The Greater China IP Updates – August 2024

September 2, 2024
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office Proposes Draft Amendments to the Patent Examination Guidelines The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has recently proposed draft amendments in specific areas such as patent term extension calculations and who qualifies as an interested party in a patent invalidation. The main points are as follows: For patents relating to pharmaceutical inventions, if a regulatory approval shall be obtained in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act or the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act for the exploitation of the patent, the patentee may apply for a patent term extension for the period in which the inventions cannot be exploited due to the absence of a regulatory approval. According to the Patent Examination Guidelines, the period from the day after the date of receiving the Notice for Collecting the Approval to the day of actually collecting the approval should be deducted from the term to be extended.  Therefore, the patentee should submit a document of proof regarding the date of receiving the Notice for Collecting the Approval. Concerning the topic of an interested party in a patent invalidation, an interested party is now specified as a legally interested party, i.e. a party whose rights or legal benefits are directly impaired due to any controversy surrounding the patent right or the right to apply for a patent. If the invalidation petitioner provides a document of proof to establish such interest, as long as the patentee does not argue against it and the examiner does not foresee any problems, it is unnecessary to investigate the existence of such interest.  However, if the patentee doubts the existence of the...

Vietnam-Australia Strategic Vision for Trade and Investment

August 30, 2024
By, Vaibhav Saxena, Foreign Counsel and Quang Anh Nguyen, Associate Australia and Vietnam have forged a robust and multifaceted relationship over the years, marked by mutual respect, shared interests, and strategic cooperation. On 07 March 2024, this partnership reached a significant milestone with the elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, underscoring the depth and breadth of ties between the two nations. Mutual Partnership Vietnam and Australia have shared strong bilateral relations in terms of history. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, both countries have built a robust and broad relationship with the foundation of trust and deep understanding. During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canberra emerged as Hanoi’s second-largest foreign donor, generously contributing 26.4 million vaccine doses. Additionally, Australia has extended substantial Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, supporting critical areas such as human resource development, infrastructure, public health enhancement, and Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions. These tangible examples underscore the robust bilateral ties between the two countries and highlight Australia’s genuine commitment to its relationship with Vietnam. Socially, Vietnamese Australians constitute the sixth-largest migrant community in Australia. Additionally, nearly 17,000 Vietnamese international students are enrolled in Australian educational and training institutions. The Vietnamese alumni, having graduated from Australian universities and subsequently returned to Vietnam for work, have forged a robust and meaningful connection between the two nations and their peoples. Trade and Investment Australia and Vietnam enjoy a dynamic economic partnership characterized by rapid growth in trade and investment. In the financial year 2022/23, bilateral trade surged to $25.7 billion, reflecting a substantial increase of 75% from 2020. Vietnam’s vibrant economy, with...

The Greater China IP Updates – July 2024

July 18, 2024
Taiwan Revises Rules for Hearings on Patent Invalidation Cases The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office has introduced new “Guidelines for Hearings on Patent Invalidation Cases” in order to improve the quality of the hearing process.  Some of the most significant revisions are as follows: More regulations have been added to the pre-hearing preparation stage. As well as the existing rules governing conducting the hearing and admissibility of documents and evidence, the amendment now adds regulations pertaining to organization and simplification of the disputed issues, clarifies the post-grant amendments of disputed patents, and specifies procedures for agreement on key points of defense and offense during the hearing process. Besides being responsible for examining the patent invalidation case, the presiding officer for the hearing will now be allowed to share thoughts on factual, legal and evidential disputes in order to render the process more transparent. Hearings can now be conducted via video conferencing, enabling participants to join from office or home. This will also make it easier for international participants to join which is the common global trend. In the case when a party is absent from the proceedings, the examiner will still be able to hold a “one-party hearing”. However, the hearing should be rescheduled if the absent party did not receive proper notification of the hearing, or the attending party cannot provide necessary evidence for matters to be investigated by the examiner, or the matter presented by the attending party was not provided to the other party within a reasonable length of time. The summary of the hearing shall be recorded and supplemented with audio or video recordings to simplify...

An Essential Guide to Securing a 9(g) Commercial Visa in the Philippines

July 1, 2024
Mark Benjamin C. Yam Rachelle Ann L. Go On 10 March 2024, the Bureau of Immigration (“BI”) reported that approximately 153,000 foreign national (“FN”) holders of immigrant and non-immigrant visas took part during the 2024 Annual Report requirement of the BI. This is 13% higher than the 136,065 FNs who participated in the previous year’s Annual Report.1 Of note is the fact that a large percentage of the FNs who have been granted non-immigrant visas are those who have been granted the Pre-arranged Employment Visas (i.e., 9[g]). In its Accomplishment Report for the year 2023, the BI reported that the Board of Commissioners (“BOC”) had approved 72,472 9(g) Commercial Visas in 2023 and 59,885 visas in 2022 and 3,454 9(g) Missionary Visas in 2022 and 3,980 visas in 2023.2 The foregoing figures show that there is an increase in the number of FNs who have expressed their intention to work in the Philippines on a long-term basis (i.e., at least one [1] year). While there are other non-immigrant visas that a FN may apply for to work in the Philippines, this article will focus on the steps and requirements to secure a 9(g) Commercial Visa. It is important to also point out that Philippine law requires that a foreign national working in the Philippines should secure work authorization, whether in the form of a 9(g) Commercial Visa, or a temporary work permit. Background on the 9(g) Visa Section 9(g) and Section 10 of the Commonwealth Act No. 613, as amended, or the “Philippine Immigration Act of 1940” provides that FNs who intend work in the Philippines under prearranged employment may...

Teeing Up Success: Tianfu Liu on Strategic Leadership at Cabot

June 27, 2024
IHC talks to Tianfu Liu, Vice President and Chief Counsel, Asia Pacific for Cabot Corporation, about his journey from private practice to glssobal legal strategist Could you share a little about your journey in your career so far and how you ended up in your current role? We’re especially curious about your additional role in business development! I studied law at CUPL in Beijing, McGill in Montreal and Penn in Philly. Prior to Cabot, I was a private practitioner between 2003 and 2010, first and briefly with MoFo in its then newly established Shanghai office and later with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. At Freshfields, my practice covered cross border mergers and acquisitions, securities and FDI, with a focus on advising multinational investors in the financial services and real estate sectors on their establishment or expansion in China. In 2010, I joined Cabot as its China GC. My role was subsequently expanded in 2015 to cover Asia Pacific, and in 2019 to provide legal oversight to Cabot’s global Reinforcement Materials Segment, its largest business division operating in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and the U.S. Since the beginning of 2022, I took on the role of Vice President, Strategic Business Development, AP Region in addition to my legal responsibilities for the AP region. In my newest capacity, I execute the company’s strategic projects in the AP region and manage their full lifecycle from market research, prospects identification, target screening and initial engagement, to modelling and valuation, due diligence, signing and closing, and eventually integration. Could you provide our readers with an...

A Seat at the Table – Why in-House Counsel is Crucial for ESG success

June 27, 2024
Pedro Massena with Rahul Prakash Twenty years ago, if a CEO was asked to merge sustainability with their corporate strategy they would have assumed someone was trying to sabotage the business. Changing the focus away from profits was unthinkable. But in-house legal teams have proven critical for finding ways to make sure sustainability doesn’t need to bite into the bottom line. In the bustling and diverse Asia-Pacific region, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles have rapidly reshaped how businesses operate. From the vibrant markets of Southeast Asia to the technological powerhouses of Japan, China and South Korea, companies are slowly learning how to navigate a complex yet rewarding path toward a more profitable – and sustainable – growth. This journey is not just about compliance; it’s about innovation, resilience and longterm prosperity. The Asia-Pacific is a dynamic mosaic of cultures and economies, where each company shares the same value of contributing in their own way to a larger, cohesive picture of sustainable development. Here, ESG isn’t just an acronym – it’s written into the business culture. Governments and businesses alike are crafting robust frameworks to combat climate change, enhance transparency into their supply chains and promote social equity. Take Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, for instance. It’s a bold roadmap aiming for carbon neutrality and sustainable living. Or consider China’s ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, which is already driving a massive shift towards renewable energy and eco-friendly practices. The stakes are high, given that the planet’s ecosystem may just be at risk. But the rewards of ESG are even higher. Investors are increasingly drawn to companies with...