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India's Minister for Commerce & Industry has formed a Technical Expert Committee to study two critical issues that Parliament did not consider when it passed the Patents (Amendment) Act 2005. The Expert Committee has been asked to consider the patentability of new chemical entities and micro-organisms. If it suggests that amendments should be made to the law in relation to these two areas, changes will be incorporated into the new legislation.

New rules on criminal thresholds should make it easier for prosecutors to bring charges against IP infringers. But as the authorities struggle to manage a mounting workload, IP owners should consider taking the law into their own hands and launching private criminal prosecutions, explains Gordon Gao

In part two of the World IP Survey, MIP reveals the leading trade mark and copyright firms in 25 jurisdictions, and specialists from the leading firms discuss current trends

Following the change in sovereignty, a new trade mark law was introduced in Hong Kong. Henry J H Wheare, of Lovells, explains what the main changes will be

It will come as no surprise to rights owners to hear that Venezuela’s government has asked for an extension to the January 1 2000 TRIPs deadline. Since TRIPs was negotiated in 1992, it has become increasingly obvious that many developing countries lack either the will or the means to fulfil completely their obligations and implement new legislation.

The European Commission has recently published a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 98/71/EC on registered designs by harmonizing the position in respect of spare parts. A spare part is a component part used for the repair of a product composed of multiple components, a so-called complex product, to restore its original appearance. Examples of such spare parts include car body panels, bumpers and windscreens which need to match the component being replaced. The proposal covers all repairable complex products, including household devices and electronic goods as well as cars.

April 1 2005 marked 10 years since the new Dutch Patents Act came into force. The old patents act of 1910 was phased out after a transition period of nine years on September 1 2004. After having been in force for 10 years, some of the upsides and downsides of the registration system under the Dutch Patents Act of 1995 (ROW 1995) have become clear.

On June 5 1998, the applicant filed an application for a Community trade mark at OHIM for a figurative sign consisting of the letter a (see figure 1).

There have been major reforms to trade mark protection and enforcement procedures throughout eastern and southern Europe in recent years. Ingrid Hering examines how attorneys are adapting to the changes

There have been major reforms to trade mark protection and enforcement procedures throughout eastern and southern Europe in recent years. Ingrid Hering examines how attorneys are adapting to the changes