1 US

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility seeks completion in June

Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. declared on May 1st that its transaction with Google will be finished by the end of June.

Google is aiming at acquring Motorola Mobility’s 17,000 patents to pave the way for Android. To date, the case has gone through the examinations of the anti-monopoly organizations in US and EU, and is now being reviewed by China’s relevant supervision organizations.

2 UAE

Law against counterfeit goods in the UAE in final stage (UAE)

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A federal law calling for tougher penalties on smugglers and sellers of fake goods is in its final stage, the Ministry of Economy said. The law will cover items such as fake bags, toys and even medicines. The only law currently in practice was drafted in 1979. It calls for a maximum jail term of two years and maximum fine of Dh10,000 for cheating a customer by delivering goods that are different to what is ordered. Last year, the ministry conducted about 19,000 inspections to try to find counterfeit goods.

3 EU

Patent application in EU enters the e-era

EPO signed a million dollar agreement to simplify patent application process in the EU. This move aims at making the whole application process paper-free. The Director of the EPO commented: “Each year, the EPO has to communicate with patent applicants for more than 2.5 million times. The new system will be an applicant-focused digital system, which will save the EPO 200 million euros per year.”

4 Cuba

Cuba accuses US of brand infringement

Cuba accused US of violating international laws protecting brands and trademarks after the US Supreme Court decided to grant multinational rum producer Bacardi’s rights to use the Havana Club name. “The Foreign Ministry demands that the government of the United States immediately returns the license that allows Cuban company Cubaexport to renew the Havana Club brand,” the official release said.

5 USA

3D Titanic accused of infringing upon Picasso’s copyright

James Cameron, Director of 3D Titanic, is sued by the Artists’ Right Society for violating the Copyright Law because of the appearance of Picasso’s famous artistic work Awenon Maiden in the film.

Reportedly, Cameron was also sued for the same reason in 1997 when he shot the film and compensated due royalties. As the 3D version of the movie was released, the Artists’ Right Society thought that Cameron should also pay the royalty again this time.

6 Syria

Syria adopts Nice Classification

According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Economy and Trade of Syria, there were 3,008 trademark registering applications being approved, which decreased a little comparing with the number 3,021 in 2010.

Since the beginning of this year, Syria has begun to formally comply with the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification) Tenth Edition in order to gear to international standards.

7 UK

Ofcom set to lay out anti-piracy rules for ISPs

ISPs will be required to do to help combat copyright infringement, as the government pushes ahead with implementing the Digital Economy Act. The Initial Obligations Code of Practice will lay out the technical measures and actions service providers have to take against suspected unlawful file-sharers. While legal challenges have meant the release of the code has been delayed, a draft is now expected to be published by Ofcom in June.