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The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012, which came into force on June 21 2012, introduced major changes in the Indian Copyright Law. Various production houses and music labels have challenged the constitutional validity of these amendments before the Delhi High Court, by different petitions.

On April 3 2013, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued Office Order No 13-054 series of 2013 amending Section 20 of Office Order No 139 s 2012 relating to the Philippines regulations implementing the Madrid Protocol with regard to the submission of the Declaration of Actual Use (DAU).

On April 1 2013, the Egyptian Patent Office started operating as an International Search Authority (ISA) and as an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA). The PCT Assembly appointed the Egyptian Office as an ISA and IPEA at the Assembly of the PCT Union session in September of 2009.

The calculation of damages arising from patent infringement has changed considerably with the recent amendment to the Patent Law. The major changes are:

Even a quick look at the figure indicates that damage awards in Japanese patent infringement litigations could multiply because of a recent IP High Court decision.

The Mexican Constitution was amended on June 6 2011, with the intention of obliging every authority in the country to respect human rights and international treaties. These amendments also included a need to reform the procedural law regulating the Amparo trial, through which constitutional challenges are brought.

One of the biggest threats to a brand owner is genericide, whereby widespread usage of a mark in the marketplace causes the term to be considered by the public to be a generic term for a particular product rather than a source identifier. Some well-known examples of marks which became generic over time in certain jurisdictions are "aspirin" and "escalator". When genericide occurs, a mark can no longer function as a trade mark, as it ceases to identify a particular source or to distinguish the origin of the product from competing products. Once a mark has become generic, the law deems it available for all parties to use and the now-former brand owner no longer has exclusive rights to it.

Following the retirement of INTA executive director Alan Drewsen this summer, Spanish-born Etienne Sanz de Acedo will take over as chief executive officer from July 1. At present Sanz de Acedo is head of communications for OHIM. He spoke to Alli Pyrah about his goals for INTA and the challenges that lie ahead. My mother is French and my dad, who passed away, was Spanish. I started learning English at school and went to the UK many times during the summertime to practice. At OHIM, it was advantageous to be able to speak as many languages as possible. I had a passion for Italian so I spent five summers going to Italy and learning Italian.

Patents invalidated in CLS v Alice Court issues seven conflicting opinions USPTO responds In the wake of a narrow decision by the US Federal Circuit in CLS v Alice, lawyers are advising patent applicants how to adjust their strategies for protecting software innovations.

Managing IP reports from hearing Judges generally skeptical Solicitor general suggests compromise Last month's Supreme Court hearing in the US Myriad case pitched supporters and opponents of gene patents against each other. But some commentators believe a compromise position proposed by the solicitor general may appeal to the justices.