China and Serbia sign free trade agreement

　　10月17日，在中国国家主席习近平和塞尔维亚总统武契奇的共同见证下，Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Aleksander Momirovic，Signed the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia on behalf of their respective governments。This is the first FTA signed between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and the 22nd FTA signed by China, making Serbia China's 29th FTA partner。

　　The signing of the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement is an important measure to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and also an important outcome of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation。The China-Serbia FTA negotiations were launched in April 2023 and substantially completed by the end of September。Through the FTA, China and Serbia will achieve a high level of mutual opening-up, establish new institutional arrangements for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, create a more favorable, convenient, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises of the two countries, and inject new momentum into promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and deepening China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership。

　　After the signing of the agreement, the two sides will carry out their respective domestic procedures to promote the early entry into force of the agreement。

　　(Source: Information Office of Ministry of Commerce)

　　Saudi Arabia has announced the mandatory introduction of unified charging ports for mobile phones and electronic devices

　　The Saudi Arabian Standards, Metrology, Quality Authority and the Communications, Aerospace and Technology Authority have announced that they will enter the phase of mandatory standardization of charging interfaces for mobile phones and electronic devices in the Saudi market starting in 2025。Companies and suppliers are required to comply with the technical and management requirements set out in technical regulations and relevant standard specifications，Standardizing the shipping point type to "USB Type-C"，Technology that provides transportation and transmission of high-quality data without increasing costs，To improve the user experience in Saudi Arabia，And support the principles of environmental sustainability by reducing the amount of e-waste。

　　The two agencies stressed that the decision will help reduce the annual consumption of more than 2.2 million chargers and chargers for mobile phones and electronic devices in China and help save Saudi consumers money。In addition to achieving Saudi Arabia's sustainable development goals in the technology sector by reducing e-waste by about 15 tons per year, Saudi Arabia will also save more than 1, 000 tons per year.700 million rials。

　　The two agencies said，Enforcement will take place in two phases，The first phase begins on January 1, 2025，This includes mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, e-readers and game consoles, Portable video，耳机，耳麦，loudspeaker，键盘，Computer pointing device，And a portable navigation system，Portable speaker and wireless router。The second phase will begin on April 1, 2026 and will include laptops。

　　The two agencies said，The decision includes a support obligation，According to the detailed information mentioned in the relevant technical regulations and standard specifications，The decision is also included in the above devices via USB ports, The ability to connect total power via the Fast Charging Protocol (USB PD)，In addition to the need to provide instructions on the charging device，To increase user awareness, You also need to provide labels，Charger availability instructions，And supported minimum and maximum power information。

　　It is worth noting that this decision falls under the regulatory role of two major institutions in the Saudi electronic equipment market。In addition, the two agencies protect users by improving the quality of technology products and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by reducing the amount of e-waste in response to changes in the world's largest communications and technology sector market。

　　(Credit: Beko)

　　Slovakia introduces a comprehensive alternative to provisional patent applications

　　In some countries, such as France, the United States, Australia and Portugal, an applicant may file a provisional patent application in addition to a standard patent application。Moreover, even if the provisional patent application does not contain details of patent claims or other provisions, the applicant is able to establish priority in relation to the invention described in the application。However, such provisional patent applications must be converted to standard patent applications within 12 months of filing。

　　At present, it is not possible to file provisional patent applications in Slovakia。However, it is important to point out here that a patent application filed by an applicant in Slovakia does not have to contain all the required details in order to establish the date of application。Specifically speaking，If the patent contains at least the following information，The applicant can then establish the filing date: details about the applicant's apparent intention to file a patent application;Details that can be used to identify and contact the applicant;And the part to be used as a specification (in terms of determining the date of application)，There is no need for this part to be written in a language other than your own)。

　　However, if a patent applicant has only filed an application that meets the minimum requirements for the establishment of the application date described above, then in most cases it may be necessary to file the remaining application documents in the specified form and language within 12 months of the filing of the application。

　　In order to give Slovak applicants the same advantages as those in countries where provisional patent applications can be filed，As of September 1, 2023, the Slovak Industrial Property Office has revised the time limit for amendments to applications that do not contain all the required elements，This ensures that applicants who submit such applications have 12 months to amend their application documents，There is no need to make repeated requests to the Bureau for time extensions。

　　Thus, this filing with the Slovak Industrial Property Office, which contains only the minimum elements required to obtain the filing date, will be a comprehensive alternative to filing provisional patent applications with certain foreign patents。

　　From the applicant's point of view, filing a patent application that only meets the minimum requirements of the filing date may even be somewhat more advantageous than filing a traditional provisional patent application。For example, there is no need to rush the submission of the converted application, and the 12-month period for the submission of complete application documents set by the Industrial Property Office can be extended at the request of the applicant。

　　(Source: China Intellectual Property Protection Network)

　　France and Morocco sign agreement on cooperation on patent examination highway

　　At the end of the 26th Joint Committee meeting held in Casablanca this year, the French National Office for Industrial Property (INPI) and the Moroccan Office for Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC) signed an agreement aimed at speeding up the patent grant process, the Patent Examination Highway (PPH) Cooperation Agreement。This is the seventh such agreement INPI has signed on an international level since the first PPH agreement was signed with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on November 26, 2020。This is also the first PPH agreement INPI has signed with an African country。

　　In addition, INPI has signed agreements with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Brazilian National Industrial Property Office, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, among others。

　　The agreement with OMPIC will come into force on November 1, 2023。因此，From this day on，The applicant may request an expedited grant procedure for the second patent application filed with OMPIC, whether it is a national application or a PCT application that has entered the Moroccan national phase，As long as the claims contained in the application are sufficiently similar to those referred to in an application that has been reviewed by INPI and deemed patentable。In turn, the PPH agreement is also available to applicants who wish to take advantage of the expedited processing of patent applications in France。

　　Notably, among all foreign applicants filing patent applications with OMPIC, French applicants rank second only to the United States, which proves the strong interest of French applicants in seeking protection for their innovations in Morocco。

　　The new approach to obtaining Moroccan patents brought about by the agreement will benefit applicants and help save even more time。

　　This was the 26th annual meeting of the Joint Commission, which validated the relationship of trust between the two institutions。In addition, the meeting also discussed the results of the cooperation between the two sides and the new road map for 2023 to 2024, which focuses on training, the dissemination of intellectual property information, etc。

　　(Source: China Intellectual Property Protection Network)

　　Asean related certification news

　　First, the Philippines: issued new regulations for PELP energy labeling program

　　From June 20, 2023, the Philippine Department of Energy began to accept company registration applications from local importers of electric fans and washing machines through the PELP system, and subsequent product registration applications can only be carried out after the company registration is approved。

　　(Source: Philippine Department of Energy)

　　Second, Thailand: the implementation of new EGAT label format for specific electronic and electrical products

　　The Electricity Authority of Thailand plans to implement the new EGAT Energy efficiency label format for the following electrical and electronic products from January 1, 2024。

　　Air conditioning and air purifier

　　Washing machine, TV and water pump

　　Refrigerator, display case and hot and cold water dispenser

　　Products marketed on or after January 1, 2024 must use the new EGAT label format。Existing products that are available or on sale before this date do not need to have the new EGAT label。

　　(Source: Electricity Authority of Thailand)

　　Singapore: Launch of 3G service decommissioning plan

　　Singapore's mobile network operator, which offers 3G services, plans to retire its 3G services by July 31, 2024, a move that could free up more spectrum for 5G investment。Nearly 99% of mobile subscribers in Singapore are currently on 4G/5G, and the 3G subscriber base is about 1% of the total mobile subscriber base as of April 2023 and is declining。

　　Retailers will also no longer be able to sell 3G phones and/or 4G models that require 3G voice calls。The regulation will take effect on February 1, 2024。(except for export purposes)。

　　(Credit: Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore)

　　Malaysia: Issue new regulations on inspection requirements

　　The Malaysian Industrial Standards Institute (SIRIM) and the Malaysian Energy Efficiency Council (ST) have announced several updated regulations for the batch certification scheme:

　　From August 1, 2023, remote video inspection will no longer be accepted。All batches of goods must be inspected on site。

　　The requirements for batch certification will be more stringent。If a product is found to be non-compliant during field testing, SIRIM will immediately issue a notification of test failure and the shipment shall be returned to the country of origin or destroyed on site。

　　Products that also fall within the scope of the ST Energy Efficiency program, such as: TV sets, refrigerators, household fans, air conditioners, washing machines, etc., should be labeled with energy efficiency labels。The energy efficiency label and its quantity should be submitted to SIRAM for review prior to each batch inspection。(Source: Malaysian Industrial Standards Institute)

　　(Source: Zhongjiawan (Beijing) Testing & Certification Co., LTD.)