Expert Analysis

Trade mark owners are increasingly frustrated at having to police online auction websites to prevent sales of fakes. In an open letter to eBay, one IP lawyer demands action. Ray Black

Do copyright laws incentivize artists to create in a way that benefits society as a whole, or do they discourage innovation by locking up culture for the financial benefit of a small minority? MIP asked a copyright owner and a pro-piracy campaigner to debate whether the copyright law balance has tipped too far in favour of rights holders. Christian Engström of the Swedish Pirate Party opens the correspondence, and Scott Martin of Paramount Pictures responds

Companies losing millions of dollars to makers of fakes want consumers to understand that counterfeiting harms legitimate businesses, exploits workers and is often run by criminal gangs with murky links to terrorism. So why do people still buy knock-offs? Peter Ollier took the short journey from Hong Kong to Shenzhen to see how the counterfeit buyers justify their purchases

Far from being a second-class IP right, registered designs offer IP owners a highly effective - but often overlooked - way of protecting their brand and products. Brian Cordery explains why rights owners should rethink the role of designs in their IP portfolio

The courts have yet to resolve when or if search terms used to drive traffic to ad-sponsored sites should be considered trade mark infringement. Jonathan Moskin examines this issue in the context of recent cases

The rise of the internet has spawned a lucrative trade in counterfeit goods. But as an investigation launched by Burberry shows, careful online monitoring can trap the sellers, says Emma Barraclough