2027. This is a price change by Colombia, not a WIPO exchange-rate recalculation. Old and new amounts in Swiss francs: ordinary marks, international applications or subsequent designations, first class 276→382 and each additional class 138→191; collective and certification marks, first class 368→508 and each additional class 184→254; renewals, first class 151→208 and each additional class 74→102; renewals in the grace period, first class 206→284 and each additional class 101→139. A three-class designation of an ordinary mark goes from CHF 552 to CHF 764. For international applications the date of receipt by the office of origin counts, for subsequent designations the date of receipt by the office or the International Bureau, and for renewals the renewal date.

Notice No. 46/2026 of the same day lists eight days in 2027, besides weekends, when the International Bureau is closed: 1 January, 26 and 29 March, 6 May, 17 May, 2 August, 24 December and 31 December; it is also closed on 25 and 31 December 2026. Under Rule 4(4) of the Regulations under the Madrid Protocol, a time limit ending on a day the International Bureau or the office concerned is closed is extended to the next working day, so a time limit with the International Bureau ending on 31 December 2026 moves to 4 January 2027. Time limits involving a designated office or the office of origin follow that office's own working days.

A Shenzhen company's bum bag design survives a UK invalidity action: online shop listings count as prior disclosure, and Chinese design records with a translator's statement are accepted

In decision O/0992/26, made on 5 November and published on 11 November, the UKIPO rejected an individual's application to invalidate registered design No. 6303339, a bum bag owned by Shenzhen Yisimei Technology; the design remains valid and the parties may appeal. The applicant relied on five earlier designs: three e-commerce product pages and two Chinese design patents. The hearing officer accepted all five as prior disclosures. The owner had said only that product images can be changed at any time, without offering contrary evidence or explaining how listing and image changes work on the platform, so the pages were accepted on the balance of probabilities; the translation of the Chinese design records was accepted after the applicant's representative, fluent in Chinese and English, gave a witness statement.

On comparison, the hearing officer found that the registered bag, roughly a cuboid of equal width front and back, differs from the closest earlier design, which is narrower at the front with straight sides and a different back outline, so it gives the informed user a different overall impression and is new and has individual character. Further earlier designs found during the proceedings were used only to assess design freedom, because the applicant never applied to amend its pleadings. The applicant must pay the owner GBP 350 in costs.

Ericsson gave no notice before suing, so the UPC Milan Local Division refuses an injunction against ASUS: infringement and damages stand, but the FRAND defence blocks the injunction

On 6 November the UPC Milan Local Division gave a first-instance judgment in Ericsson v ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and its logistics provider Arvato Netherlands (UPC_CFI_318/2024 and 730/2024). Ericsson's HEVC/H.265 video coding patent EP 2 727 342 is valid; the accused computers use the patent only after users install a separate HEVC video extension, which is indirect infringement under Article 26 of the UPC Agreement, and ASUS is liable for damages, to be quantified later. The revocation counterclaim was dismissed and the defendants bear 67.5% of the costs. The judgment can be appealed.

The court said that holding a standard-essential patent does not by itself establish a dominant position: the market must be defined and assessed. Here HEVC is widely used in streaming, devices without it struggle to compete and there is no equivalent substitute, so Ericsson was found dominant. Under the CJEU's Huawei v ZTE judgment, a dominant SEP holder must, before seeking an injunction, identify the patent and explain the infringement so the implementer can negotiate a licence. Ericsson did neither before suing on 14 June 2024, and notice given with or after the claim, the public ITU patent declaration database or a switch to a conditional injunction could not replace it. The court refused the injunction, recall and destruction, but ASUS and Arvato must, within four weeks of Ericsson seeking enforcement, disclose sales, costs, prices and net profits since 29 June 2016, under a penalty of EUR 1,000 a day up to EUR 1 million.

The European Patent Office applies G 1/25: embodiments in the description that go beyond the claims no longer have to be deleted as a matter of course

In G 1/25 of 3 September the Enlarged Board of Appeal held that where amending the claims creates an inconsistency with the description and drawings, the description must be amended only if, and to the extent that, the inconsistency causes a failure to meet any of Articles 52 to 57, 76(1), 83, 84 or 123(2) or (3) EPC. Before, any inconsistency that cast doubt on the claimed subject-matter was to be removed under Article 84. On 10 November the EPO published a notice in advance explaining how it will apply the decision in examination and opposition, and the Guidelines will be revised. This is a pre-publication version; the text later published in the monthly Official Journal prevails.

The claims are always read in the light of the description and drawings as a whole, but the description cannot add limitations or extensions that have no basis in the claim wording. The notice gives two examples. If the independent claim has features A, B and C but the description says the invention comprises A and B and may include C, that casts doubt on whether C is essential and must be amended. If the independent claim has A and B and the description says the device comprises A, B and C, C is not read into the claim and no amendment is needed. Claim-like clauses need not be deleted just because they look like claims.

The US extends its Section 301 investigation of Vietnam's IP protection to a decision by end-February 2027; the UK CMA publishes guidance on technology transfer agreements

In a Federal Register notice published on 10 November (document 2026-22868) and effective from 3 November, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) extended by three months its Section 301 investigation of Vietnam's IP protection and enforcement; it must decide whether the practices are actionable and what action to take by 28 February 2027. The investigation began on 29 May 2026 under section 302(b)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 and was extended to nine months under section 304(a)(3)(B) because the issues are complex. The notice only extends the deadline: it makes no finding on actionability and announces no tariffs or other measures.

On 10 November the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published 128 pages of guidance on the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Order 2026, in force from 1 May 2026 until 31 December 2038. The exemption can apply where competitors have a combined market share of no more than 20%, or each non-competitor no more than 30%; hardcore restrictions such as price-fixing or market sharing take the whole agreement outside it; exclusive grant-backs, no-challenge clauses and some research restrictions are assessed separately, and if they can be severed the rest of the agreement can still benefit. Agreements exempt under the old rules before 1 May 2026 that do not meet the new conditions stay exempt until 30 April 2027.

China's National Intellectual Property Administration, 7 November: the 15th Patent Fair opens in Wuxi with the 26th China Patent Awards; the ID5 design offices, 5–6 November, close their digital design guide project

CNIPA reported on 7 November that the 15th China International Patent Technology and Product Fair was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu, from 6 to 8 November, and the 26th China Patent Gold Awards and Design Gold Awards were presented at the opening; official reports did not give the number or list of winners. WIPO Director General Daren Tang noted that China led the world in PCT applications in 2025. The ID5 offices of China, the US, the EU, Japan and Korea met in Wuxi on 5–6 November and agreed to close the user guide project on digital design applications led by CNIPA and the EUIPO, as CNIPA reported on 7 November; the guide has not yet been published.

The UKIPO closes its legacy online patent renewal channel from 9 November and, on 11 November, publishes copyright guidance for self-employed creators

Revised directions published by the UKIPO on 8 November and effective on 9 November remove patents from the 2021 shared renewal directions, formally closing the legacy online channel; UK patents and European patents in force in the UK are now renewed online through a One Login account, or by post or phone, with deadlines and fees unchanged. On 11 November the UKIPO and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published guidance for self-employed creators: commissioned works usually belong to the creator, and the commissioner may have an implied licence to use them for their intended purpose; in the UK an assignment of copyright must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the assignor.

Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property, 10 November: an integrated IP trading platform planned for the second half of 2027; 9 November: an MoU with Timor-Leste

On 10 November Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property presented a plan at the 48th Cabinet meeting to link ten agencies' online trading systems into an integrated IP trading platform by the second half of 2027, publishing actual transaction prices by technology field and adding an AI valuation tool that works in five minutes; the amended Technology Transfer Promotion Act takes effect on 27 November, letting public technology be licensed exclusively as well as non-exclusively. The ministry reported on 9 November that Korea and Timor-Leste signed a comprehensive IP cooperation memorandum on 6 November; Timor-Leste expects to set up an IP office in the first half of 2027, and its National Parliament passed an Industrial Property Code on 22 September, with promulgation and entry-into-force dates not yet published.

01Price year-end Madrid filings on the date of receipt, and check deadlines against the receiving office

Designations of Colombia take the old or new fee according to the office of origin's date of receipt, so leave a margin in late December; CNIPA's working days apply to filings through CNIPA, the International Bureau's closing days only to direct filings.

02Using shop listings as design evidence: archive and translate

Keep dated web archives and listings on other platforms; prepare translations and a translator's statement for Chinese design publications; apply to amend the pleadings if new prior designs are to be compared.

03Send a specific notice before asserting an SEP at the UPC

Holders should identify the patent and infringement and allow time to negotiate; implementers should state their willingness to license in writing, keep records and prepare sales, cost and profit data for disclosure.

04When the EPO asks for description changes, ask which provision applies

Changes that do not relate to a specific EPC requirement need not be made; do not describe independent-claim features as optional, and align the description with features added for inventive step.