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Since 1995, the Singapore patent system has moved away from a re-registration system to the present examination system. However, applicants could still rely on allowed foreign applications for grant through a two-stage process. An applicant would first furnish details (country of filing, filing dates and application numbers) of all corresponding applications within 16 months of the priority date. Subsequently, the applicant would furnish prescribed information in the form of granted patents or documents setting out the final results of the search and examination of any one of the corresponding applications before 28 months of the priority date.

On June 6 2008, the president of the Philippines signed into law Republic Act no 9052 entitled Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008. The director-general of the Intellectual Property Office and other appropriate government agencies are mandated to issue the implementing rules and regulations of the Act within 120 days. Republic Act no 9052 contains a number of important points.

The New Zealand government recently passed an Amendment Act to the Copyright Act 1994 which is said to update New Zealand's copyright law to ensure that New Zealand "keeps up to speed with recent advances in digital technology".

Mexican intellectual property law does not provide protection to trade marks that are not inherently distinctive but have attained secondary meaning through use. This means that companies cannot obtain exclusive rights in Mexico over descriptive or generic words, surnames, geographic names or isolated colours and isolated letters, even through continuous and exclusive use or extensive advertisement of the branded products or services (which some jurisdictions deem grounds for proving "acquired distinctiveness").

In the recent High Court decision of IEV International v Sadacharamani a/l Govindasamy [2008] 2 MLJ 754, the Court allowed the plaintiff's application to invalidate two of the defendant's patents.

In the 2007 financial act the government passed the bill called INDUSTRIA 2015 aimed at assisting innovative industrial projects for enterprises, universities, etc. Specific decrees have already been approved with respect to the first three industrial innovative projects (PIIs).

The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) recently amended Israel's Communications Law (Bezeq and Broadcasting) 1982 to prohibit the dissemination of email solicitations and other electronic advertisements without the recipient's prior express consent.

In India geographical indications are protected by sui generis legislation: the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 [GI Act] followed by The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Rules, 2002. The basis for such a model may be attributed to Article 22 of the TRIPs Agreement, which stipulates that members should provide "legal means" to prevent misuse of geographical indications.

The Budapest Treaty created a good patent system but it is struggling to deal with rapid developments in the biotech industry. Edward Farrington, Katrin Lindberg Dahlin and Ulf Inger of Valea AB tell you how to avoid difficulties

Changes to European patent law have brought an end to the need for Swiss-type claims. Béatrice Holtz and Lionel Vial of Lavoix explain what replaces them