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Pfizer has won a key victory in the Chinese courts over the patent for sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in its impotence drug

The 2007 edition of the Americas IP Focus is published amid important changes in IP practice. Nowhere is this more true than in the Americas. In the US, Congress is debating fundamental changes to patent law, arising from concerns over the scope of protection and abuse of the vagaries of the patent system, while the Supreme Court has, in the past year, delivered four decisions of fundamental importance to IP owners. Meanwhile, new means of monetizing patents are being tested and the USPTO has introduced controversial reforms to address its backlog and delays in both the patent and trade mark fields.

Insurers have traditionally steered clear of the risky business of protecting intangible assets. But not any more, says Garry Booth

The Dubai Court of First Instance recently ordered that an identical trade name be deleted from the Commercial Register as it violated the plaintiff's registered and well-known trade mark as well as its name.

Under the interpretation of the rules put forth by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the extensions of time as of right under Rule 108(3) are not available under the slow track option.

A licensee has licensed a utility model (UM) and know–how (KH) for an oxygen–enriched beverage. In addition, gas-mixing equipment was supplied by the licensor mainly for counting the drinks for calculating the licence fee. Shortly after the equipment was successfully installed at the licensee's facility, problems occurred and the licensee decided to exchange the licensor's equipment for new equipment from a different supplier. After some negotiations, the licensee terminated the licence contract. The licensor sued for payment of minimum royalties for two years which were already due. The licensee denied the basis for this payment because he argued that the UM was invalid and that the KH was of no value and was not used.

The new Customs and Trade Mark Registry will enable the Customs Administration and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property to collaborate effectively. Yet a more general improvement of legislation may be slow to follow, explains Saul Santoyo of Uhthoff, Gomez Vega & Uhthoff SC

When patented substances have second uses, complications may result. Agustín Velázquez G L, Guillermo Alberto González Ortega, Alberto Huerta Bleck and Álvaro Huerta González of Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes discuss how Mexican courts have responded

Patent applications in Mexico are on the increase, but disparities between national and foreign applications remain. Fernando Rosales-Vázquez, of Becerril, Coca & Becerril, SC, discusses the statistics, which graphically illustrate the imbalance

A new government introduces changes that may have implications for foreign investors. Areeya Ratanayu and Clemence Gautier of Tilleke & Gibbins assess the situation