ASWAL ASSOCIATES- Intellectual Property Law firm India

  Summary The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has announced comprehensive amendments to the Patent Examination Guidelines, effective January 1, 2026. The revised Guidelines introduce significant changes to inventor disclosure requirements, dual filing procedures, inventiveness assessment standards, re-examination protocols, and specialized examination criteria for artificial intelligence and bitstream-related inventions, marking a substantial modernization of China's patent examination framework. Overview of the Revised Guidelines On January 1, 2026, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will implement substantially revised  Patent Examination Guidelines , introducing fundamental changes to patent examination procedures, substantive assessment criteria, and administrative practices. These amendments represent the most comprehensive update to China's patent examination framework in recent years, addressing emerging technolog...

Summary In re:   Synertec Pty Ltd v. Union of India & Anr., W.P.(C)-IPD 53/2025, the Delhi High Court has restored Indian Patent Application No. 202217030233, filed by Australian company Synertec Pty Ltd for a system and method of vaporising liquefied natural gas, after the application had gone "deemed to be withdrawn" under Section 11B(4) of the Patents Act, 1970 for non-filing of the Request for Examination (Form 18) within the statutory 48-month window. The Court held that the lapse was caused entirely by the Petitioner's patent agent misstating the deadline, not by any intention on Synertec's part to abandon the invention, and directed the Patent Office to restore the application and permit Form 18 to be filed within two weeks. Background: How the Application Came to Be "Deemed Withdrawn" Under Section 11B read with Rule 24B of the Patents Rules, 2003, an applicant must file a Request for Examination within 48 months of the priority date, faili...

  Summary The Republic of Maldives enacted its first comprehensive Trademark Act (Law No. 19/2025), establishing a modern registration regime aligned with international standards to replace the long-standing informal cautionary notice system. The Act introduces examination procedures, opposition processes, protection for well-known marks, and civil and criminal remedies, with a twelve-month implementation period before taking effect on November 11, 2026. Historic Legislative Development On November 11, 2025, the Republic of Maldives achieved a historic milestone in intellectual property law by enacting the  Trademark Act (Law No. 19/2025) , establishing the country's first comprehensive statutory framework for trademark protection. This landmark legislation represents a transformative shift from the Maldives' traditional reliance on informal cautionary notice publications to a modern, internationally aligned registration system featuring robust examination procedures, structur...