Author: VAI IP COMMERCIAL

Firstly, congratulations to the Registrar Amelia Na’aru and her team at the Papua New Guinea Intellectual Property Office for revamping their online search engine facility. I say “revamped” because prior to the launching of the facility we had already been using it and did find it helpful. I thought I’d give my views on why it’s an important facility, tips on how to use it and of course some areas that I think would be beneficial for practitioners and their officers alike. In essence, the search engine facility enables you to conduct searches of the PNG Trade Mark Register and…

The PNG Registrar of Trade Marks recently launched a search engine facility for patents, designs and trademarks. The trade mark database isn’t actually new as we’ve used it quite regularly, but it does have some new information and features. In any evet, it’s a wonderful effort to shift the information online and available to the public which they can access anywhere, anytime. One of the reasons we use the facility quite often is to conduct the watch service we provide to clients. And during the conducting of this service, we get to find out what products or brands are about…

The recent announcement of a partnership between MiBank and Kina Bank is welcome news.  Perhaps the most interesting part of the announcement at least from my point of view is Tony Westaway’s acknowledgement that they’re aware of their intellectual properties and further how important those properties were in forming a partnership with an up and coming player in the banking industry, Kina Bank. Here’s what MiBank’s Managing Director Tony Westaway was quoted as saying in the media reports: “So we got a lot of intellectual property around mobile money or digital. However, we haven’t got deep pockets. “And certainly Kina…

Earlier this year, a young man came to me concerned about a potential copyright infringement matter. Like any typical copyright matter, a design he created was copied by a corporate entity and subsequently applied on a line garments and sold to the public. All this, without his authority. He was obviously disappointed when saw the design on the garments and even more furious when the garments were being sold to the public by a popular retailer. But he had an even bigger worry. What was he going to do to get compensated for the infringement. How would he go about…

Susan is an up and coming fashion designer in Papua New Guinea.  She’s been in the industry for a couple of years now but still considers herself an “amateur”.  About a year ago while shopping at one of the local retailers, she saw a skirt displayed at the storefront. She immediately noticed a familiar design printed on it and took a closer look.  It didn’t take long before concluding that the design looked substantially similar, if not, identical to a design she had done earlier and posted it on Facebook for a friends to see.  She was disappointed and furious…

[gdlr_core_space height=”30px”] I neglect my talents Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary

Are you thinking of rebranding your business name or a product in 2019? Rebranding can be an expensive exercise.  Do it wrong and you could pay a heavy price – a very heavy price. In this two-part series, I’m going to explain to you what could go wrong and in the second part my recommendation of considerations you should take when planning on the rebranding exercise.  In fact, these considerations should be the recommended steps if you are to minimize the risk of infringement, litigation or generally issues that could hinder your business activities under your new brand. Background When…

Around this time last year, a major retail outlet in Port Moresby was heavily promoting a new “top of the range” wide screen television model. Within the shop, the music was cranked up a few more decibels to draw customers to its electronic section. It didn’t take long before the numbers in this section started swelling up. In this section, televisions sets on display were of different sizes many of them switched on showing the crispy clear images. I too was driven there by the buzz and whilst admiring the quality of these television sets, there was something on the…

Are you looking to file an application to patent an invention? Or do you wish to register an industrial design? If the latter click here. If the former, read on. There are two types of applications that can be filed. One is a convention application and the other is an application entering the national phase. Convention Application Filing Requirements A. Letter of Intent to Apply for patent B. Original signed Form 1 C. Invention Description (including Abstract, Claims) in English D. Figures and/or Drawings F. Original signed certificate of Translation or verified statement of translation if description not in English…

Are you considering registering your trade mark?  If so, please find below a list of requirements you will need have handy when requesting us to assist you file a trade mark application with the Papua New Guinea Intellectual Property Office. A. Name of Applicant B. Full Trade or Business Address of Applicant C. Country of Incorporation for Applicant D. Representation of Trade Mark E. List of Goods/Services for which the trade mark will be used F. Trading Style (if any) G. Status of Use – whether (a) in use / or (b) proposed to be used H. Nominated Address for…