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Given the time that intellectual property proceedings usually take, and the insufficient expertise among the judges hearing the cases, in Colombia the parties to IP conflicts are increasingly resorting to alternative methods such as arbitration and conciliation.

Since the middle of the 18th century, tequila has been considered a traditional beverage in Mexico, first locally and afterwards obtaining the status of the representative beverage of our country, when in 1873 Cenobio Sauza began the exportation of the product to the United States.

On the eve of its implementation in the national judicial systems (July 31 2000), European Directive 98/44/EC of July 6 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions has led to heated discussions in the Netherlands. Earlier, on October 19 1998, the Dutch government had already requested the ECJ to declare the directive invalid, but no judgment has been rendered with respect to this request yet. Not until June this year rather late was the actual implementation of the directive finally discussed in the Dutch parliament. During these discussions, it turned out that a majority of parliament objected to the implementation of the directive, largely because the directive would give room for the patenting of living organisms. This would be contrary to fundamental ethical choices made in the Netherlands.

Hungary has had a new trade mark law since 1997. Michael Lantos, of Danubia Patent & Trademark Attorneys in Budapest, examines how some cases have been handled since it came into force

At the conclusion of the Trilateral Technical Meeting Study, held in Tokyo in June, the Trilateral Offices ? the JPO, USPTO and EPO ? issued a Report on a Comparative Study Carried Out under Trilateral Project B3b with a "Consensus Summary ? Confirmed Current Practices on Business Method Related Inventions". The consensus on computer implemented business methods is:

The US Patent and Trademark Office is facing the loss of 25% of next year's income, under budget proposals in the House Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill. The cuts come as business is soaring: patent applications were up 12% last year, and trade mark applications increased 40%.

Related Information

Tomorrow's biggest industries will all be driven by technology. Robert Stoll, of the USPTO, takes a timely look at the significance of patent law as an engine of economic development and improvements in human life

Let the battle commence

Paraguay is vulnerable to imports of infringing goods. Brigitte Urbieta De Clerck, of Berkemeyer in Asunción, explains how new legislation aims to tackle the problem