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In a recent judgment issued by the Single Member Court of Athens, several issues were addressed regarding design rights, the overall get-up of fitness products and unfair competition.

The USPTO has announced it will open three new satellite offices in addition to Detroit – Dallas, Texas; San Jose, California; and Denver, Colorado. The announcement came just over one week before the USPTO's first satellite patent office opened in Detroit, Michigan. USPTO commissioner for patents Peggy Focarino said that the size and focus of each new office will differ according to region. In Detroit, the plan is to hire 125 examiners in groups of 25 each, beginning July 16. The 11 administrative law judges (ALJs) that have been hired so far for Detroit will begin even sooner. The number of examiners and ALJs in Denver, San Jose and Dallas will vary, said Focarino. Examiners in Detroit will all focus on mechanical patents for now, while the Texas office may stick to energy-related industries and California to information technology. The USPTO will send site survey teams to all three locations to determine the order in which the new offices will open. The America Invents Act mandated that the agency open at least three new offices by 2014.

OHIM has updated its practice on trade mark class headings after a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU in the IP Translator case.

A Northern District of California jury has found Oracle failed to prove whether Google wilfully infringed patents RE38,104 and 6,061,520. Earlier, a jury found Google infringed Oracle's copyrighted application programming interface but could not agree on whether it constituted fair use. Google has moved for a mistrial.

The bill amending the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957, pending in the Parliament since 2010, has finally been passed. While this bill continues to have several detractors, it was passed unanimously by the Parliament. The President of India has given assent to the bill.

Regulations pertaining to the voluntary notification of copyright came into force in Malaysia on June 1 2012.

According to Article 53(b) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), plant varieties and essentially biological processes for the production of plants, are exempt from patentability.

An atrial septal defect is a serious heart problem that restricts blood flow between the left and right atria via the interatrial septum. AGA Medical Corporation owns a patent on a medical device that can be applied through a catheter in the patient's heart to close the septum. Occlutech GmbH delivers such devices. In an infringement procedure, the Court of First Instance judged that Occlutech's devices do not comply with the literal wording of AGA's patent, nor are they within the scope of protection when interpreting the claims in accordance with the Protocol for article 69 EPC. In a subsequent appeal, this decision was confirmed.

Mexican IP Law states that industrial companies, traders and service providers may use their marks in commerce, and that the exclusive right to use the marks is obtained through a registration granted by the Mexican Trademark Office.

Le Cordon Bleu, the famous French culinary school, recently won its appeal to register its name in relation to meat, poultry and game and meat extracts in New Zealand. Its application was rejected by the Intellectual Property Office, and by a hearings officer, because it was said to be a laudatory term that lacked distinctive character. The hearings officer held that "cordon bleu" meant something of high quality, and the addition of the word "le" did not save the application.