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Owners of design rights have any number of laws to rely on when protecting their products in China. But too much uncertainty surrounds the best legal option to take. The authorities must make protection easier, argues Jan De Visser

Venezuela’s Congress is debating fundamental IP reforms. But, warns Gabriela Nuñez, there are a lot of obstacles which must be overcome before protection can improve

A recent judgment in the US found that unlicensed linking and framing constitutes copyright infringement. All website operators should take note, explains Lawrence R Robins

The German Act Relating to Inventions of Employees (the Act) provides that an employer may, within a period of four months, claim an invention made by an employee which either results from the employee's work under the employment contract or is essentially based on the know-how of the employer. For such a claimed invention, a patent application must be filed. In return, the employee is entitled to compensation when the invention is used by the employer. Unfortunately, the administrative provisions of the Act cause considerable paper work. Large companies estimate that the costs for handling employment inventions in compliance with the provisions of the Act are in the same range as the compensation to be paid to the employed inventors for the use of these inventions.

In April and May 2000, the Mexican Federal Administrative Proceedings Law was amended on a supplementary basis. The changes meant that standards for the administrative proceedings of the law became applicable to all actions filed before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (the IMPI). These included trade mark registration, granting of patents, nullity and infringement actions.

In a recent pronouncement, the Council of State in Colombia has ruled that the domain .co is the property of the state, not of its administrator the Universidad de los Andes.

Collaborations can be the most effective way to exploit new technologies

As the Gulf Cooperation Council’s patent system goes from strength to strength, Ralph Cunningham examines how patent owners are benefiting from improved protection and enforcement throughout the region

The fair basis requirement has vanished from UK patent law – but remains an important consideration in Australia. Barry Eagar says overseas applicants must pay attention to this requirement and ensure that the claims correspond to the patent specification

Artistic copyright has sometimes been seen as the Cinderella of copyright law. Simon Stokes argues that recent artistic copyright cases in Europe and North America are pushing copyright law to its limits. This has implications for the creative industries generally.