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Trade marks reproducing familar words are popular among people, even more so if they allude to sexuality. Any moves around such marks provoke interest: what will come next? The Chamber of Patent Disputes of the Russian PTO recently busied itself with Kamasutra.

On October 26 2007, the Italian Official Gazette published a decree of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (which is in charge of the Italian Patent and Trade Mark Office) indicating – among other issues – its willingness to reach an agreement with the European Patent Office on prior art searches of Italian patent applications.

A recent press statement by the Music Authors' Copyright Protection Berhad (MACP) has taken the Malaysian entertainment industry to task. It announced that hundreds of entertainment outlets around Kuala Lumpur, the nation's capital, would be subject to severe scrutiny if they did not settle their outstanding royalty payments within the given timeframe.

Collections of personal information are assets that can be used to generate economic benefit. However, if not used in accordance with applicable privacy laws, these assets can become liabilities. Businesses operating in Israel that use third party personal information as an asset, or that collect or process third party personal information in the course of business, should note recent amendments to Israel's privacy laws and ensure that their policies and business activities comply with applicable privacy legislation.

Italian search and description orders are proving highly effective, say Roberto Valenti and Giangiacomo Olivi of DLA Piper

From David Bannerman

WIPO director-general Kamil Idris will step down in September 2008, a year early

International: The executive committee of FICPI, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys, has backed a resolution in support of their clients' right to file divisional applications when prosecuting patents. The committee also called for more measures to be taken to strengthen the patent attorney profession, including providing a legally-protected title for qualified patent attorneys and the publication of an official register of qualified attorneys.

Can IP owners take action against landlords who allow counterfeits to be sold on their premises? Reports from seven jurisdictions

Indonesia's Supreme Court decided three much-anticipated IP cases in 2007. Lisa Yong and Zain Adnan explain what the decisions mean for rights holders in the country