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The doctrine of double patenting in Canada prevents the issuance of two patents covering the same invention. This doctrine has taken on greater significance since the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Whirlpool Corp v Camco Inc, [2000] 2 SCR 1067. In this case, the Court identified two types of double patenting, one in which the claims are "identical or coterminous", and another in which the claims are not "patentably distinct" (also known as "obviousness" double patenting). Following this decision, the Patent Office has been issuing rejections raised on the second type with increasing frequency where co-pending applications have common ownership.

In a first leading decision, the Austrian Supreme Court has clarified several issues relating to keyword advertising. The decision is about the trade mark and trade name Wein & Co. (Wine & Co), a famous chain of wine stores and wine bars in Austria. A competitor bought 815 keywords with Google, including Wein & Co. The complaint was against the purchaser not Google.

In a dangerous development for patent holders, the Australian government, in an adventurous move, has accepted the recommendation of the Australian Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP) to introduce an experimental use exemption (EUE) under the Patents Act. To be clear, this is not an amendment to the law, but constitutes the introduction of a statutory EUE where previously none existed. Moreover, the notion of an EUE does not feature in our precedent law.

Verimark is the market leader in South Africa in the field of television marketing in which so-called infomercials are used. Two of its products are Diamond Guard car care kit and Diamond Guard car polish, which have been widely advertised and sold since 1996. Throughout this period, Verimark used vehicles of different makes, but especially BMW cars, to demonstrate these products.

Sending a warning notice to an infringer's business partners could constitute unfair competition. Hiroko Yamamoto of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto explains how this situation can be avoided

Danone's spat with joint venture partner Wahaha has highlighted the risks of investing in China. Peter Ollier examines what went wrong

Two years after the failure of the EU computer implemented inventions directive, the debate over protecting software is as passionate as ever

The latest developments in the patent reform debate in the US at a glance

Yamaha Motors has won the highest damages ever awarded to a foreign company for trade mark infringement in China

An Indian government committee has concluded that there is no need to change the laws that deal with drug registration in the country