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Who does not know the name Gagarin? The name of the first cosmonaut, who paved the way to the outer space, is known probably to everyone in the world. It's not surprise that some businessmen wanted to ride on this global popularity. A Russian company filed and surprisingly obtained a figurative trademark (number 422186), which features a yellow star and a triangle, and a red tetragon and words.

The Mexican IP Law (IPL) entitles third parties with an interest to seek the cancellation of trade mark registrations on the basis of non use, when they are abandoned within a period of three years before the submission of the cancellation claim.

Companies' competitive power is related – to a great extent – to their capacity and ability to generate and manage technological and commercial information and knowledge. Under certain circumstances, that information needs to be kept confidential, for example: when it entails a competitive advantage over third parties; when the less the knowledge is disclosed the more its economic value increases; and when it implies the power to disclose that information to other interested parties willing to pay for said disclosure.

A new EU Anti-Piracy Regulation is set to enter into force on January 1. Hidde Koenraad looks at the main changes, and what rights owners can benefit from them

Patent term extension is available for patents relating to pharmaceutical products (excluding animal drugs) in Taiwan. An extension application should be filed within three months of the date the approval certificate is obtained and at least six months before the patent is due to expire.

A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice underscores the importance of drafting clear and unambiguous terms in settlement agreements.

The way in which the European Patent Office acts in the case of a lack of unity during the search procedure has recently been re-assessed. The problem which gave rise to the change is best illustrated by an example:

In a recent case the Swiss Federal Patent Court had for the first time the opportunity to decide on a patent infringement case under the doctrine of equivalence. Taking into account the German "Schneidmesser" decisions as well as the British Improver questions, the Federal Patent Court concluded that in consideration of legal certainty the long-established Swiss practice needed the addition of a third question for examining whether there is infringement under the doctrine of equivalence or not. Thus the three equivalency questions to be asked in Switzerland in infringement cases where one or several features of the patent claim are not present but have been replaced by other features are now:

Google is at the heart of the debate on patent reform in the United States. Last month, James Nurton spoke to the company’s deputy general counsel, patents and patent litigation, Allen Lo, about how its patent strategy has evolved, why it believes there is a troll problem, and what legal changes are needed

Foreign businesses that want to transfer their technology to China must weigh the costs and benefits of doing so. While the rules can be onerous, there still can be upsides, says Troy Rice