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Pfizer has recently successfully resisted the Australian Competition Commission's attempts to shut down its patent evergreening activities in trying to leverage its atorvastatin (Lipitor) patent past its end of term.

The recent decision of the Kenyan High Court in Weetabix Limited v Manji Food Industries Ltd is noteworthy. First, trade mark judgments are rare in Kenya. Second, because it deals with a range of issues – likelihood of confusion, a family of marks, well-known marks and passing off. Third, because the Court managed to reach a decision which, although not unreasonable, may seem a bit odd to some.

The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) issued the Draft Judicial Interpretation on Application of Laws in Trial of Behaviour Preservation Cases Involving Intellectual Property and Competition Disputes (Draft JI) on February 26 2015 and is open for public comment until March 30.

In our articles of July 2014 and February 2015, we reported on a growing conflict within the EPO concerning the independence of the EPO Boards of Appeal. Although we hoped that these issues would soon be resolved, it appears that the conflict between the EPO Boards of Appeal and the EPO management is continuing.

The licensing of names and images from fictional works, including the names of cartoon characters and film titles, is growing exponentially in the PRC and in relation to an ever-widening range of consumer goods. While media companies, including Hollywood studios, have the most to gain from this sector, their business partners stand to benefit greatly also, including overseas companies taking master licences, local Chinese licensees and companies managing the licensing activity of others on their behalf.

In accordance with Article 2.11 (1) (c) of the Benelux Treaty for Intellectual Property, the Benelux Bureau of Intellectual Property (BOIP) can refuse to register a sign if it can serve to indicate a place of origin.

Design protection is not always the best back-up plan when there is no other apparent means of protection. The General Court of the European Union taught us this lesson once again in September 2014 (3rd Chamber, Case T-494/12).

Backlogs and delay in the examination and grant of patents have been commonplace in India for several years now. In 2013 Nitto Denko, a patent applicant facing significant delays in the registration of its patents, approached the Delhi High Court on the issue of delayed patent examination. As per Rule 24B of the Patent Rules, 2003, the first examination report (FER) should be sent to the applicant within six months from the date of request of examination or six months from date of publication whichever is later. This time-frame is almost never adhered to by the Patent Office because of a shortage of human resources.

The Indonesian Trade Mark Law No 15/2001 regulates that an owner of an unregistered mark may file a lawsuit for cancellation against a registered mark at the Commercial Court after filing a registration at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR).

A Greek entity registered in its name the domain name www.alibaba.info. Alibaba, the globally well-known e-commerce Chinese company filed a complaint against the above-mentioned domain name holder on the basis of UDRP rules before the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center. This action failed.