Vietnam civil copyright decision

A copyright dispute in Vietnam indicates that civil litigation is increasingly common. This month the Hanoi People’s Court ruled in a civil decision on copyright.

 

It concerned a musical called Tinh Hoa Bac Bo (Quintessence of Tonkin). This is an open-air water stage musical about the region of Tonkin, in north Vietnam. It premiered in late 2017 and met with critical success and awards. The show was produced by Tuan Chau Hanoi JSC. It is alleged to have reproduced components of another musical play called Ngay Xua (Back Then). This was produced by TCHN and directed by renowned director Viet Tu in June 2017. Tu’s show was not a success and stopped running after 10 shows. Tu used to be an employee of Tuan Chau Hanoi JSC.

 

Expert evidence from the Vietnam Stage Artists Association was provided during the case. TCHN defended in court that The Quintessence of Tonkin was a separate product solely researched and created by directors Hoang Huu Nhat Nam and Dao Thuy Phuong Thao. Nam argued that he was the author of The Quintessence of Tonkin, and had already been granted an independent copyright for his work by the Copyright Office on July 31, 2017.  However when summoned to give evidence he did not appear.

The panel of judges decided that The Quintessence of Tonkin was a derivative work of Back Then. They awarded Viet Tu VND660 million ($28,000) in damages from TCHN. They calculated 10 percent of ticket sales, royalties, and interest for late payment.

 

There has already been an appeal and a separate defamation case has been filed by Name against Tu in in the People's Court of Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Indonesia Madrid trademarks update

The Madrid trademark system has been operating in Indonesia since 2 January 2018. By March 2019, over 8,000 international applications have designated Indonesia. On average, it takes around 2-3 months for WIPO to complete the formalities stage and forward the applications to the TMO in Indonesia. So far over 5,000 applications have been received and are undergoing examination. It is taking around 7 months to complete examination. A number of office actions have been issued since the start of 2019. Around 80% are passing without office actions.  

One of the major challenges is unrecorded assignments – the Indonesian TMO’s proprietor data needs to be updated faster. The result is the TMO does not always know who the correct proprietor of a blocking mark is. Another is when the specification is limited in Indonesia compared to other markets; this negates many conflicts; applicants need to ensure they know whether this has happened to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Indonesians are also using Madrid. So far 28 local companies have filed 32 international applications. 

Facebook Marketplace and IP infringement in the Philippines

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) aims to regulate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are selling products online using Facebook as a sales platform. Philippines is a fast growing digital commerce market in the SEA region. In January 2018, Facebook introduced its marketplace service in the country allowing Facebook users to use Facebook as a platform to buy and sell goods online. However, plenty of sellers on Facebook are selling their products without having registered stores and this leads to problems in relation to intellectual property violations as it becomes very difficult to trace these people if they sell fake goods. 


In order to address this issue and regulate the FB marketplace, IPOPHL is working with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to push for the registration of online retailers with the DTI. So, in case an online seller is found without registration, it may be removed/taken down from Facebook. IPOPHL intends to seek help from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as well, to gain more authority to ask Facebook to take down the social media pages of illegal online businesses. IPOPHL is also keen to work with trademark owners as their cooperation is key in enforcing intellectual property. Many may not be aware that how the Facebook marketplace is so used in the Philippines.

The trade in fakes from and through SE Asia

The publication of the OECD/EUIPO updated report Trends in Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods provides more data and corroboration on the role of SE Asia in the global fakes trade.

 

Of course China dominates as the global source, including transited goods through Hong Kong. But the report identifies other SE Asian countries too. Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are all small but important producers in many goods sectors. Singapore features as a source as a result of transhipment of fakes through its port.  The global fakes trade is valued at half a billion Euros and growing. Footwear and clothing are the largest volumes of fake goods seized, but the usual range of products from consumer and household to pharma remain common, as well as IP-infringing packaging and labels.

 

Places with weak governance attract counterfeiting. This includes bot  countries with large grey economies, and specifically Free Trade Zones. The boom in internet orders and small parcel deliveries by post or courier services is now dominating seizures. For customs and IP owners this means more work for less volumes.  Weak port systems (lack of shipment information transparency, no advance clearance systems etc) encourages the fakes trade.

 

The authors also note a change to the rights owners affected with an increasing spread to companies from all countries. In SE Asia they identify a number of Singapore IP owners as facing fake goods problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myanmar passes Patent law

On March 11, 2019, the Assembly of the Union of Myanmar (the Parliament) passed the Patent Law No. 7/2019. 

The next and final step is for the President of Myanmar to issue and sign a notification informing the date of entry into force of the Laws.


With the passing of the Trademarks and Designs laws earlier this year the parliamentary process is now complete, except for the Copyright Law.