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A leading UK judge has called for a "one-stop patent shop" to cater to companies that do business across Europe, after finding a patent invalid just days after it was upheld by a court in the Netherlands

Australia: IP Australia has made available a beta release of AusPat, the new search system for Australian patents. AusPat allows for quick, structured or advanced searches that will contain up to 20 different fields.

Although pharmaceutical patents dominate debates about innovation in India, government and industry are leading an IP overhaul in many other areas, says Peter Ollier

Mistakes made in the patent drafting process can come back to haunt litigants in the court room. Martin Sulsky and Raj S Davé explain how to avoid common drafting errors

Managing IP unveils the results of part three of the world's most detailed and authoritative survey of the IP market. Following five months' research, in this issue we list the leading firms for copyright work in 16 of the world's most important IP markets

Good strategies bring a wealth of benefits. Jay Sha explains how to build solid portfolios for a global market

Judge Lv Guoqiang, vice-president of the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court, tells Peter Ollier about recent judicial developments and explains how foreign IP holders can make better use of the system

The decision by the United States Trade Representative to launch two cases against China at the WTO after accusing the country of failing to comply with its enforcement obligations under the TRIPs Agreement has dominated coverage of IP in China over the past 12 months. In October last year USPTO Commissioner Jon Dudas admitted the case had hurt ties with China, saying "we've seen increased cooperation in some areas but we've seen cooperation in other areas slow". Elsewhere, a high-profile spat between French food maker Danone and Chinese drinks maker and joint venture partner Wahaha over the rights to the Wahaha brand hit the headlines.

Stopping fakes from slipping through China's borders is a crucial issue for IP owners worldwide. Lawrence Wong, senior brand protection manager for Unilever in China, outlines his strategies to Managing IP

Depositions are not usually compared to sporting events, although some readers may think that comparing a deposition to a boxing match would be appropriate. In reality, a deposition could be compared to a tennis match because in both, once the event begins, no coaching is allowed. Indeed, in US patent litigation (and other litigation), the rule is that "objections should be stated as briefly as possible" and should not be "designed to coach or suggest an answer to the witness or otherwise to interfere with questioning of the witness by opposing counsel" (Collins v Int'l Dairy Queen, Inc, No CIV A 94-95-4MACWDO, 1998 WL 293314, *1 (MD Ga June 14 1998)). The lawyer defending the witness simply is not permitted to "make any objections or statements which might suggest an answer to a witness or which are intended to communicate caution to a witness with respect to a particular question" nor should the lawyer "attempt[] to suggest to the witness any particular or desired response" (Id at *3; see also Wilson v Sundstrand Corp, Nos 99 C 6944, 2003 WL 22012673, *5 (ND Ill August 25 2003) which held that counsel's objections suggesting answers were improper)). As the Court succinctly stated in Heriaud v Ryder Transp. Servs, No 03 C 0289, 2005 WL 2230199, *8 (ND Ill September 8 2005), when a lawyer is "trying to obstruct his adversaries' ability to obtain answers to their questions, and ... trying to coach his [witness] to answer-or not answer-questions ... [h]is behavior violates every rule of discovery that broaches the subject".