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Trade marks can be an effective way to protect products and packaging. Mark Shillito and Heather Newton consider what Community trade mark law has to offer

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:

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.

Our Designs Act was substantially reviewed in 2003 to try to broaden the protection available to applicants.

In 1995 Levi Strauss (Philippines) Inc filed a criminal complaint on unfair competition against Tony Lim, which went all the way up to the Supreme Court as case GR no 162311. The Supreme Court issued its decision on December 4 2008, holding that the trade mark Levi's is not confusingly similar to Live's and that the elements of unfair competition were not proven. On the procedural aspect, the case was also dismissible because the remedy chosen by Levi Strauss was the wrong mode of appeal.

Australia

China's new Patent Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the People Congress on December 27 2008 and will become effective on October 1 2009.

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