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Trade mark owners in Mexico may be unfairly disadvantaged by the lack of legal protection against the filing of new, similar or identical trade mark applications. Proposed changes could provide welcome news, predicts Victor Adames

The recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Board of Education ex rel Board of Trustees of Florida State University v American Bioscience Inc, 67 USPQ 2d 1252 (Fed Cir 2003) focuses on the importance under US law of correctly naming the true inventor (or inventors) on US patents. While the decision enunciates no new legal principles, its thorough discussion of the criteria for inventorship under US law merits attention. In particular, this discussion should be helpful in the US and elsewhere to institutions of higher learning in clarifying that the criteria generally used in naming authors on scientific papers are inapplicable to patent inventorship determinations. In addition, non-US companies and other groups applying for US patents will find that this discussion presents in one place a clear exposition of US inventorship criteria.

On May 6 2003 the European Court of Justice handed down a revolutionary judgment on the possibility of taking out trade mark registrations for colours per se.

James Nurton, London

Since July 1 2003, the European Patent Office has started a new pilot project which may be of interest to a large number of applicants.

Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser examines the status of the statutory safe harbor exemption from pharmaceutical companies in the US, in light of the Federal Circuit's comments in the recent Integra case

In an attempt to counter the effects of a recently-passed US law allowing medicine to be imported from Canada, drugs-maker Pfizer has said that it will stop supplying Canadian wholesalers and will only deal directly with pharmacists.

Collaborations can be the most effective way to exploit new technologies

Stéphanie Bodoni

? JAPAN: Gene Logic and Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, the Japanese subsidiary of Amersham Pharmacia Biotech Ltd, announced an alliance granting Amersham distribution rights to market and sell Gene Logic's products to the Japanese market. Financial terms were not disclosed.