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Claims drafted overseas and filed in Australia are often accepted by the Australian Patent Office without being adapted to local laws. In particular, claims that have been examined and accepted by European or US Patent Offices are often forwarded to Australian patent attorneys for submission as is, or with perhaps with only minor modifications. This is especially the case with modified examination, where an Australian patent may be granted on the basis of a patent granted in the United States, a European convention country, Canada or New Zealand, provided it uses exactly the same wording as the granted patent. This can lead to problems during litigation.

James B Lumenta, of Amroos & Partners in Jakarta, explains how improvements to the Trade Mark Law make it easier to protect rights in Indonesia

Trinidad and Tobago is a more attractive litigation forum than it first appears. Brien de Gannes, of JD Sellier & Company in Port of Spain, provides an insight into resolving trade mark disputes in the country

Boudewijn van Vondelen and Alexander van Laaren examine how you can protect shop designs against imitators in the Netherlands

The world's biggest selling drug is under attack on both sides of the Atlantic as its patent expiry looms. AstraZeneca, maker of Losec, has been accused of breaching European competition rules, and is also facing litigation to stop US companies bringing out generic versions of the drug.

In the rapidly developing software market questions often arise regarding proper protection of program names. Of course, program names can be registered as trade marks. On the other hand, many software developers are not aware of the fact that program names may enjoy protection in Germany as titles of works. Titles of works are defined as designations of printed publications, cinematographic works, musical and dramatic works, or other comparable works which, according to German case law, include computer programs.

According to the Benelux Trade Marks Act, the owner of a trade mark can in principle not prohibit the use of his trade mark in respect of goods that have been put into circulation within the European Economic Area either by himself or with his permission. (exhaustion principle). This means that in principle the owner of a trade mark right cannot invoke this exclusive title in respect of the further trade in goods originating from him. The Benelux Court of Justice has recently explained the exhaustion principle in more detail in its Kipling/GB Unie judgment (The Benelux Court of Justice, December 6 2000).

When clients want to seize products in Mexico during a fair or exposition, the problem arises of obtaining authorization within a couple of days at most.

Where do you draw the line over what is registrable as trade dress? Michael A Cantor and Pamela S Chestek, of Cantor Colburn LLP in Windsor, Connecticut, examine how different courts have tackled the problem

Harry B Sands provides an overview of how trade marks are protected in the Bahamas