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It is not uncommon for a plaintiff who has commenced a patent litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act to eventually move for a preliminary injunction to prevent a defendant from launching its generic drug product during the course of the litigation.

On May 9 2010, Law 66/2010 for the modification and completion of Law 84/1998 regarding trade marks and geographical indications (Law 66/2010 or the Law) entered into force. The Law brings major changes to the trade mark registration and protection system in Romania. Thus, certain steps have been excluded from the registration procedure, while others have been simplified. Also, the period of time for the examination and registration of a trade mark, as well as for challenging the decisions issued in this respect, have been shortened.

On August 30 2004, the Polish Patent Office (PPO) registered a word-figurative trade mark Ravago (R-154724) in the name of Walter Breitengraser. A Polish company Resinex Sp z o o filed a request for the cancellation of the right of protection. It argued that Breitengraser, by applying for the registration, violated not only Resinex's personal and economic rights – arising from the rights to the name Ravago – but also good morals. In addition, Resinex claimed that the application for the trade mark in question was filed in bad faith because Breitengraser was a president of the company acting as an agent for Resinex.

On World IP Day, April 26 2010, key stakeholders of the Indonesian IP community announced the formation of an Indonesian arbitration centre specifically designed to handle intellectual property disputes. The arbitration centre will provide arbitration and mediation services for those with civil intellectual property disputes, which are now handled exclusively by the Commercial Court.

In a recent decision (G2/08) published on February 19 2010 the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) ruled, inter alia, on the patentability of claims relating to the use of a known active ingredient in the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of a known medical indication where the treatment differs merely with respect to the administration regimen (generally referred to as dosage regimen).

The recent case of Health World Ltd v Shin-Sun Australia Pty Ltd [2010] HCA 13 has expanded who can remove trade marks under the Australian system.

Patent applications that become provisionally abandoned, for example due to failure to pay a maintenance fee or respond to a requisition, can be reinstated in Canada. However, as a recent decision illustrates, all of the requirements for reinstatement must be carefully observed; otherwise, the patent applications can become irrevocably abandoned.

The different branches of IP law have common aims, such as encouraging innovation and creativity by allowing their owners to receive – at least partially – the benefits that their creations produce for society. However, these different branches have registered a considerably different historic evolution.

A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam – who received the world’s first recorded patent in 1449 diary@managingip.com

Although lacking the formal clout of a court of law, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (the ASA) provides one of the most commercially-effective weapons within FIFA's anti-ambush marketing arsenal, at a fraction of the cost and time spent in pursuing the traditional legal route.