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One of the cornerstones of the copyright system is the idea/expression dichotomy, which sets forth that only the original expression of ideas is to be protected, rather than the ideas themselves. This principle poses important challenges for the creative industries, since the distinction between an idea and the expression of that idea is sometimes unclear.

As of January 1 2007 the so-called patent box is in force under the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act. The patent box was introduced by the Dutch government to stimulate innovation and investments in research and development by Dutch corporations.

Following consultation in November/December 2008 (see Managing IP, December 2008), on April 22 2009 the Supreme People's Court of China issued the Interpretation of Certain Questions on Application of Law Relating to the Protection of Well-Known Marks in the Adjudication of Civil Disputes which came into force on May 1 2009. Though most of the original proposals in the consultation draft are adopted, there are certain changes.

In a recent judgment (Number 229/2009), in the context of provisional measures proceedings, the Athens Single Bench Court of First Instance granted an injunction against a hotelier who was using the composite sign "Athens Easy Hotel" in white lettering with an orange background in the course of his business. The EasyGroup company owned by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the serial entrepreneur, which owns the easy brand including various CTM registrations, such as Easy Hotel and Easy Hostel, sought injunctive relief against the defendant.

Pursuant to section 45 of the Canadian Trade-marks Act, any person may request that the Registrar give notice to a registered owner that the owner must show use of its mark in association with the goods and services identified in the registration. Such cancellation notices may be sent at any time following three years of registration. The procedure, administered by the Trade-mark Opposition Board, generally through specialised hearing officers, is aimed at the efficient and expeditious removal of deadwood from the register. Deadwood is particularly a problem owing to the lengthy term of initial protection, namely fifteen years, as opposed to the more common ten years.

FIFA has secured its first ruling against ambush marketers, earning a court judgment against Pretoria's Eastwoods Tavern. The popular sports bar is located close to the Loftus stadium, one of the venues that will host games during next year's Soccer World Cup tournament.

The Know-How Transfer Law N° 22,426 governs agreements related to the so-called know-how, or transfer, assignment or licence of trade marks by foreign-domiciled persons to Argentine-domiciled persons.

There are several ways to accelerate examination of a patent application in Korea, three of which foreign applicants may find interesting.

The patent prosecution highway (PPH) pilot programme between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) was implemented on February 2 2009 to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents in the United States and Singapore more quickly and efficiently. Under the PPH, when at least one claim in an application in either one of these countries has been found to be patentable, the applicant can apply for fast track examination of the corresponding claim(s) in the US and Singapore patent applications, respectively.

On January 17 2009, the regulations of Legislative Decree No 1072 regarding the "Pharmaceutical Test Data Protection and other undisclosed data of pharmaceutical products" were published in the Peruvian gazette, El Peruano.