Asian Legal Review

Germany’s Trademark Law Modernisation Act came into force on 14 January 2019. It updated not only what types of trade marks can be registered in the country but also introduced other changes that impact trade mark owners, licensees and alleged infringers.

US President Donald Trump will meet with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February at a place to be announced later, the White House said on Friday.
Trump met for an hour and a half with North Korean envoy Kim Yong-chol on Friday afternoon to discuss denuclearisation and the second summit, according to the White House. The diplomatic encounters with Kim Yong-chol, Pyongyang’s lead negotiator with the United States, mark a rare sign of potential movement in a…

Malaysia has filed a lawsuit against an opposition-run state for infringing on an indigenous tribe’s land rights by handing out licences to plantation companies to cut down timber, the first such action by a sitting government.
Deforestation over the decades has displaced some of the dozens of indigenous groups in Malaysia from their customary land. Property development and palm oil, rubber and more recently durian plantations have also encroached on their land.
Activists have criticised…

The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) must correct a known error in the calculation of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation quickly, or risk being in breach of its statutory duties, a House of Lords committee has warned.

A North Korean envoy was headed to Washington on Thursday for expected talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a possible encounter with President Donald Trump to lay the groundwork for a second US-North Korea summit, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Kim Yong-chol, Pyongyang’s lead negotiator in denuclearisation talks with the US, was due to meet Pompeo on Friday, the source said, the first major sign of potential movement in a diplomatic effort that had appeared…

The Philippines will buy 16 Black Hawk helicopters made by United States manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft, said the nation’s defence chief on Thursday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s vow not to purchase arms of equipment from the US.
Defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Air Force had evaluated several options – the S-70 Black Hawk made by Sikorsky Aircraft, the Russian-made Mi-171, the South Korean-made Surion, and the AW139 made by AgustaWestland from the UK….

As Japan seeks the United States’ help to bolster its cyberwarfare capabilities amid what it says are continuing cyberattacks from China, the Japanese defence minister travelled to Washington on Wednesday to urge greater cooperation.
The minister, Takeshi Iwaya, said his nation was aiming to increase its cybersecurity force to 2,000 members as the electronic capabilities of various countries, including China, were growing every year.
“So we must strengthen our cyberforces with…

The Scottish financial technology (fintech) sector has grown threefold in the last 12 months, with an increase in the number of firms established in Scotland to more than 80.

An Indonesian scientist has been mauled to death by a huge pet crocodile on the island of Sulawesi, officials said Wednesday.
Deasy Tuwo, the head of a laboratory at a pearl farm in Minahasa in North Sulawesi, was killed by the 4.4-metre (14.4 foot) long reptile last Thursday, authorities said.
The 44-year old’s badly-mauled body was found by colleagues the following morning, Hendrik Rundengan, from the local conservation agency, told AFP.
“The indication is that she fell into the…

Kim Jong-un’s right-hand man is expected to personally deliver a letter from the North Korean leader to US President Donald Trump when he visits Washington this week, according to a high-ranking South Korean official.
Kim Yong-chol, the North’s highest official in charge of negotiations with the United States and Seoul, will leave for Washington as early as Wednesday, the South Korean official was quoted as saying by JTBC TV. The North had “strongly demanded” that Kim…