Amendments to IP legislation worldwide
UK
The fees in relation to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) are set to alter slightly in the coming month for applicant’s from the United Kingdom, with the new fee structure entering into effect as of September 1, 2022.
The amendments apply to several aspects of the schedule, including the international filing fee, whereby the cost for the first 30 sheets contained within a patent application is set to constitute 1,132 GBP, rising by approx. 7% from 1,056 GBP. The additional fee for each sheet in an application over 30 will inflate by approx 8% from 12 GBP to 13 GBP.
The reduced fees for applications filed by electronic means will comprise 170 GPB for those not in character coded format, and 255 GBP for those in character coded format, increasing by approx. 7% respectively from 159 GBP and 238 GBP.
Other fees such as those for transmittal, the conduct of a search through the EPO, restoration, and the preparation of a priority document have remained unchanged.
Moldova
Moldova recently adopted a new copyright and related rights Act during the second reading of the legislation on July 28, 2022, which will enter into effect one month after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova.
The law aims to establish a relevant national regulatory framework by transposing the European directives in relation to copyright, which, in turn, is set to afford creatives more guarantee of copyright protection by ensuring higher standards of governance, financial management, transparency and reporting in order to have an approach similar to the European Union.
Furthermore, the new Act also brings national Moldovan legislation in line with the WIPO administered Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Interpretations and Performances, as well as the Marrakesh Treaty. The Republic of Moldova became a party to both these treaties in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
The updated law demonstrates a commitment by the Republic of Moldova to modernise its intellectual property system in relation to copyright and related rights, ensuring effective protection amidst the emergence of more digital multimedia content.
WIPO MoU's
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently implemented a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU's) including with the country's of Mongolia, Portugal, and the US.
An MoU was established between the WIPO and Mongolia following discussions between the two IP offices concerning the inclusion of IP related content into certain educational curricula in Mongolia. As a result, the agreement was created forging a cooperation in the field of training and professional development. The implementation of the MoU framework is set to include university level IP training, as well as support for teaching staff and institutions in relation to the IP field.
The IP office of Portugal has also formed an MoU with the WIPO, aiming to strengthen the IP system of the country. This, in turn, is hoped to increase development in economic, social and cultural areas.
The agreement between the WIPO and Portugal is set to utilise IP awareness events such as campaigns, seminars, and workshops to facilitate an overall better understanding of the field, and encourage people to protect and promote their inventions and creations. The drive is particularly hoped to encourage small and medium enterprises (SME's), as well as young people and women, to protect their IP.
Furthermore, the MoU aims to promote initiatives for the combating of counterfeit and piracy, and also intends to forge a commitment between the two IP offices to develop joint initiatives contributing to achieving the sustainable development objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The WIPO and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) signed a collaboration which intends to facilitate the resolution of disputes in relation to Standard Essential Patents (SEP's) on July 20, 2022. An SEP constitutes such inventions that are seen to be and have been declared as essential to a technical standard. Such technical standards may refer to standard specifications, or standard test methods, as an example.
As such, the offices have agreed to cooperate to achieve a more efficient and effective method of seeking resolution in relation to SEP disputes by utilising the existing WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, as well as other USPTO resources.
The agreement is set to conclude five years from the date of signing, in July 2027.
USA
The USPTO has also improved its system of acceptance of Assignment Recordation requests via the office's relevant online portals as of August 1, 2022.
As such, users of the online portal system will be obliged to submit all such requests virtually via the Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) and Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) respectively. Any physical assignment requests will be directed to the EPAS and ETAS for digital submission.
The enforcement of electronic submissions in relation to assignment and examination is in line with the USPTO's recent commitment towards forging a more streamlined system for the requesting and processing of such requests.