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The UK Patent Office is reviewing its trade mark registration procedure in the wake of the growing popularity of the Community Trade Mark.

New policy documents attempt to clear up uncertainties about the crime of counterfeiting in China. It should be useful for IP owners, but Tony Tang says elements of the criminal prosecution rules need further clarification

In SmithKline Beecham v Generics (UK) Ltd (Jacob J Patents Court; October 23 2001), the Court injuncted Generics (UK) Ltd until trial (now fixed for March 2002) from launching its paroxetine pharmaceutical in the UK. Paroxetine is an active ingredient in some pharmaceuticals for treating depression. SmithKline Beecham's UK patent 2 297 550 covered only particular forms of paroxetine hydrochloride anyhdrate. Generics denied that its form of paroxetine fell within the patent and attacked validity too, but was nevertheless injuncted, pending trial.

The rights of authors and artists over works, including unpublished manuscripts, under EU copyright harmonization legislation has been clarified following a UK High Court decision involving the estate of author James Joyce and Macmillan Publishers.

James Nurton, London

Ingrid Hering, London

Sergio L Olivares, Jr and Vianey Romo de Vivar examine what protection is available in Mexico to stop parallel imports and suggest some solutions for rights owners

Owning the IP you create may not be as straightforward as it seems. Stephen Bennett analyzes how to ensure you keep control of your rights in three different scenarios

Latin America has placed its foot firmly forward in defining the new frontiers of what can be registered as a trade mark. Ingrid Hering reports

Johannes Ahme A new cost law is under preparation which, besides introducing the conversion to the euro, integrates the regulations regarding all costs and fees of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and the Federal Patent Court into a single cost act. Thus, essentially all the rules regarding payment of fees are removed from the patent act, trade mark act, utility model act, design model act etc and integrated into a single common cost act. The basic rule of this new cost act is that fees for an application, a request, an opposition, or an appeal become due at the moment they are filed. The Patent Office or Federal Patent Court will start to work on the particular application, request etc only once the fees have been paid. If the fees are not paid within three months after becoming due, the application, request etc is deemed to be withdrawn. The particular fees and their amounts are listed in an attachment to the cost act.