News from the Manor Vol 8

1. KIPI Publishes Drafting Instructions for Public Comment: Following proposals made by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and its stakeholders to repeal the Trade Marks Act, Cap 506 of the Laws of Kenya, KIPI has published  soft copies of the Drafting Instructions and the proposals to repeal the Trade Marks Act:

   Drafting_Instructions_for_Trade_Mark_Rules_2016 Drafting_Instructions_for_Trade_Mark_Bill_2015

   Comments, additions and or amendments to the Drafting Instructions from the public are to be submitted  to the Institute on or before April 30^, 2016 via email: info@kipi.go.ke.

2. Indian Government releases Indian Intellectual Property Panorama: The Indian Government has launched a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit, developed by WIPO, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association. The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India, based on an agreement signed between WIPO and DeitY. More details here. In the alternative, the Indian IP Panorama can be accessed here.
3. GlaxoSmithKline to Restrict Patent Filings in Developing Countries: Patents have often been at the receiving end of the access to medicine debates. Accordingly, GSK has decided not to file patents in the world’s poorest countries (50 of them). It will file patents in lower middle income countries, but will grant licences to generic manufacturers in exchange for a “small royalty”. This will allow for generic versions of GSK medicine to be produced without delay and restrictions. In addition, GSK will put all its future cancer drugs into the Medicines Patent Pool. More on that here. While this is good news, the Lady is of the opinion that developing countries still need to invest in research and development given the abundant natural resources in some of these countries.
4. One-day strike at the European Patent Office (EPO): On Thursday, April 7, 2016 workers of the EPO embarked on a one-day strike protesting management behaviour and demanding fair treatment of staff. More details here, here and here.
5. Managing IP has published the final 2016 rankings of the top firms for copyright work in over 20 jurisdictions. More on that here and here for Nigerian firms.