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Ownership rights could be reclaimed by thousands of musicians and writers in the US if the creator of the Captain America character is successful in his battle with Marvel Enterprises, the publishing company.

Singapore and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will offer each other some of the most advanced IP protection in the world when their free trade agreement comes into effect, probably on January 1 2003. The EFTA-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (ESFTA) was signed on June 26 at the EFTA ministerial meeting in Iceland and is the first free trade pact an east Asian country has signed with EFTA, which is made up of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The IP section of the agreement goes beyond anything on IP contained in the free trade agreements Singapore has signed in the last two years with New Zealand and Japan.

Under the Mexican Industrial Property Law trade names are published rather than registered, as happens with service marks. The difference between a publication and a registration basically consists in the rights derived from the legislation. While the exclusive right to use a service mark is granted only by means of a registration, a trade name does not require a registration to produce legal effects against third parties. Indeed, according to the Law, trade names are protected by virtue of their use without the benefit of a registration. The purpose of the publication is only to establish a presumption of good faith in the adoption and use of the trade name. Accordingly, use of a trade name is essential to produce its legal effects.

Russia ? CIS Countries ? Baltic States

The doctrine of equivalents and the rule of prosecution history estoppel are settled law. The responsibility for changing them rests with Congress. Fundamental alterations in these rules risk destroying the legitimate expectations of inventors in their property

It has been a tough year for law firms in the US. In our first annual survey of the biggest IP practices, we reveal which firms have the most practitioners

Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation

In a September 13 2002 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a ruling of the USPTO Board of Appeals and Interferences that the USPTO has the power to reject a patent application on the grounds of what it termed "prosecution laches".

On June 20 2002 the Polish Parliament approved revisions to the Industrial Property Law. The revisions came into effect on August 4 2002. Information about the revisions was published on July 20 2002 in the Official Law Gazette No 113 item 983.

Geographical indications are a critical issue for India where many distinctive products have originated. The Indian government has introduced its own imperfect legislation but what is really needed are rules at the international level, argues Latha R