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Recent developments in procedural rules for appeals from trade mark opposition hearings have highlighted the pitfalls of failing to be fully prepared at first instance, warns Jill Delaney

Today, the vast majority of national patents pending in the European countries have evolved from patents granted by the European Patent Office. Even if the validity of such a patent has been confirmed in opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office, it can still be attacked in nullity proceedings before the national patent authorities. In national invalidation proceedings, any differences between the European Patent Office and the national authorities with respect to the interpretation of the basic standards for patentability might turn into a trap for the patent owner.

Parties who wish to appeal against decisions in patent oppositions must appeal at the right time or they will be shut out. This was the outcome of a recent case in the Federal Court of Australia. In some cases it is the notionally successful party which must appeal, explain Richard Hamer and Jon Gottschall

EU member states have established their own country code domain name assignment rules using divergent criteria. Carles Prat and Laura Poncela examine them against EC internal market principles

In recent years, many websites providing goods and services have appeared as a consequence of the development of the internet as a business environment. Consumers all over the world can find a very large range of goods and services easily and quickly. Under these circumstances it was obvious that domain names became a very important element in order to draw the consumer's attention.

Reform of the IP laws have clarified issues such as jurisdiction and remedies in litigation. Owners should have more confidence in gaining favourable verdicts, explains Li Yong

IP litigation in China has been transformed, particularly because of the TRIPs Agreement. Now what the system needs is foreign IP owners to start using it more, says judge Cheng Yongshun of the Beijing High Court, in an exclusive interview with Catherine Sun of Deacons, for MIP's China Guide

The last year has seen developments at various levels in Indian trade mark practice. Procedures at the Trade Marks Registries have been accelerated. The Trade Mark Rules have been framed, and there have been several decisions of note, explain Pravin Anand and Nikhil Krishnamurthy

Brand owners in the Netherlands can obtain trade marks using the Benelux, European or international systems. Michel Rorai and Frank Bouman of Arnold + Siedsma explain what protection is available

A climax was reached a year ago when China upgraded all her IP laws and joined the WTO. What’s next? An anti-climatic halt of her commitments to IP rights protection, or a persistent continuation of her past efforts? Shirley Kwok, of Vivien Chan & Co, explains