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Egypt has often been seen as backward in IP matters. But major reforms under discussion will overturn that image, says James Nurton

In the first case over a .jp domain name, the Toyama District Court has ordered a website to be shut down for infringing a famous name. John A Tessensohn examines the decision

Todd Dickinson´ s two-year stint as head of the US Patent and Trademark Office ended on Saturday 20 January, following George W Bush´ s inauguration. He was immediately hailed as one of the most successful Commissioners in recent times. Dickinson oversaw a 70% increase in patent applications; a 200% rise in the number of trade mark applications; a complete restructuring of the agency´ s management team; and an increased number of patent and trade mark examiners. It was a busy two years. "He did a marvellous job," says Michael Heltzer, government relations manager of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA). "He totally understood the role of the PTO in safeguarding America´ s ideas, something which his predecessors did not." Michael Kirk, executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) agrees: "Dickinson dedicated a lot more effort to the actual running of the office than his predecessor Bruce Lehman, putting more emphasis on processing applications and the quality of patent examinations, which are critical to the office."

Due to growing importance of modern achievements of biotechnology in industry, agriculture and medicine, an adequate legal protection of IP rights in this field is one of the most vital issues world-wide (including in Russia) that needs to be solved for the benefit of public.

In three crucial areas, the UK is under pressure to adapt its traditional trade mark practice to European standards. Lee Curtis argues that such harmonization is a culmination of the changes introduced in the 1994 Trade Marks Act

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Douglas & Others v Hello Ltd has been heralded as having recognized a right of privacy in English law. Stephen Bate and Lawrence Abramson analyze the decision and its implications

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Law and accountancy firms are coming under greater scrutiny in Hong Kong from April 1, under the new Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance intended to combat corporate piracy. Aimed at preventing bootlegging in places of public entertainment and combating corporate piracy, the new Ordinance targets those companies taking advantage of the loopholes in the law to avoid prosecution for copyright infringement.

Tegal Corp v Tokyo Electron Co, 58 USPQ2d 1791 (Fed Cir, May 14 2001) involves the interesting issue of what constitutes conduct contemptuous of an injunction against wilful patent infringement under US law.