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Companies can save a lot of money by outsourcing their IP work, but it takes time and effort to get the process right. Peter Ollier assesses the options

Effective supervision and management is crucial for any successful IP owner. Managing IP's third annual software survey analyses which tools will work best for you

Large businesses have grasped the need for IP management, but SMEs are only beginning to do so.

Biggest patent offices in work-sharing drive The world's five largest patent offices have revealed a plan to cut patent pendency by increasing work sharing. Jung-Sik Koh, head of the Korean IP Office (KIPO) chaired a meeting held in Jeju, Korea from October 27 to 28. It was attended by the heads of the EPO, JPO, SIPO and USPTO. A vision statement published after the meeting says that the offices aim to: eliminate unnecessary duplication of work among the offices; enhance patent examination efficiency and quality; and guarantee of the stability of international patent rights. To reduce the problem of redundant search and examination work increasing pendency, each of the five offices has committed to lead two foundation projects. These aim to increase harmonisation and enable greater work sharing and are distributed around the offices. The only deadline contained in the statement is that the offices will exchange "detailed proposals" on each project identifying areas of agreement and details of implementation by the end of April next year.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in late October changed the test for determining patentable subject matter in the US. IP experts from four industries explain how the decision will affect your patents

The Supreme Court of Canada has clarified the tests for anticipation and obviousness and reaffirmed the patentability of so-called selection patents in a ruling that could amount to a major boon for Canadian pharmaceutical companies, as well as patentees in general

Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next US president on January 20: what will his administration mean for IP?

At the November Asia-Pacific IP Forum in Hong Kong, experts discussed strategies for protecting IP in China

Under the Plant Varieties Protection Act, the right holder of a new plant variety has the sole rights to produce, sell or distribute, import, export, or possess for the aforementioned purposes. In this context, the eligibility and practicality for a foreign applicant who wishes to seek protection for its creation under the Act is a key issue.

The rules governing the activities of patent attorneys in Poland are regulated by the Polish Law on Patent Attorneys of April 11 2001 (Journal of Laws Number 49, item 509, with subsequent amendments). On the basis of Article 4, section 1, the profession of a patent attorney is to provide assistance in industrial property matters for private individuals, legal persons and entities without legal status: