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Using country names or emblems can lend authority to a marketing strategy. Jean-Michel Jost examines what is permitted in Switzerland, the UK and EU

IP owners risk jeopardizing their rights if they fail to protect their copyright and trade mark rights in online worlds such as Second Life

The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) recently issued a decision (X ZR 60/06) that makes it clear that the patent owner's right to choose the best method of calculating damages in an infringement suit ends when a first relevant court decision comes into force. This is true even if the patent owner has exercised his right to choose before the court decision comes into force. The BGH stated that, at a specific time, the infringer has to know the extent of the liability. The infringer has to be able to plan for the future and has to be able to calculate the amount of reserves to be set aside.

With over one billion people, India is one of the world's largest markets for films. This includes both home grown "Bollywood" and Hollywood films. However, both Hollywood and Bollywood complain that piracy, a phenomenon throughout Asia, is cutting into their earnings. Both lose millions of dollars a year due to lax enforcement of copyright laws in India. Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) said at a recent Confederation of Indian Industry meeting that the biggest competitor faced by both Hollywood and Bollywood was piracy.

In August 2007, the Chinese Trade Mark Office (CTMO) circulated its draft changes to the Trade Mark Law for comments. According to this draft, there will be substantial changes to the current law, including the following proposals to expedite application and registration procedures:

In our June, 2007 briefing, we explained that patent trials are almost always open to the public. Of course, trials are the culmination of many months, sometimes years, of pre-trial discovery, including the production of documents containing confidential information and the deposition of witnesses. While it's generally known that such pre-trial discovery is not open to the public, a question often asked, particularly by non-US entities involved in US litigation, is whether the opposing in-house counsel will have access to the confidential documents produced and deposition testimony given in the litigation.

DR-CAFTA has brought about important changes in Honduran IP law. Decree 16-2006 which contains the Law of Application of the Free Trade Treaty (DR-CAFTA) states the Law's objective of protecting, promoting and strengthening the legal security for the different categories of IP rights contained in the legal instruments.

Pursuant to the amendments of the IP laws, which came into effect in Croatia on July 21 2007, an independent Appeal Board was established.

The concept of a trade mark will never be the same in Chile. To adapt and comply with international treaties signed by the Chilean government, a series of modifications have been made to the Chilean IP Law, including a new definition of a trade mark as "any sign that can be graphically represented, which is able to distinguish products or services". Therefore, not only words, logos, labels and colour combinations can be protected, but also sounds.

On the occasion of our last article of the year 2007, we thought it might be useful to compare past and present.