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During the past few years, China's investment in science and technology has increased steadily, with one result being the rising number of patent filings and improved patent quality, especially for invention applications from domestic applicants.

Don't mess with the formalities in claiming priority in Belgium. The Belgian Patent Office declines all redress. Your right of priority is lost, typically invalidating the corresponding patent.

In a recent judgment the Austrian Supreme IP Tribunal had to decide on the likelihood of confusion between the older figurative mark e@sybank and the younger Austrian figurative mark e@syCredit.

The Australian Full Federal Court has recently expanded the prior art that may be used to invalidate a patent. In the extremely complex case of Novozymes v Danisco, dealing with baking enzymes, a recently published prior art patent application included an example of a baking recipe that, if utilised, would potentially disclose all the integers of the claimed patent.

The proper registration of a mark grants the proprietor the exclusive right to use the mark. In accordance with Section 5 of the Trademark and Trade Name Law 22,362, the initial registration is effective for 10 years from the date of registration. It may be renewed indefinitely for equal periods if it is used, five years prior to each expiration date, in the marketing of a product, in the supply of a service, or as part of a commercial designation.

A new trade mark law in Ethiopia came into effect on December 24 2012. The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) has since issued directives that have clarified a number of issues of critical importance.

After five years of consultation and preparation, Europe has a set of final proposals to modernise its trade mark system. They have been welcomed as clear and sensible, but the issues are so wide-ranging that some changes will inevitably cause problems. James Nurton and Simon Crompton

David Latham, a partner in the London office of Hogan Lovells, passed away suddenly last month at the age of 58. A friend of and contributor to Managing IP, as well as a valuable member of many of the industry's associations, he will be missed here and across the IP industry.Born in Earls Court, to a minister and a doctor, David was an excellent student and a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, where he obtained both his LLM and MA in Law. After joining the firm – then called Durrant Piesse – as an assistant solicitor in July 1986, he was made partner in the firm's IP practice after two years.

New US review of business-method patents Broad interpretation of eligible patents CLS v Alice also being reheard en banc As the biggest business-method case of the year – CLS v Alice – began to be reheard last month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled in the first case under a system designed to deal with these controversial issues far earlier.

António Vitorino publishes recommendations Licensing favoured over levies Attempt to reconcile national systems Europe should overhaul the way it operates its system of copyright levies. That's the conclusion of the man who has the job of mediating between copyright owners and the makers of devices that enable consumers to copy content