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Maintaining consistency and ensuring stability in the patent examination process are crucial to the issuance of quality patents. Marian Underweiser of IBM proposes one way to make the process more predictable

Turmoil in the financial markets over the last few months has led to plunging share prices and boardroom unrest. With IP budgets under intense pressure, Stephen Mulrenan examines what practical steps brand owners can take to negotiate the credit crunch

One of the major novelties introduced by the EPC 2000 is the central limitation proceedings (Articles 105(a), 205(c) and Rules 90-96), according to which the patent owner can request the central limitation of a granted European patent. According to the intention of the EPO, this should be a very quick administrative procedure. From the viewpoint of the national practitioner, the duration of the proceedings are especially interesting with respect to pending national revocation and/or infringement actions.

The Federal Circuit last month ruled that the ITC could not extend a limited exclusion order barring the import of Qualcomm chips found to infringe Broadcom's patent to downstream products

Managing IP asked correspondents in eight jurisdictions that provide some form of protection for GIs or their domestically named equivalent to address the key questions for brand owners

As design protection becomes more common, a number of problems with the Locarno classification have become apparent. David Stone reports on an attempt to update the system

Japanese giants, Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. (Matsushita) brought opposition proceedings against the applicants, Pensonic Corporation Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian company that applied to register the mark Pensonic with the device of a letter P (trade mark no. T0503804C) for: "Electrical apparatus and instruments, radio and television receiving apparatus, tape and video recorders and combinations thereof, mechanisms for cassette and cartridge tape recorders, stereophonic sound reproducing apparatus and instruments, aerials, loud speakers, head-phones, microphones, radiogramaphones, sound amplifiers and parts and fittings, irons, electric steam irons, electric dry irons, electric flat irons, calculators; all being goods included in Class 9."

On September 1 2008 a new Act of Parliament has come into effect in Germany providing a considerable number of new and amended regulations on the enforcement of IP rights.

Israel boasts a prolific scientific community. Most Israeli innovations reach global markets by means of sales, licences or strategic cooperation involving non-Israeli entities. In addition to the inquiries relevant to all such transactions, a number of Israeli due diligence questions should be addressed before purchasing or licensing technology developed in Israel.

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) to hear the Novartis matter on November 3 2008. During the recent patent row involving the cancer drug Glivec (imatinib mesylate) of Swiss pharma major Novartis, the constitution of IPAB came under scrutiny due to its reviews of the Indian patent office's decisions. The Supreme Court ordered the appointment of Dr PC Chakraborty, deputy controller general of patents and designs in the Kolkata office as the new technical member for hearing the Gleevec appeal. This was in response to the concerns expressed by Novartis over the existing member S Chandrasekharan, since he was the patent controller who rejected Novertis' beta patent. The IPAB is the board of appeals for intellectual property matters and consists of a chairman, one judicial member and one technical member.