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• US: Microsoft issued 10,000th patent Microsoft received its 10,000th US patent last month, a milestone the company said highlights its goal of obtaining enough patents to maximise the value of its R&D efforts, while still focussing on patent quality over quantity. Addressing the considerably higher number of patents owned by competitor IBM, Microsoft's chief patent counsel Bart Eppenauer said: "We really focus on trying to achieve the right balance. What matters is that our portfolio remains strategically in line with our business model." Last month, IBM became the first company to be issued more than 4,000 US patents in one year, surpassing the total number of patents earned by Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Apple, EMC, Accenture and Google combined.

German bus maker Neoplan has won a landmark case after two Chinese companies were found to have copied the design of its buses

An Israeli court has ordered Google Israel and a local ISP to disclose information relating to subscribers suspected of online piracy. Gadi Oron argues that the decision will be invaluable for IP owners

Steve Hoffman and W Drew Kastner tell technology companies how to turn trade mark licensing programmes into a cash cow

Activist Lawrence Lessig says the outdated copyright system criminalises a generation and needs fundamental changes. But Eileen McDermott finds that practitioners have serious doubts about his proposals. PLUS: Lessig responds to his critics

Patent protection and enforcement can be a complex undertaking in Latin America. Eileen McDermott asked corporate and private practice IP professionals from four different countries, as well as one WIPO official, to discuss key issues and strategies for patent owners seeking to do business in the region

On February 4 2009, Vietnam issued Circular no 22/2009/TT-BTC providing new official fees for obtaining and maintaining IP rights. Circular 22 will enter into effect on March 21 2009 and replaces the fee schedule issued in 2004.

A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam - who received the world’s first recorded patent in 1449

Given the economic situation, my company is looking to cut costs from our IP department and one option is not to renew some of our patent portfolio. Which factors should I consider in deciding which patents not to renew?

Mark Marfé introduces a survey on obtaining evidence of infringement in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands, and looks at how US discovery can help a European case