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You have an invention you want to patent. To qualify in most countries, your invention must meet the standard for so-called absolute novelty. This means it cannot have been sold or disclosed in prior patents, publications, trade brochures, advertisements, etc. Such items constitute what is referred to as the prior art.

New deals between big pharma and academic institutions raise questions about IP ownership and patent strategies. Zöe Clyde-Watson examines how to avoid entitlement disputes

As the internet continues to grow as a marketing and sales tool for businesses, so too does the number of internet scams and frauds. The increasing complexity of internet scams can make it quite difficult for a trade mark owner to tell the difference between a legitimate sales solicitation that might be appropriate to consider and a blatant scam that should be avoided.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has recently published revised examination guidelines for patent applications relating to medical inventions. The revisions are to take into account amendments to patent law made by the provisions of the Patents Act 2004, which came in force on December 13 2007 following the implementation of the European Patent Convention 2000. As always, the guidelines are a comprehensive explanation of the practice of the IPO and all practitioners in this field are advised to consult them.

The internet embodies a vital marketing platform for modern business, and may serve as the source of information on companies' activities. Companies embarking on a new business or undertaking a brand expansion plan under a selected trade mark need to have web pages to host their information online. These web pages require addresses or domain names incorporating the company's trade mark. Domain names are the company's identity or trade mark in cyberspace. The registration of the domain name is an essential step to secure the selected trade mark from third party's use.

Turkey's policy is that geographical indications (GIs) should be protected not only for wines and spirits but also for other products. The same argument has been made by countries such as Switzerland, Hungary and Bulgaria in TRIPs Council meetings though a majority of countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Argentina and Chile were against it.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced an amendment to its examination guidelines broadening the scope of patentable inventions using materials from human bodies (including materials from deceased persons), effective as of July 1 2008. Prior to this amendment, inventions using materials from human bodies were generally not patentable in Korea. Such inventions were believed to harm human dignity and be ethically unacceptable. Even inventions using materials from deceased persons were generally not allowed. The only exception to this prohibition under the previous examination guidelines was using parts of the human body that were obtained naturally and not artificially (e.g. surgery). For example, inventions using blood or placenta naturally discharged from the human body were allowed while use of cells removed through surgical procedures was not.

Thailand officially became a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) on August 2 2008, making it the 173rd state to be party to the Convention. The accession to the Paris Convention will have two primary advantages.

David Zamores, Mauricio Escoto and Felipe Gutierrez of Panamericana de Patentes y Marcas explain why good faith must be the guiding principle in Mexican trade mark legislation