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While the legislative work on the unified EU patent system has not progressed recently, and there has been no sensational news from the EPO, there have been a few recent decisions of the boards of appeal dealing with the interpretation of claims in EPO proceedings. More specifically, the question of whether and to what extent the description may be used to interpret the claims.

In one of its recent judgments, the Austrian Supreme Court had to decide on the likelihood of confusion between the word mark Sinupret registered (among other things) for pharmaceutical products and the sign Sinuvex used for pharmaceutical products.

The substantive amendments to the Patents Act, encompassed in the Intellectual Property Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act, have recently entered into force.

Since the enactment of Argentine patent legislation in 1995 (complying with the TRIPs standards), the number of patent applications has increased consistently. In view of this, the Argentine Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) issued a set of resolutions that greatly increased the speed of prosecution.

Plant breeders' rights, also known as plant variety protection, are a form of sui generis IP rights designed specifically to protect new varieties of plants. Plant breeders' rights offer legal protection to breeders for the investment they make in breeding and developing new varieties.

Germany has been hosting a game of musical chairs this past month or so, with a number of people switching roles and firms. First, Allen & Overy has hired partner Jens Matthes (far right) from Linklaters to lead its German IP team. Matthes, who had managed Linklaters' German IP practice since 2008, will join A&O's Dusseldorf office. He specialises in trade marks, design and patents, and also has experience in competition and licensing.

It's the number everyone wants to know: how many new gTLDs will there be? While the figure will not be known for many months, Icann has revealed that there were 2,091 applications in the system when it was taken down on April 12, with a further 214 applications recorded.

Europe's highest court has ruled that the functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright.

An initial determination recommending a general exclusion order against counterfeit Louis Vuitton products could send trade mark owners flocking to the International Trade Commission.

Members of Congress voiced concerns last month about the transitional business methods programme mandated by the America Invents Act, calling it "gross unfairness" and special interest legislation. The first oversight hearing on implementation of the AIA included testimony by USPTO director David Kappos, intense questioning by members of the House and a panel of stakeholders representing various sectors. To date, seven provisions of the AIA are already in effect, and notices of rulemaking have been published for nine others. Some congress members voiced concern about the business methods review programme, which would allow business methods meeting certain criteria to be challenged and reviewed by the USPTO under a special process. The intent is to weed out weak patents in this area, which many say are common. But Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, who voted to strike the section relating to covered business methods from the bill, said that the provision blatantly favours the financial services industry at the expense of innovation. She and others fear that the provision is so broad as to put all financial-related inventions at risk, discouraging innovation in the area and disproportionately benefiting financial services companies, who will avoid having to license the technology.