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Floyd Wilde from Cambridge, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Safeguarding IP of indigenous knowledge may be crucial for the human race

With an estimated 14 to 17 million indigenous peoples, it is not surprising that the Philippines has a legal framework for the protection of indigenous works. For instance, its Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act introduced the concept of community intellectual rights and granted indigenous peoples the right to practice and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs.

However, many of the a

Image: Angela Andriot, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you copyright a scent? It’s complicated

In a world where the travel industry has been upended by the pandemic, what should airlines do to get their business off the ground again? Singapore Airlines is pulling out the stops to navigate this turbulent landscape, launching a plethora of creative initiatives to lure nervous travellers back into the skies. Among these initiatives is a signature scent known as Batik Flora by Singapore Airline

How this Singapore National Day song reflects evolving views of IP

How this Singapore National Day song reflects evolving views of IP

Singapore marks its National Day every August, and one of the unique features of this annual celebration is the commissioning of a new National Day theme song. While the 2021 theme song The Road Ahead has been warmly received, that’s definitely not a sure thing every year — in fact, one of the hallmarks of the run-up to the National Day Parade is a spirited public debate over whether the theme son

Image credit: Petapixel

Photographer thunderstruck by photo rip-off

Photographer Sean R. Heavey claims a 2010 photo he took of a supercell thunderstorm, which he called The Mothership, was used by Netflix in their hit series Stranger Things and a Netflix feature-length movie, How It Ends. Netflix denies this. But for photographers, seeing their work reproduced is unfortunately a very common occurrence.

Source: Joltmycar Facebook page

A rude Jolt for a creator

Mark Robinson was watching television when he got a rude jolt – his invention, Jolt My Car, had appeared on screen under a different name, marketed by a different company.

Screenshot of Bula Nation’s website

Can a national greeting be stolen?

The government of Fiji says it is contesting the trademark of the word “bula”, which was registered by an American company operating a chain of bars in Florida called Bula Nation.
“Bula” apparently means “life”, but is used as a greeting and good wishes, and is used only on the island of Fiji.
Calling it a case of “heritage-hijacking”, Fiji said it is preparing legal action against the owner

This is how the story was written in South Africa

The fight over Mandela's R2.1billion smile

South African's Government Communication Information System (GCIS) has been accused of misappropriating a famous photograph of Nelson Mandela. It shows yet again to PitchMark your work to stop such issues from arising.

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