Expert Analysis

While jurisdictions such as the EPO are moving away from the use of Swiss-type claims, China still accepts such claims, though a Chinese Swiss-type claim has its own unique uses and limitations. Ouyang Shiwen and Zhang Lihua explain how such claims are interpreted and the approach taken by the Supreme People’s Court in light of recent guidance

The concept of open-source software (OSS) is to share the source code for free with future users. So what happens when companies use the free code of others to develop their own code? Scott Thiel explains what needs to be understood at the outset and how companies can adopt the right form of OSS licensing to protect intellectual property that results from a derivative work of OSS

Simon Crompton travels to Caterpillar’s European IP headquarters to learn how the team manages its IP risk across a dizzying array of products

IPO Director of Innovation & Strategic Comms with background in private sector and Whitehall roles.

Policy makers around the world are tackling some big IP-related issues. These include the relationship between IP laws and economic growth; ways of responding to counterfeiting and piracy; and the correct balance between ensuring access to innovation and incentivising the production of more of it.

Judge Chen Jinchuan It's hard to deny the influence of social media and campaigners harnessing the web to bring new voices to the debate. At the same time, this past year has seen considerable activity in the IP offices, legislatures and courts. Even at a time where the law is often derided for not moving quickly enough to keep up with developments in business and technology, the influence of those working in the traditional halls of power for intellectual property is hard to overstate. There has been a considerable amount of legislative change in the past year. Lord Younger, UK IP Minister, has had a number of notable achievements under his belt, such as the passage of the UK IP Act 2014. The new law, which received Royal Assent in May, makes a number of minor changes to streamline processes, but also notably introduces criminal sanctions for design patent infringement. Furthermore, the IP Act takes a number of steps towards preparing the UK for the Unitary Patent.