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Bayer Corporation's petition to the High Court of Delhi to enforce patent linkage in India was dismissed with costs fixed at a deterrent amount. The respondents to the petition included the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), and generic drug maker CIPLA.

The European Patent Office has released its 2008 statistics, which show that the number of grants is increasing again after a drop in 2007. Nearly 60,000 European patents were granted in 2008, which is an increase of 9.4% compared to 2007, but still about 3,000 grants less than in 2006. The number of refusals has increased by 42% over 2007.

In September, the Indonesian legislature passed the controversial Film Law. The law has been criticised for its contentious local film content quotas and for creating unnecessary administration. The law also creates a number of IP issues that are causing concern in the local film industry.

In the recent case of Ratiopharm Inc v Pfizer Limited (2009) FC711 Mr Justice Hughes has again emphasised the important of exercising the utmost good faith in the drafting and prosecution of patent applications. In this chemical case, he was highly critical of the draftsperson for including phrases such as "unexpectedly", "unique", and "outstandingly suitable" as being "self-serving" and inconsistent with the facts apparent from the record of the invention. Hughes found that the words could not have come from the inventors, but "could only have come from the Pfizer patent department".

Under Section 18 of the Thai Trade Mark Act, applicants are entitled to appeal to the Board of Trade Marks when the Trade Mark Registrar initially finds their mark unregistrable, and the decision of the Board shall be deemed final. However, many trade mark owners file a complaint appealing the Board's decision with the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court), and later file an appeal with the Supreme Court if the IP&IT Court rules against them.

Dart Philippines, authorised manufacturer and importer into the Philippines of Tupperware products, entered into a distributorship agreement in 1986 with the Calogcog spouses. On April 30 1992, Dart informed the Calogcogs that it was not renewing the agreement because of violations. However, the agreement was extended to September 30 1992, on the Calogcogs' written promise that they would observe and comply with its terms and conditions.

Customs recordal is one of the legal measures that IP owners can employ for enforcement at the borders. The Customs Law provides that IP can be recorded with local Customs offices or the General Customs Department in Hanoi. Recordal is not compulsory, but is highly recommended for rights holders facing IP infringement in Vietnam. The relevant laws and regulations governing customs recordal are the Customs Law 2001, amended in 2005, Decree No 154/ND-CP dated December 15 2005, detailing the provisions of the Customs Law and the Regulations on Handling Requests for Border Control Measures Over Imported and Exported Goods promulgated by Decision no 916/QD-TCHQ dated March 31 2008.

African countries have a good framework of laws and regional initiatives to protect IP rights but capacity building is the key to making them more effective, says Wayne Meiring of Spoor & Fisher Jersey

Industrial designs are effective tools for protecting and enforcing rights arising from visual creations in Turkey. But this fact has generally been overlooked, particularly by foreign right owners interested in the Turkish market.

In 1967 Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released and stormed the charts. Thirty-eight years, over 6 million sales, 770 cover versions and many mobile phone ringtones later, Matthew Fisher, the band's organist, filed a claim for a share in the musical copyright of the song.