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Europe's highest court has backed L'Oréal in a row over smell-a-like products

Within the next few months, the EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) is expected to rule that a fundamental violation of a party's right to be heard occurred in appeal proceedings concerning the opposition against EP 978251, Hoya Corp v Olympus Corp. A communication of the EBA dated May 18 2009 indicates that this will be the probable conclusion in petition for review case number R 7/09. Assuming that the EBA decides accordingly in its final ruling, R 7/09 will be the first ever case in which the EBA allows a petition for review and re-opens proceedings in a case after issuance of a last-instance decision in appeal.

WIPO member states make top appointments WIPO member states last month backed all of director-general Francis Gurry's proposals for the deputy and assistant director-general positions. The deputy directors-general will be: Geoffrey Onyeama (Nigeria) who will be responsible for development; James Pooley (US) in charge of patents; Binying Wang (China), the only woman appointee, who will look after trade marks, industrial designs and geographical indications; and Johannes Christian Wichard (Germany) who will have responsibility for the new portfolio of global issues, which includes external relations and communications.

Ron Fernando explains how India's lack of patent protection for software affects innovators and investors

Managing IP publishes its seventh annual list of the 50 most influential people in IP

Europe's politicians must reform the EU's patent regime if its businesses are to be able to compete in a globalised world, argue Paul-Alexander Wacker and Rainer A Kuhnen of Kuhnen & Wacker

Germany's Federal Supreme Court recently clarified the obligations of patent owners to grant licences under the country’s antitrust rules. Gerhard Barth of Grünecker, Kinkeldey, Stockmair & Schwanhäusser explains what they mean in practice

Once the USPTO has completed its review of a trade mark application and determines that it is eligible for registration, such application is published for opposition in the USPTO's Official Gazette. Publication of the application provides any third party who believes that it will be damaged by the issuance of a Certificate of Registration the opportunity to oppose registration of the mark by instituting opposition proceedings with the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

It is a regular and strict practice of the Turkish Patent Institute to examine a trade mark application on both relative and absolute grounds within six to eight months of its filing date. Accordingly, the Institute rejects ex officio an application where the mark applied for is identical or very similar to a prior registration or application for identical or similar goods or services.

The EPO is becoming stricter when it comes to examining parameter patents. Edward Farrington of Valea considers the case law and explains what the trends mean for patent applicants and their business rivals