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The US Senate has approved a bill amendment that will change key provisions of the country's drugs laws, in a bid to speed generic entry on to the market.

Ingrid Hering, London

Legislators and enforcers of IP rights worldwide have struggled with one eternal question of where to draw the line between the overlapping areas of protection afforded by copyright law and design law to two/three-dimensional industrial products with external, eye-appealing features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to them.

Readers of this column will recall that we published an article last year indicating that the French government was studying a proposed revision of the 'Lois sur la bioéthique'. The draft bill contained an article 12bis, which unambiguously indicated that "the sequence or partial sequence of a gene is not patentable". If adopted, the French law would have been in complete contradiction with the EU Biotechnology Directive (Directive 44/98/CE).

There were 23 Americans on our MIP 50 list of the most influential people in IP, published in last month's issue. But, judging from readers' responses, that was not enough.

What are the risks for licensees when a licensor becomes insolvent? Hamid Rashidmanesh, David Naylor and Adam A Lewis compare procedures under US and English law, and provide some tips on how to minimize risk

Sam Mamudi, New York

A local farmer's appeal to Canada's Supreme Court in a case involving agribusiness leader Monsanto could set the limits of patent holders' rights. Sam Mamudi examines the dispute

Last April the federal legislature discussed and approved the bill to regulate the e-signature in Mexico, by amending or adding certain articles to the Mexican Commercial Code (the Bill).

A dispute between GlaxoSmithKline and Dutch company Class gives rise to important questions regarding the parallel import of original branded goods from outside the EEA within the European Union. In this case, a bulk of Aquafresh toothpaste was transported from South Africa to Rotterdam. The transportation took place by vessel at the request of Class. However the trade mark owner of the goods, GlaxoSmithKline, had not given permission for its import into the EEA and requested the Customs Department to seize the goods under Article 13bis of the Uniform Benelux Trade Mark Act.