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Ted Chwu explains the best way to present patent evidence to often non-technically trained judges in China, including the use of visual aids and presentations

The Court of Justice’s decision in AstraZeneca will affect how drugs companies behave towards their generic rivals. But it also has implications far beyond the pharmaceutical sector. Pat Treacy, Sophie Lawrance and Steven Wilson explain

A trade mark licence agreement establishes a unique relationship between the brand owner and the licensee, with each party having a vested interest in the success of the brand. The relationship combines the licensor's vision for the appeal and aesthetic of the brand with the licensee's expertise in a particular product category. The licensor's paramount concern in entering into a licence agreement is to ensure the protection of its brand while, at the same time, selecting a licensee who is capable of expanding product scope and market penetration.

IP Court judges are required to review defendants' defences to patent infringement lawsuits, including counter-claims for patent invalidity. The IP Court, therefore, provides a second track for an accused infringer to challenge the validity of the patent, in addition to the invalidation track offered by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), making it no longer an option for a judge to stay a lawsuit pending the outcome of a parallel invalidation action. Although a judge's decision on a patent validity issue is binding to the parties of the lawsuit only, it is rare that a patentee will prevail in a patent infringement suit if the patent has been declared unpatentable by the IP Court in a previous proceeding.

In Swiss trade mark opposition proceedings, awards for the parties' representation costs are granted. Typically, the awarded costs will not exceed SFr2,000 ($2,168). The opposition fees of the Trademark Office (SFr800 per mark) must be advanced by the plaintiff. If the opposition is successful, the defendant will be liable for these fees in addition to the awarded representation costs.

An applicant recently filed a trade mark application for ПУШКИНЪ (Pushkin) to provide catering services. The claimed designation is an oval figure reminiscent of a frame of a painting or a mirror encircling the word element ПУШКИНЪ.

Stricter criteria are generally applied to pharmaceutical marks when assessing the similarity of goods and the likelihood of confusion, given the negative effects that such confusion could have on a consumer's health and wellbeing.

Aquestion frequently asked by trade mark owners is whether consent by the owner of an earlier trade mark application or registration would overcome an examiner's objection on the ground of confusing similarity. This was answered in the negative in the recent case of DVB Project v Director of Trademarks, decided by the Office of the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) on December 6 2012.

The new year ushered in a few more PCT Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programmes (PCT-PPH), reducing the workload for cooperating patent offices and expediting examination for qualified applications.

Whilst a product patent in Pakistan confers the exclusive right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import for these purposes that product, the scope of protection under a process patent also extends to acts done against "at least" the product directly obtained by that process – provided a claim drawn on a process for the production of X (the direct product) is there to determine the extent of protection. Import is one of the acts against which the direct or immediate product of a patented process is protected.