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It seems that some Russian applicants are short of inspiration in their own country and are forced to derive it from elsewhere. Or, they believe that giving the goods the acoustic fragrance of another country will be popular with consumers. In this case Rigla, a Russian pharmacy chain, filed a trade mark application (priority of March 18 2011) in classes 3 (cosmetics, toothpaste), 5 (pharmaceuticals) and for some classes (8, 25 and 35) for which goods will hardly be sold by a pharmacy. The applied designation was Pompidu. Despite slight camouflage in the spelling, the name of the former French president is clearly recognisable.

An unusual trade mark case recently involved an overt statement of being fake, and therefore possibly detrimental association.

On February 4 2013, the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines (FDA) issued FDA Circular 2013-002 revising its rules and regulations in licensing cosmetic establishments which engage in business in the Philippines. The rules specify that:

To be patent-eligible, apart from being novel, non-obvious and industrially applicable, patent laws require that an invention must not fall within the list of subject matter specifically excluded from patent protection. Such a listing in Pakistan effectively precludes patenting of "substances that exist in nature or if isolated therefrom". However, in the absence of any judicial precedent, the extent of exclusion has invited controversy.

In October 2012, the first three cases under the provisions of the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act were referred to the Copyright Tribunal.

In infringement cases the burden of proof lies with the patent proprietor, but it is often difficult to prove that the infringer is indeed using the patented method.

According to the Mexican Industrial Property Law, trade marks must be used in the national territory as they were registered or with modifications that do not alter their distinctive character.

The Trade Descriptions Act 2011 (TDA) came into force on November 1 2011 and replaced the 1972 Trade Descriptions Act. The TDA is aimed at promoting good trade practices in the market by prohibiting false trade descriptions and false or misleading statements, conduct and practices in relation to the supply of goods and services.

In an order dated January 23 2013, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), in Parikumar v Controller of Patents, directed the patent office to accept a national phase application filed with fewer claims than the PCT application.

A recent decision by the Athens Court of Appeal ruled on the protection of an original design for an archaeological tourist guide with pictures of monuments as they are now, overlaid with transparencies showing how they were in ancient times. Specifically, it ruled that the get-up of the guide, namely its form, dimensions, size, colours, title, sub-title, binding and use of overlaid transparencies is original and protected as a distinctive sign and its exact imitation by the defendant is contrary to the provisions on unfair competition.