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Questions in a dispute over the sale of counterfeit goods on eBay have been referred to Europe's highest court

Australia's highest court recently narrowed the scope of copyright protection for compilations and databases

I think one of our licensees may have financial problems. Although I am reluctant to take drastic action that may sever our business relationship, how can I ensure that we protect our IP?

More judges may start appointing independent experts to help juries understand technical issues in patent cases. This is how to turn the trend to your advantage

The concept of fair use is designed to balance the rights of IP owners with those of users. Luis Schmidt of Olivares & Cia explains the rules in Mexico

UDRP decisions often address cases where there are trade mark licences involved. Hee-Eun Kim of WIPO examines what conclusions panels have reached, and provides some lessons for licensors and licensees

In its effort to improve the quality and effectiveness of its service, the Italian Patent and Trade Mark Office (PTO) is dealing with the problem of how best to deliver to Italian patent applicants the search reports performed by the European Patent Office (EPO). Starting from July 1 2008 national patent applications not claiming a priority undergo a search carried out by the EPO.

The Bureau of Legal Affairs is often reluctant to recognise marks as internationally well known. Editha R Hechanova of Hechanova Bugay & Vilchez provides some guidance for brand owners

The Korean Patent Court has been increasingly using survey results as evidence to establish the distinctiveness of a trade mark. Distinctiveness is a requirement for registration and is often one of the main issues in trade mark infringement disputes. Until recently, the Korean Patent Court was reluctant to accept surveys as evidence to support distinctiveness, even though surveys may be the best method to show consumers' recognition of a trade mark. A main reason for the reluctance of the Patent Court was because the Court often found the surveys were designed to favour the plaintiff and could be interpreted many different ways.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has issued updated guidelines for the examination of Swiss-type (second medical use) claims. Several topics are covered in the guidelines, including novelty requirements, allowable subject matter and sufficiency requirements. The guidelines are available online at IPONZ's website.