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Yoshitaka Sonoda of Sonoda & Kobayashi, Tokyo provides an overview of patent initiatives in Japan, ranging from simplified prosecution for international applicants to the latest decisions from the courts

The French organization of manufacturers, Union des Fabricants, has been active in Japan since 1980. Laurent Dubois and Takayuki Tsutsumi of Union des Fabricants explained to MIP what it does in the country, and how it is helping brand owners to deal with the threat of counterfeiting

Plant breeders have welcomed proposals to provide criminal penalties for infringement in Colombia.

The patentability of methods for controlling the operation of medical devices has long been disputed in Japan. But, as Akihiko Okuno of Sonoda & Kobayashi in Tokyo explains, it is now possible to get protection – provided you draft your claims carefully

The Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP) provides that use of a registered trade mark inures to the benefit of a registration only if it is effected directly by the registrant or by a recorded licensee.

On May 29 2006, the State Council of China issued the Regulations on Protection of Rights of Communication Via the Information Network that will come into effect on July 1 2006. The Regulations are made in light of the WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996 and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty 1996 in relation to the provisions relating to the communication or distribution of the relevant copyright works using wire or wireless means.

In Germany a declaratory action is an established instrument to react to an unwarranted warning letter. But whether it is necessary to send a counter-warning in response to a first warning letter so as to prevent an award of costs pursuant to S 93 ZPO (Code of Civil Procedure) when filing a declaratory action has up to now been a moot point. Different courts have handed down different decisions on this point. The District Court of Cologne confirmed the necessity of a counter-warning letter to prevent an award of costs pursuant to S 93 ZPO. Several Higher Regional Courts, however, denied the basic necessity of sending a counter-warning letter.

Turkey issued its patent law first in 1879, making it one of the earliest countries to do so, but unfortunately no further steps were taken until 1994, when the Turkish Patent Institute was founded. The Turkish Patent Decree Law, comparable to modern provisions, was published in 1995 and was followed by related regulations and several amendments.

Last year the Swedish Customs Service made more interventions against counterfeits than ever before. More than 280,000 items with a market value of some SEK127 million ($17.5 million) were seized. This is good news for trade mark owners and owners of other forms of IP. However, it must be assumed that only a tiny fraction of counterfeit goods are being detected and there is much to suggest that the importation of counterfeit goods will continue to increase and reach new, record-high levels. So the Swedish authorities are now devoting ever-increasing resources to hunting down counterfeiters.

In the case of Shangri-La International Hotel Management et al (SLIHM), v Developers Group of Companies, Inc (DGCI) issued on March 31 2006, involving the trade marks Shangri-La and the S logo, the Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Court which found SLIHM guilty of trade mark infringement, and ruled in favour of SLIHM.