experts in PROTECTING your 
intellectual property

The Uruguayan Patent and Trademark Office (DNPI) has now issued its first regulation which establishes the initial legal framework for PCT applications in Uruguay. This follows its accession to the PCT with effect from 7 January 2025. We summarise the main points established so far.

The Bahrain Ministry of Industry and Commerce has recently signed agreements with the South Korean and European Patent Offices to mutually benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program. Applicants who receive a positive ruling on patent claims from the Bahrain IPO and either the South Korean IPO or the EPO will enjoy an accelerated examination of corresponding claims in the other office, and vice versa. This will serve to reduce the time it takes to secure patent protection in these jurisdictions, and will streamline the prosecution of those patent applications.

As reported last week on our website, new IP laws relating to copyright, patents, and trade marks were unexpectedly brought into retroactive effect in the Bahamas from 1 February 2025. Whilst we are still awaiting written confirmation from BIPO and approval of the implementing regulations, we have analysed the new laws and summarise here some provisions of particular significance.

Many of you will have worked with Steve Le Feuvre during his many years of service with Lysaght.  He’s now counting down the final few weeks here before embarking on his well-deserved retirement.

We asked Steve to share some insights into his time at Lysaght and what his plans for the future involve.

Lysaght will be present at both the upcoming CITMA Spring Conference (20-21 March 2025) in London, and the INTA Annual Meeting (17-21 May 2025) in San Diego.

We look forward to attending these discussions, as well as to meeting both new and existing colleagues, clients and agents from around the world.  Tim Noel and Richard Stilwell are currently filling their schedules with meetings, so please email us at admin@lysaght.co.uk if you would like to meet with them.

In the ever-changing world of Intellectual Property (IP), firms are increasingly adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost productivity and uncover new business opportunities. Our firm successfully integrated an AI-driven software to streamline our quality control process.

On 25 February 2025, the Bahamas IPO (BIPO) informed practitioners in a verbal communication that new IP laws relating to copyright, patents, and trade marks became retroactively effective from 1 February 2025. However, the subsidiary legislation, including the implementing regulations and official fees, has not been finalised or approved and no timeframe has yet been provided for this.

We have received notification from the Intellectual Property Office that the enforcement date of the new Trade Marks Act in Bermuda has been delayed again, and a date of 01 April 2025 is now being considered. At this time, we cannot confirm whether the new law will be enforced on that date or whether there will be additional delays, but until the new law comes into force, the old legislation is still in effect. 

The ARIPO Administrative Council has adopted several amendments to the Harare Protocol on Patents, Utility Models and Industrial Designs ("the Protocol") and its Implementing Regulations (“the Regulations”), which will come into effect on 1 March 2025. Our article summarises some of the key changes.

It has come to our attention that new patent and trade mark laws are currently under review in the Republic of Kiribati which, once promulgated, will overhaul the current UK-based re-registration systems that currently exist there and will introduce national filing systems.

It has been announced that ARIPO will increase some of its official fees for patent and design matters, which will apply to all new and existing patent cases from 1st March 2025.

Two pieces of news have recently come to light regarding trade mark matters in Libya, which have significant implications for rights holders there. We summarise these developments relating to the cancellation of certain trade marks and an increase in the official fees for renewal payments.

The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. This law will enter into force in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 7 April 2025.

We are proud to announce that Isabelle MBOME from our affiliated office of Ekémé Lysaght SARL has been appointed as a member of the Scientific Committee of the Denis Ekani Intellectual Property Academy (APIDE). Isabelle’s appointment to the committee will enable her to contribute to the training of specialist human resources and the sharing of knowledge in the field of IP, and to gain a valuable insight into developments that occur in legal and practical aspects of IP at OAPI.

The European Patent Office and the Costa Rican Minister of Justice of Peace have just announced that they have signed an agreement allowing European patents to be validated in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the first country in Latin America to sign such an agreement. The news marks a significant step in strengthening intellectual property protection and fostering innovation and investment in Latin America.

Zoë is the newest member to the Lysaght team, bringing with her 7 years of IP experience and qualification as a CITMA paralegal. With Lysaght’s commitment to nurturing and developing the staff, Zoë will face new challenges in preparing to manage her own portfolio of countries.

Richard Stilwell recently represented Lysaght at AIPPI’s World Congress event in Hangzhou, marking the first time an international IP conference has been held in China.

We are pleased to report that the Bermuda Registry General has now issued an Industry Notice confirming that the new Trade Mark Act has been approved by the Bermudan Parliament.

In Iraq and the Kurdistan region, effective trade mark registration is increasingly critical as the economy grows and foreign investment rises. An important development in this field will be the adoption of the 11th edition of the Nice Classification in both regions from January 2025.

On 11 November 2024, the Ministry of Economy and Industry and Investment Trade in Sana'a issued Ministerial Decision No. 56 of 2024 which relaxes some of the restrictions previously imposed on Swedish and American trade mark applicants and owners. This Decision now permits the renewal of trade mark registrations owned by entities in the US and Sweden. Whilst it is not clear whether the restrictions have also been removed for UK-based right holders, we believe that the removal of the ban also applies here.

Turkmenistan will become the final Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) member state to join the Eurasian industrial design protection system, following the deposit of its instrument of accession to the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention. The Protocol will enter into force in Turkmenistan on 4 January 2025.

The Eurasian design system, which has been operational since 1 June 2021, allows applicants to obtain simultaneous protection in the EAPO member states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and, with effect from 4 January 2025, Turkmenistan. Applicants can file a single Eurasian design application, covering up to 100 industrial designs in the same class under the International Classification for Industrial Designs, in order to secure protection across all member states.

As previously reported, Myanmar’s long-awaited Patent Law 2019 came into effect earlier this year. Finally, on 31 October 2024, Myanmar's Intellectual Property Department (IPD) officially begun to accept new patent and utility model applications. This important development finally enables patent applicants to benefit from a substantive patent protection system in Myanmar, with the implementation of the new law replacing the primitive and unsatisfactory “cautionary notice” system for the first time.

Numerous of the USPTO’s fees for patent matters are set to increase on 19 January 2025, including the fees for filing a patent application, Requests for Continued Examination, appeals and the issuance of patents. It is therefore worth considering filing any items with fee increases prior to 19 January 2025 so as to benefit from the current lower fees.

On 1 October 2024, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers approved the country’s accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks.  Ethiopia’s accession to these IP treaties and to trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), along with the necessary modernisation of Ethiopia’s IP  laws, will serve to bring Ethiopia onto the global stage for IP and help to stimulate trade and investment in the country.

We have just received information from the Head of the Patent Department at OAPI that Annexes I and II  (which relate to patents and utility models, respectively) of the revised Bangui Accord will be brought into force on 1 January 2025.  We expect OAPI to issue some further information and guidelines as to the implementation of the new law in the near future. 

The Lebanese Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is currently facing significant operational difficulties due to the ongoing economic and political instability in the country. The challenging environment has led to staff shortages, as many employees are unable to attend work. In addition, technical issues with the online portal have further complicated the IPO’s ability to process applications efficiently.

On 15 September 2025, the Qatari Patent Office has reinstated the requirement to pay annuities on pending applications.  As a result, applicants are required to ensure that all outstanding annuity fees are paid on each anniversary of the effective filing date of their patent applications (which, for PCT national phase applications, is deemed to be the international filing date), from the 2^nd annuity onwards, regardless of whether a grant decision has been issued. 

Uruguay will deposit its instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty on 7 October 2024, and the agreement will enter into force 3 months later, on 7 January 2025.  This accession to the PCT represents a culmination of the country’s efforts to support locally generated inventions, foster investment, create new business opportunities, and elevate Uruguay’s position in the international patent arena.  

We remind all applicants and owners of Cayman Islands patent, trade mark and design registrations, and all owners of trade marks in the Turks & Caicos Islands, that the next annual maintenance fees (AMFs) for such cases are due for payment on 1 January 2025.  If these annual fees are not paid by 31 March 2025, penalty fees will accrue. 

IP Australia has just announced some changes to the official fees for patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder’s rights, which will come into effect on 1 October 2024.  Inter alia, the filing fees for patents and plant breeder’s rights will increase, trade mark filing fees will remain unchanged, and designs filing fees will decrease.