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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.

Non-conventional trade marks have been widely debated over the past few years. The registration of colours as trade marks constitutes a good example of the reluctance to accept trade marks that are different from the signs with which we are more familiarized. The Portuguese Industrial Property Code for instance determines that colours cannot be registered as trade marks except if combined with other colours or with graphics, slogans or other elements in a peculiar and distinctive way. The registration of a colour per se is therefore expressly excluded.

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.

On October 10 2007, imitation Honda general purpose engines were destroyed before students and faculty of the De La Salle University in Bacolod City in compliance with the order of regional trial court judge Roberto Chiongson. The infringing engines, which bore the same shape and colour as the Honda engines, were seized by the National Bureau of Investigation by virtue of search warrants issued by Judge Chiongson on June 22 2005, against three establishments in Bacolod and Iloilo cities. While under preliminary investigation by the Department of Justice, the owner of the raided establishment issued an undertaking to cease and desist from dealing in Honda engines look-alikes, issue public apologies in national newspapers, agree to periodic inspection of his establishments, surrender the imitation Honda engines for destruction, and other commitments. Honda Motor Co Ltd and Honda Philippines Inc accepted these pledges. To ensure that none of the parts of the engines would be re-used, the destruction activity started with dismantling their removable parts, then using acetylene torches to cut the metal block, and lastly manually pounding of the broken parts. The destruction was scheduled in October to celebrate IPR month, and was highlighted with a series of talks on intellectual property held in the university.

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.

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.

New regulations under Japan's Patent Act came into force on April 1 2007. Yoshitaka Sonoda of Sonoda & Kobayashi Intellectual Property Law Firm explains what they mean for drafting claims, preparing amendments and filing divisional applications

Global brand owners are looking to cut the costs of IP management and brand protection. Outsourcing can provide a valuable alternative to doing work in-house. Sudath Perera and Aromi Silva explain why Sri Lanka is a prime destination for off-shoring IP work

Law firms and patent and trade mark agencies are reporting record levels of demand from IP clients. For the fourth year, Managing IP has compiled a list of the biggest firms in Asia to see who is growing the fastest

The Indonesian Supreme Court recently declared Prestone to be a well-known mark. The case should give much-needed confidence to foreign investors in the country, say Gladys Mirandah and Saritha Bhanu of Patrick Mirandah Co