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Former USPTO commissioner for patents Robert Stoll has joined Drinker Biddle & Reath's IP practice in Washington DC. Stoll retired from the Office at the end of 2011 after 29 years with the Office. Margaret 'Peggy' Focarino was named the new commissioner for patents.

The most senior politician in the US government agency that gives Icann power over delegating new gTLDs said he may push for more trade mark protection measures in April 2012. Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), wrote to Icann in January to express his concerns about brands being unaware of existing protection measures.

Microsoft has launched two pioneering copyright lawsuits in China in an attempt to deal with the problem of rampant software piracy. The cases were filed against Shanghai Gome, a branch of one of China's largest retailers, and Beijing Chaoyang Buynow, a shopping mall in, respectively, Shanghai Huangpu District People's Court and Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court. Microsoft claimed that it had evidence of pirated copies of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office being pre-installed in computers sold by Shanghai Gome and by two of the retailers in the Buynow shopping mall. The filing against the Beijing shopping mall is the first time the principle of landlord liability has been applied to copyright infringement in China. If successful, it could lead to a series of similar cases. The US software company has had some notable successes in the last few years in its attempts to crack down on piracy, including sending 11 people to jail after a decision by a court in Shenzhen in January 2009 in a case that involved what the company called the biggest counterfeiting operation it had ever seen.

How marks won well-known status

Rights holders will have powers to demand that ISPs in Ireland block websites accused of infringing copyright if the government amends legislation before the end of January

Amazon's controversial patent on the so-called one-click method of online shopping was granted in Canada just before Christmas, following a Federal Court of Appeal decision in November. An amendment to the patent application was filed at CIPO just under one month after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the patent should be re-examined using the guidance outlined in its decision. While the decision is good news for patenting business methods in Canada, some would have liked to see the Commissioner appeal to the Supreme Court to gain additional clarity about the Court of Appeal's decision. Because there was no additional office action, the Office's interpretation of the decision is unknown, and will remain so until new guidelines for examiners on business methods are issued, which is likely to be some time. The quick allowance of the patent suggests that the new commissioner, Sylvain Laporte, may differ significantly from former commissioner Mary Carman on business method patents.

In December Universal Music lost a key decision against Veoh, with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the US ruling that the website benefits from safe harbour protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The UK is looking at voluntary codes of conduct for collecting societies, following a proposal made by the Hargreaves Review. There is also talk of a Digital Exchange, and centralised reform from the EU. Managing IP interviews two people on opposite sides of the debate

At a conference in Hong Kong last month two of the most successful brand licensors in the world – and one newcomer – explained how they intend to grow their China businesses.