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Thailand is one of the few jurisdictions that provides a mechanism for the protection of well-known marks. The mechanism is a relatively straightforward recordation, resulting in enormous savings (not just monetary but also in terms of time). The Trademarks Act confers protection for well-known marks, but lacks teeth. It was only in 2005 that the Department of Intellectual Property introduced a concrete mechanism for well-known marks (the Regulations on Notification of Well-Known Marks 2005). Several well-known marks have since been recorded, including Nike, Hello Kitty and Euro.

In 2011, the IP Court judges will be separated into two grand panels: one for the first instance level and the other for the appellate level.

In our article in last month's magazine, we reported on how Société des Produits Nestlé SA successfully obtained an ex parte injunction prohibiting the retail discounter Denner AG from selling and advertising coffee capsules compatible with Nestlé's Nespresso coffee machines which were similar in appearance to 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 Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) launched the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Japanese Patent Office (JPO) in 2009. The PPH programme is aimed to share search and examination results between the respective patent offices to expedite grant of corresponding patents.

The word Intel looks very attractive for a trade mark. It implies intelligence because the reader will easily guess the second part of the word, and it is read and pronounced easily. So sooner or later it was going to happen. A Russian company seemingly built a strong defence: it first assumed the name Comintel Ltd and later, registered the trade mark Comintel, No 259074 in Class 38 (TV broadcasting, cable TV, e-communication).

For more than 50 years, Sapanta, a Romanian village in the Maramures County in the northern part of Romania, has been famous for the unique way in which the local cemetery tells the story of the life of its inhabitants. Its initial creator – the craftsman Stan Ioan Patras – has done something that no one has ever done in Maramures, or elsewhere in the world: he has combined sculpture, colour and lyrics to turn this usually sad place into a joyful place to think, visit and remember.

On March 8 2011, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) published on its website Office Order Number 186 Series of 2010, which amends its regulations on administrative complaints for IP rights violations. The amendments focus on the provisions affecting the issuance of a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction. Under the old rules, a temporary restraining order shall only be issued after all the parties are heard in a summary hearing, which shall be conducted within 24 hours of the sheriff's return of service and after the records are received by the assigned hearing officer. Moreover, under the same old rules, a writ of preliminary injunction shall have a maximum life of 90 days, and after payment of a cash bond.

As we wrote in the previous issue of Managing Intellectual Property, before 1992 Norway did not accept product patents on active ingredients in medicaments, only "analogous method of preparation" claims were accepted. This means that there will be active patents in Norway comprising such claims until the end of 2011 and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) throughout 2016.

What is an embryo? Advocate General M Yves Bot provided his opinion on this in case C-34/10 (Brüstle v Greenpeace).

Good news for applicants in Mexico of patents claiming Paris Convention priority or PCT applications. On March 1 2011 the Mexican Patent and Trademark Office launched a pilot programme under which the Patent Department will accept examinations by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).