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The countries on the eastern and southern fringes of Europe are facing a myriad of challenges in their quest to join the ranks of those coveted clubs – the EU and the EPC, as Ingrid Hering discovers

Following our article on generic domains in Europe in the February issue, Martin Schwimmer examines how the USPTO and US courts have treated trade mark applications consisting of domain names

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

In a recent pronouncement, the Council of State in Colombia has ruled that the domain .co is the property of the state, not of its administrator the Universidad de los Andes.

In an appeal from the US Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Scott v Koyama, 61 USPQ 2d 1856 (Fed Cir Feb 27 2002)), an interference between a party (Koyama) that filed a patent application in Japan on March 13 1990 and a party (Scott) whose UK patent application was filed on March 29 1990, the Federal Circuit was faced with a situation in which neither party could rely on its actual reduction to practice of the invention. This was because the work was performed outside the US, and the applications were filed before January 1 1996. Had they been filed after that date, a statute (35 USC 104) permits the introduction of evidence concerning work performed anywhere in the world.

The long-running saga of the European software patent may be nearing an end with the adoption of a draft proposal by the European Commission. At its February 20 meeting, the Commission approved a draft directive that attempts to steer a middle ground between advocates of US-style protection and those opposed to any kind of software patent.

The long-running saga of the European software patent may be nearing an end with the adoption of a draft proposal by the European Commission. At its February 20 meeting, the Commission approved a draft directive that attempts to steer a middle ground between advocates of US-style protection and those opposed to any kind of software patent.

In a recent pronouncement, the Council of State in Colombia has ruled that the domain .co is the property of the state, not of its administrator the Universidad de los Andes.

Antonina Pakharenko-Anderson of Pakharenko & Partners in Kiev examines how to enforce IP rights in Ukraine under the revised laws

Milan Kraus, of PATENTSERVIS Praha, reviews the most important changes in protecting IP rights in the Czech Republic, paying special regard to biotechnology