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On December 24 2008, Vietnam issued long-awaited regulations on domain name dispute resolution under Circular no 10/2008/TT-BTTT Providing Regulations on the Resolution of Disputes Involving the Vietnam National ".vn" Domain, which was issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication. Previously, very basic regulations on domain name disputes were set forth under Decision no 27/2005/QD-BBCVT.

Under the patent marking statute, a party is "entitled to damages from the time when it either began marking its products in compliance with section 287 (a) or when it actually notified [the infringer] of its infringement, whichever is earlier." (Am Med Sys, Inc v Med Eng'g Corp [Fed Cir 1993]). Section 287 (a) provides:

With more patents issuing than ever before, there is a greater likelihood that your company will become a party to patent litigation. It is important, therefore, to familiarise yourself with the basic factors affecting the cost and duration of patent litigation.

The UAE acceded to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996) on July 14 2004, and to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (1996) on June 9 2005. Being conscious of its international obligations regarding the protection of copyright and related rights in the digital context in the light of these treaties, the UAE amended its Federal Copyright & Related Rights Law No 7 of 2002 (CL 7/2002), through the Amendment Law No 32 of 2006. This amending law has led to a comprehensive protection regime against the infringement of copyrights and related rights in the digital context. The main points of this regime are:

The Information Commissioner is to be given tougher powers to regulate the Data Protection Act under proposals put forward by the government. The increase in new technology to collect vast amounts of personal information increases the risk of information being abused. Since HM Revenue and Customs lost 25 million child benefit records nearly a year ago, the number of breaches reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has soared to 277 since November 2007. These include 28 breaches by central government, 75 within the NHS and other health bodies and 80 reported in the private sector.

In Caltex Oil (Thailand) Co, Ltd v Andaman Oil Pte Ltd, the Supreme Court ruled that a trade mark licence agreement is a type of reciprocal agreement, and, in case it is not registered, only the terms and conditions for use of trade marks or service marks are invalid and unenforceable.

The current Patent Law does not provide a cause of action against an indirect infringer. Accordingly, whenever a patent owner intends to sue a person selling an unpatented component for use in a patented invention, he/she would have to resort to the Civil Code in which the act of "aiding and abetting" is specified as a tort. According to the relevant stipulations in the Civil Code, however, only when a principal infringer has been held liable, would the instigators or accomplices be deemed to be joint tortfeasors and jointly liable for injury. Besides, the so-called all element rule which is generally used in interpreting the claims' scope sometimes makes it quite difficult, if not impossible altogether, for a patent owner to claim damages from the manufacturer of a component which is essential in the practice of the patented invention.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) first began work as an international searching authority (ISA) and an international preliminary examining authority (IPEA) in December 1999. In the years following, KIPO was selected as a competent ISA and IPEA by several countries, including the US in 2006. KIPO became only the second foreign patent office (following the EPO) qualified to act as both an ISA and IPEA for US international applications, which could be interpreted as international recognition of KIPO's search and examination quality.

Though less often than before, one still occasionally finds articles kicking Russia for inadequate performance in enforcement of IP rights. But a good illustration of strong enforcement is a recent judgment that, though it dismissed the prosecutor's demand to bring the infringer to justice, will hardly be criticised.

The Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade Marks was adopted by member states of the WIPO in 2006 and stems from the Trade Mark Law Treaty of 1994 (1994 Treaty). The Singapore Treaty introduces important changes to the 1994 Treaty and internationally harmonises the administrative rules and procedures for trade mark registration. Having received its 10th ratification by Australia, the Singapore Treaty will finally enter into force on March 16 2009.