WIPO Lex

WIPO Lex is a one-stop search facility for national laws and treaties on intellectual property (IP) of WIPO, WTO and UN Members. It also features related information which elaborates, analyzes and interprets these laws and treaties. It provides streamlined access to reference material of key importance for optimal information on the global IP System.

Date	News Brief
April 15, 2013	Australia: The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act was enacted on April 15, 2012, and came into force in its entirety on April 15, 2013. This Act includes the amendments to the Copyright Act 1968, the Patents Act 1990, the Trade Marks Act 1995, the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994, and the Designs Act 2003. The amendments address six key areas: raising the quality of granted patents, free access to patented inventions for regulatory approvals and research, reducing delays in resolution of patent and trade mark applications, assisting the operations of the IP profession, improving mechanisms for trade mark and copyright enforcement, and simplifying the IP system.
March 22, 2013	Philippines: The Republic Act No. 10372, entitled 'An Act Amending Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the “Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines”, and for other purposes' was signed into law on February 28, 2013, and entered into force on March 22, 2013. Among the amendments to the Intellectual Property Code are the following: establishment of the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights within the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL); grant of specific enforcement functions to the Director General of IPOPHL and his deputies; implementation of technological protection measures and rights management information for copyrighted works disseminated through Internet; copyright limitations and exceptions for the benefit of visually-impaired persons; fair use exceptions to copyright; and clarifications on copyright infringements.
February 1, 2013	Mexico: The Decree Promulgating the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks was issued on February 1, 2013, by the President of Mexico, pursuant to Section I of Article 89 of Mexico’s Federal Constitution. By virtue of this Decree, published on February 8, 2013, the President has announced the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks to be in force in Mexico from February 1, 2013, in accordance with Article 14(4)(b) of the Protocol, and the Madrid (Marks) Notification No. 198, in which the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) notified the deposit by the Government of Mexico, on November 19, 2012, of its instrument of accession to the Protocol.
January 18, 2013	Denmark: The Order of January 18, 2013 on Patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates, issued by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) came into force on February 1, 2013. It was issued pursuant to sections 5(2), 6(2), 8a, 8b(2), 9, 11, 22(7), 22(8), 28(2), 31, 34, 38(2), 45(2), 48(3), 69, 71(2), 88(1)(iii), 90, 91 and 97 of the Consolidate Patents Act (Consolidate Act No. 108 of January 24, 2012). This Order has repealed Order No. 93 of January 29, 2009 on Patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates, and introduced the new procedures for opposition, administrative re-examination, and termination of a patent, as specified in Part IV of the Order.
January 14, 2013	United States of America: H.R. 6621, entitled “An Act to Correct and Improve Certain Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and Title 35, United States Code” was passed by the United States Congress, signed into law by the President of the United States on January 14, 2013 and became Public Law No. 112-274. The Act makes a number of technical corrections to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), and other provisions of the Patent Act, title 35 of the United States Code. This new law makes technical changes to the AIA. Among the key amendments are: the elimination of the nine-month “dead zone”, during which certain patents were ineligible for post grant review (“PGR”) or inter partes review (“IPR”) (Section 1(d)); the extension of the deadline for an applicant to file an inventor’s oath or declaration until the date on which the issue fee for the patent is paid (Section 1(f)); the modification of requirements and time periods for activities relating to patent term adjustments (“PTA”) such as the adjustment period for certain international applications (Section 1(h)); the repeal of Section 373 of title 35, United States Code, on improper applicants (Section 1(i)); and the clarification of the time period to institute derivation proceedings (Section 1(k)(1)).

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