Country Reports March 2012

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 Country: INDIAPeriod of Report: March 2012
  1. The Government has decided to amend the Trade Marks Rules, 2002 for making e-filing of trademark applications mandatory. The draft rules were notified in the Gazette of India on October 13, 2011and were made available to public for comments.
  2. In the month of February 2012, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, India published the list of 8151 International Non proprietary Names declared by the World Health Organization on the Patent Office Website.
  3. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks issued an order on March 9, 2012 granting the Compulsory License to Hyderabad-based drug-maker NATCO for the cancer drug “Sorafenib tosylate” that is manufactured and marketed by BAYER under the brand name NEXAVAR. This drug is used for the treatment at the advanced stages of kidney and liver cancer. This is the first compulsory license granted by the Indian Patent Office.
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 Country: PAKISTANPeriod of Report: March 2012
  1. The Patent Office, Pakistan has amended the Trade Mark Rules 2004 to give legal effect to the Digital Form of the Trade Mark Journal available on the website of the Intellectual Property Office.
  2. The 7th Meeting of IPR Enforcement Coordination Committee at Islamabad was held in the month of August 2011. The 7th Meeting was focused IP Crimes related to piracy and counterfeiting. Proper and strict implementations of laws in connection with implementation of IP rights were also discussed.
  3. The First Publication of Digital Journal of Trade Marks was inaugurated on October 20, 2011 at Trade Marks Registry Karachi.
  4. On December 22, 2011 the Intellectual Property Office, Pakistan has established IP Facilitation Desks at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Lahore for facilitation and guidance of business community and Small & Medium Enterprises for registration of their IP rights i.e. Trademarks, Patents, Industrial Designs and Copyrights.
  5. Intellectual Property Office, Pakistan is planning to accede to Madrid Protocol in order to facilitate the business community to register their trademarks around the globe by following a simplified procedure.
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 Country: NEPALPeriod of Report: March 2012
  1. The 2011 International Property Rights Index (IPRI), an annual international comparative study that measures physical and intellectual property rights and their protection around the world has ranked Nepal in the 100th place among 129 countries.
  2. The first review of the trade policies and practices of Nepal took place on 13 March and 15 March 2012 in Geneva. The basis for the review was a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Nepal.
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Country: SRI LANKAPeriod of Report: September 2011
  1. IP Office proposes to establish IP Facilitation Centers through Vidatha Resource Centers. The IP Facilitation Centers are implemented with the corporation of Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Ministry of Research & Technology and National Science Foundation. The first awareness-building program was held for officers of Vidatha Resource Centers on December 22, 2011.
  2. The National Intellectual Property Office, Srilanka has organized awareness building programs in Northwestern province in parallel with 2012 “Dayata Kirula” exhibition.
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 Country: BANGLADESHPeriod of Report: September 2011
  1. The Industries Minister of Bangladesh announced at a two-day forum jointly organized by WIPO and the Bangladesh Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) that the government has taken significant steps towards the protection and development of intellectual property in Bangladesh. The Industries Ministry has made drafts of the Patents Act 2011 and Industrial Designs Act 2011, which is available for stakeholders’ comments. The DPDT’s infrastructure has also been strengthened under an automation project.