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The Greek patent office has introduced the possibility for applicants for national patents to opt for an extended search report comprising an opinion on patentability.

On January 8 2010 a remarkable ex-parte injunction order in a patent case was issued in summary proceedings at the Court of The Hague.

Two recent court decisions against YouTube and the Pirate Bay herald a new era in the battle against online piracy in Italy, say Roberto Valenti and Elena Martini of DLA Piper

Italian-headquartered Sisvel administers patent pools for some of the world's biggest electronics companies. Founder Roberto Dini spoke to Emma Barraclough about licensing, enforcement and patent trolls

Liability for infringement of US patents may come about in several different ways, including direct infringement, inducement of infringement and contributory infringement. While the IP laws of protection are clear in each case, foreign manufacturers continue to challenge their application to activities outside the US.

Under the previous Korean Trade Mark Act, when a company filed a trade mark (mark B) that was similar to a prior trade mark registration (mark A) that had grounds for invalidation, as long as mark A was registered and valid when mark B was filed, mark B could not be registered because of its similarity to mark A. This applied even if mark A was invalidated after mark B had been filed. Therefore, in a case where mark B was rejected on the grounds of similarity to mark A, the company filing mark B had no choice but to first invalidate mark A, and then refile mark B.

For over 11 years, Lucas and Peterson have been locked in a patent dispute over a portable saw mill. Lucas, an Australian company, was involved in the design and manufacture of outdoor machinery. Lucas' principal product was a grabber, which is a device for picking up logs. Peterson was a New Zealand company and its principal product was a portable saw mill that it sold mostly in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Under the Copyrights Act 1957 copyright societies are authorised to grant licences for copyrighted works. No other person except the owner of the work or a copyright society can grant a licence. A copyright society has the task of collective management of the rights of the owners and furthers their interests to prevent infringement of their works, in India as well as abroad. As India is a member of international conventions, the copyright societies in India can have reciprocal arrangements with organisations in other countries for collection of royalties for use of Indian works in these countries. Again, the owners have to withdraw the licence bestowed on the copyright society without prejudice to the rights of the society. In India, copyright societies like IPRS, PPL, SCRIPT have been protecting and managing the rights of the owners for musical, sound recording and cinematographic works respectively.

• China slashes trade mark pendency The China Trade Mark Office cut its trade mark pendency to 18 months in 2009 and plans to register marks in less than 12 months in 2010.