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Bill Bennett and Anthony Selleck analyze recent proposals designed to strengthen patent protection in Australia, and ask what benefits the changes will bring to applicants.

The European Commission has ordered the US company IMS Health to license its copyrighted health data to its competitors. Dieter Paemen and Christopher Norall examine the controversial decision in the context of European competition law

Ingrid Hering, London

Canada: WIPO has transferred 31 domain names to the Canadian government, including CanadaCouncil.com and CanadianCustoms.com, after it found that they were registered in bad faith with the intention to resell them. The panel also heard that the sites were used to redirect internet users seeking Canadian government web sites to sites owned by the registrant.

Business methods. What is or isn’t patentable? As countries turn to the EPO for direction Tom Ekeberg of Onsagers in Oslo decribes the efforts underway to make the distinction clear

Spain is a step closer to bringing its trade mark system into line with the rest of the EU after the Spanish House of Representatives approved the draft Spanish Trade Marks Act. The legislation will now be debated by the Senate for a final vote, with July 31 mooted for its implementation. Its key objectives include implementing the Madrid Protocol and the EU Harmonization Directive, TRIPs compliance, and introducing amendments that bring Spain closer to harmonization with the Community Trade Mark.

James Nurton, London

No recently decided US patent case has as great a potential for affecting the vast majority of presently existing and still-to-be issued US patents as that which will emerge from the US Supreme Court's impending review, in its upcoming 2001-2002 term, of the Federal Circuit's en banc decision in Festo Corp v Skoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co, Ltd, 234 F 3d 558 (Fed Cir 2000), certiorari granted, June 19 2001.

Rights owners have until December 17 to take advantage of measures to protect their intellectual property in the .name domain. Dot-name, the fourth of the new gTLDs, will go live on January 15 2002.

On June 18 and 19, MIP held its first IP Forum at Simpson's in the Strand in London, sponsored by IP law firm Morgan & Finnegan. Nearly 30 speakers covered a range of topical issues, with a particular focus on the latest developments in the US. The conference opened with a keynote speech by Todd Dickinson, former director of the PTO, outlining recent changes to IP law in the US. The first day covered patent developments such as business methods, gene patents, litigation, trade secrets and damages. Day one concluded with a panel session on European litigation and a cocktail reception.