Expert Analysis

As the annual review of the USTR’s Special 301 monitoring approaches, many Latin American countries have a lot to prove. James Nurton reports

Politicians have shown a welcome appetite for upgrading trade mark and copyright legislation. Changes may be required to reach international standards, but they also have a critical impact on a country’s prosperity, writes Ralph Cunningham

While counterfeiting is still a scourge of international business, many governments have made progress in improving protection in the past year. James Nurton, Ingrid Hering and Ralph Cunningham reveal the leading firms in trade mark/copyright work in 30 markets across the world

Owners of design rights have any number of laws to rely on when protecting their products in China. But too much uncertainty surrounds the best legal option to take. The authorities must make protection easier, argues Jan De Visser

When it comes to using patents to provide more brand and shareholder value, some companies may be getting in the way of their own success. In the following excerpt from their chapter in the book From Ideas to Assets – Investing Wisely in Intellectual Property (John Wiley & Sons), Bruce Berman and James D Woods show how the importance of these patents may be overlooked and under-communicated

The Tokyo High Court has upheld the Japanese Patent Office ban on obtaining trade marks for retail services. The internationalization of the country’s trade mark system could persuade the authorities to change their stance, say Shusaku Yamamoto and John Tessensohn