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There exists in Russia a trade mark Jubilee (number 126030) registered for biscuits. As a person moderately advanced in age, as far as I can remember Jubilee biscuits have accompanied me and other people in Russia all our lives. The history of the biscuits in Russia certainly dates back over a century. Most probably, the product was launched in 1913 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of rule by the Romanov family (the Russian czars until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917). Surprisingly, despite bearing such an anticommunist name, the biscuits survived through the decades and became one of the most popular brands in Russia.

Trade mark counterfeiting and product piracy are common in Peru as in all of Latin America. This criminal activity is presented in a variety of forms, but most often involves someone trying to apply for the registration of a trade mark, which is famous in another country but has not yet been registered in Peru.

The amendment of the Norwegian Customs Act section 39, which was implemented as of September 1 2007, makes it possible for the Customs authorities to notify owners of IP rights if there is probable and reasonable cause to believe that the imported goods are infringing the IP rights. Customs may with this amendment ex officio retain suspected goods for five days and thus give an IP owner the possibility to take action. Before this amendment, it was necessary to obtain an interlocutory injunction from a court in order to enable the Customs to retain suspect goods. The amendment creates a new and better instrument in the battle to fight piracy and counterfeits, making it easier to enforce IP rights. The Norwegian Patent Office will assist the Customs to identify the IP owners, enabling them to notify correctly.

On August 1 2007 a new evidence law came into force in New Zealand called the Evidence Act 2006 (the new Act).

In 2005 the Mexican Congress passed amendments to the Law of Industrial Property (LIP) concerning trade mark notoriety. With this reform, IMPI recognizes two different levels of trade mark protection.

In September 2007 the Court of First Instance of the European Union (CFI) annulled the decision of the Board of Appeal of OHIM with which the registrability of the word mark Grana Biraghi for various types of cheese had been confirmed. According to the Board, the existence of the Grana Padano protected denomination of origin, provided by the Community Regulation, could not obstruct the registration of the Grana Biraghi mark, as the term Grana was considered generic and descriptive of a particular quality of a product.

The need to heighten the battle against counterfeit goods really hit home when Malaysian police discovered that they were recently cheated into paying RM5 million ($1.6 million) for imitation spare parts for police patrol cars and police vehicles.

It is imperative for the plaintiff to prove that the process of manufacture adopted by the defendant or that such imitation amounts to infringement. This duty rests on the plaintiff, so as to establish the infringement suit prima facie. Undoubtedly, the question of infringement of a patent is a mixed question of law and fact. In this scenario the ruling of the Madras High Court in FDC Limited & Ors v Sanjeev Khandelwal & Ors 2007 (35) PTC 436 (Mad), that ex parte injunctions be granted only after an effective judicial scrutiny of both oral as well as documentary evidence, becomes of paramount importance.

A United States trade mark registration remains in full force and effect for a period of 10 years from the date of issuance. However, in order to maintain the registration, the trade mark owner must file a declaration of use between the fifth year and sixth year following the date of registration (or, with payment of a penalty, within six months thereafter). The declaration of use is a sworn statement by the trade mark owner indicating that the registered mark continues to be in use in the United States for each of the goods covered by the registration and includes a specimen showing use of the mark for the classifications. If the required declaration of use and the supporting specimens are not filed, the registration will be cancelled.

To date, UK businesses have had to consider two parallel systems for registered design rights: the UK registered design right under the Registered Designs Act 1949 (as amended) and the Community registered design right under EC Directive 6/2002/EC (the Community Designs Regulation). However, on September 24 2007, the European Community signed the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the international registration of industrial designs, creating a third layer of registered design right protection. The UK had not previously been a signatory to the Hague Agreement, and so this is the first time that the Hague Agreement will apply to the UK, the EU implementing legislation (Commission Regulation 876/2007, amending Regulation 6/2002/EC ) being directly applicable in EU member states.