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Software inventions pose unique challenges to patent laws. Dipak Rao and Siva K Gopinatham, of Singhania & Partners, review Indian protection in the light of US and European approaches

In the light of the global recession, Amit Aswal of Clairvolex provides tips on how to optimise the value of your patent portfolio and pending applications

Pravin Anand and Gitanjali Bhatnagar, of Anand and Anand in New Delhi, explore the ethical concerns, legal spats and validity issues raised by licences in the IT industry, and look at potential overlaps with patent rights

India has only recently introduced product patents. Ramesh C Dhawan and Sunaina Koul of Lall Lahiri & Salhotra consider what impact the changes will have on multinational companies, the local industry and public health

Advertising regulation involves the interaction of trade mark, copyright and competition law. Jatin Trivedi and Prateek Garg of YJ Trivedi & Co review decisions on what constitutes ''disparaging advertising'' in India

In the absence of specific regulations, the ownership of inventions made by employees is governed by common law in India. Essenese Obhan and Sumathi Chandrashekaran, of Obhan and Associates in New Delhi, examine what this means for employers and employees

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Vietnam's regulations on the protection of plant varieties as stipulated in the current Law on Intellectual Property are fundamentally in compliance with the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, to which Vietnam is a party. However, the IP Law has some unclear issues regarding plant variety protection.

Registration on the USPTO's Principal Register offers valuable substantive benefits to a trade mark owner. However, certain marks – such as those that may be considered descriptive of certain features of the goods or services recited in the Application – are not eligible for registration on the Principal Register absent a showing of secondary meaning. If a trade mark owner is unable to obtain a registration on the Principal Register, there are still federal registration options available that can provide the owner with certain protections. One such option that a trade mark owner can consider is seeking registration on the PTO's Supplemental Register.

On June 15 2009, eight member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, launched the first regional patent cooperation program called the ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC). It is a program in which the Intellectual Property Offices of the participating member states shall use the search and examination results of one participating state as reference in its one member state's own search and examination. The objectives of the ASPEC are reduced examination work, faster turnaround time and better search and examination because some IP offices might have better access to databases unavailable to the other IP offices.