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John Chong and Lee Tatt Boon, of Skrine & Co in Kuala Lumpur, reveal how trade trade mark rights can be enforced under Malaysia’s Trade Descriptions Act

A recent Supreme Court decision in Japan will speed up patent litigation but innocent potential defendants should act early to avoid costly court battles. John A Tessensohn and Shusaku Yamamoto explain why

The end of the twentieth century saw patent owners queueing up to go to court to defend their rights. For some, the results were rewarding; for others, the risk didn’t pay off. James Nurton profiles some of 1999’s more interesting cases

China faces five years of the most crucial economic reforms since it launched its "open door" policy in 1978 after the US Congress approved permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) on May 24.

Californian lawyer William Levin has reacted angrily to a judge's ruling that he acted "unethically" in a high profile trade mark litigation case. In the ruling on May 23, US district court judge Lourdes G Baird overturned a record $143 million damages award against Pfizer due to attorney misconduct by Levin & Hawes, which represented British medical company Trovan.

Rainforest Coffee Products Pte Ltd (RCPPL), which was held to have infringed the RAINFOREST CAFÉ trade mark of Rainforest Café, Inc (RCI) under the repealed Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 1992 edition) by the High Court last year, has failed in its appeal to the Court of Appeal (see the December 1999 issue of MIP under the same column for our report on the High Court decision).

Claims drafted overseas and filed in Australia are often accepted by the Australian Patent Office without being adapted to local laws. In particular, claims that have been examined and accepted by European or US Patent Offices are often forwarded to Australian patent attorneys for submission as is, or with perhaps with only minor modifications. This is especially the case with modified examination, where an Australian patent may be granted on the basis of a patent granted in the United States, a European convention country, Canada or New Zealand, provided it uses exactly the same wording as the granted patent. This can lead to problems during litigation.

Trade marks have a special economic importance, with their ability to attract and to keep customers, and are one of the major elements in companies´ strategies.

James B Lumenta, of Amroos & Partners in Jakarta, explains how improvements to the Trade Mark Law make it easier to protect rights in Indonesia

There has been a steady flow of interesting trade mark disputes in India in the past year. Pravin Anand, of Anand & Anand in New Delhi, reviews the most important cases