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We reported previously in this column how Société des Produits Nestlé sued for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the retail discounter Denner from selling and advertising coffee capsules compatible with Nestlé's Nespresso coffee machines that were similar in appearance to the Nespresso coffee capsules. Nestlé's claims were based on a three-dimensional trade mark registration for the capsule shape, on a trade mark registration for the mark What Else? and on unfair competition law. The first instance judge granted the injunction in ex parte proceedings, but subsequently essentially revoked it in inter partes proceedings. The judge considered Denner's argumentation persuasive that the form registered in Nestlé's 3D trade mark cannot be granted trade mark protection because it is technically necessary, in particular for capsules intended to be compatible with Nespresso coffee machines. Nestlé on the other hand argued that the conical shape of its coffee capsule registration is not technically necessary for compatibility with Nespresso coffee machines or other machines, and that a number of alternative, different Nespresso-compatible capsule shapes exist, so that its trade mark registration was valid.

The Singapore patent system provides several options for completing the search and examination procedure:

The world now frowns at smokers. Yet Russia remains one of the countries with the highest smoking rate. Many tobacco companies have a presence in Russia and strive to strengthen their hold on Russian smokers. Philip Morris is one such company. It filed to register the figurative trade mark.

The Supreme Administrative Court, on May 31 2011, dismissed an earlier judgment of the District Administrative Court in Warsaw in a case resulting from a complaint filed by Tiffany Broadway of Texpol Corporation over a decision of the Polish Patent Office cancelling the Tiffany trade mark, and returned the case to the District Administrative Court for re-examination.

The Supreme Court in its decision of June 1 2011 in the case of Fredco Manufacturing Corp v Harvard University denied the petition of Fredco and declared the mark Harvard well-known internationally and in the Philippines.

In New Zealand, one of our largest breweries, DB Breweries Limited, owns the trade mark for Radler for beer.

The Norwegian Marketing Control Act offers additional protection to an IP owner, based on the legal ground that a trade mark or product imitation may constitute an infringement of commercial rights. The protection is offered even when no IP rights are registered in Norway.

It is established practice in the Netherlands that the extent of damage that occurs as a consequence of a tort need not be proven to the hilt. It is sufficient to show convincingly that damage might have occurred. It is then up to a court to judge the extent of damage. For this, the court may determine the difference between the actual situation (the consequence of the tort) and a hypothetical situation occurring when the tort had not taken place. The court is not bound to the normal rules for providing facts and evidence.

Amendments to the Federal Contentious Administrative Proceedings Law (FCAPL) come in force on August 8 2011, establishing (i) the "via sumaria", a fast-track venue for administrative appeals and (ii) the beginning of operations for the online prosecution system.

The internet is fast becoming a powerful marketing tool and likewise a knowledge commodity. Companies, especially multinationals, tend to market themselves by using the internet. To be more visible, companies formulate their web addresses with their trade name. IP protection in this sense is accorded by domain name registration, for the registration of an exclusive web address.