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Chris Jordan of Davies Collison Cave analyses what a recent case says about establishing a reputation under the Trade Practices Act

Greg Gurr and Simon Potter of Spruson & Ferguson look at recent court decisions on patent ownership, entitlement, contributory infringement and innovative step

Philip Noonan, director-general of IP Australia, talks to Peter Ollier about planned reforms to the country's IP system, patent harmonisation and how the Office is coping with the credit crunch

There is a need for users of social network websites to realise the importance of protecting their uploaded contents. The invasion of their privacy can stem from the social network providers attempting to withdraw users' rights to utilize their uploaded contents or from unauthorised persons exploiting the contents. In the United Arab Emirates, there are laws to protect the right to privacy accorded to individuals.

Is the hoarding of a competitor's product containers an act of unfair competition under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines? This is the issue addressed in the case of Coca Cola Bottlers Phils Inc vs Quintin Gomez, et al in case no GR 154491 involving two rival multinational soft drink giants; petitioner Coca-Cola Bottlers, Phils, Inc accused Pepsi Cola Products Phils, represented by the respondents, of hoarding empty Coke bottles in bad faith to discredit its business and to sabotage its operation in the Bicol region.

In a recent decision rendered following an infringement action brought on behalf of the Greek originator pharmaceutical company Uni-Pharma Kleon Tsetis Pharmaceutical Laboratories SA against a Greek generic company, the Full Bench Court of Athens held for the first time that obtaining a marketing authorisation (MA) for a generic pharmaceutical product that infringes patent rights does not legitimise the circulation of the generic product in the market.

Amendments to the following IP laws were published in the Official Gazette number 30/2009 and entered into force on March 17 2009:

The first term of registration of a trade mark in China is 10 years counting from the date of expiry of the three-month opposition period. For a trade mark application subject to opposition, it usually takes a few years for a decision to be rendered by the China Trade Mark Office (CTMO) and a longer period if the decision is subject to review by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB), and further appeal to the court. By the time TRAB or a court issues a decision allowing registration of the trade mark in issue, its first term of registration may have already expired.

Whether the unauthorised use of a trade mark as a keyword or adword by internet search engines such as Google to cause the appearance of an advertisement for others' goods or services, either directly or by way of a link to a home page, is use of a trade mark that could be forbidden by trade mark law is one of the hottest topics of this year.

Patent reform is back on the agenda in Congress. But, says Eileen McDermott in New York, industry remains divided - especially over how to calculate damages