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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

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".

Recent purchasing trends reflect a general desire among US consumers to "go green" by buying products that can help protect the environment. In order to meet the growing demand in the marketplace for products that do not harm the environment, manufacturers have tried to market and label their products and product packaging as "environmentally friendly".

Many readers will be familiar with the concept of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and the extended period of protection they provide for medicinal products (and plant protection products) on patent expiry. Questions often arise, however, as to when they are available. The recent UK Intellectual Property Office Decision in Re Gilead Sciences, Inc provides some guidance on this subject – in particular, with regard to combination products.

A specialized Intellectual Property Department has been established in Jordan to fight IP crimes. The new department will empower its officers to take action against IP criminals. It will operate within the Criminal Investigation Department. The aim of the department is to bring down criminal activities relating to intellectual property, such as counterfeiting and piracy in the internal market.

In this case, Hyundai Mobis (Hyundai) applied to register the mark Mobis for a class of goods related to automobile parts. However, Mobil Petroleum Company, Inc (Mobil) filed an opposition with the Trade Marks Registry to object to the registration of the mark on the following grounds:

In the case of Sanrio Company Limited v Edgar C Lim (doing business as Orignamura Trading (GR No 168662)), the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled on February 19 2008 that in the absence of grave abuse of discretion, the factual findings of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in preliminary investigations will not be disturbed. The facts are as follows: Sanrio, a Japanese corporation, owns the copyright to various animated characters including Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars, My Melody and Tuxedo Sam. It sold its products through its exclusive distributor Gift Gate who entered into licensing agreements with JC Lucas Creative Products, Paper Line Graphics and Melawares Manufacturing Corporation. These companies were allowed to manufacture certain products bearing the animated characters for the local market.

The Patent Office is staffed with human beings and despite all the laws and regulations the human origin of the decisions takes its toll. But sometimes the diversity of the decisions of the Patent Office is perplexing.

It has been predicted that Malaysia is likely to be a leader in the global pharmaceutical industry. The predicted growth of the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 will be through the increasing numbers of pharmaceutical manufacturers that are seeking to outsource or in-license their operations. The future market trends seem to be shifting towards consumption of generics as well as biotech and specialist therapies. Hence, the opportunity for healthcare companies venturing into Malaysia looks bright. This will, in turn, enable the country not only to expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific healthcare industry, but also globally.