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Co-ownership of IP is a complex matter, as different countries follow different systems, and terminology also varies. Luis C Schmidt of Olivares & Cia discusses the system which Mexico has devised as it applies to copyright and trade marks

With many updates to existing laws already implemented, and further changes to come, Dianne Daley and Nicole Foga of Foga Daley & Co argue that Jamaica offers a bright future for IP owners

A new amendment takes IP legislation in the wrong direction, yet new Customs laws represent a step forward for rights owners in Argentina. Carlos O Mitelman and Daniel R Zuccherino of Obligado & Cia explain

Franchising is one of the more popular modes of going into business in the Philippines, whether small, medium sized, or large. They are easy to set up and the franchised business has a built-in support system, and some goodwill attached to it. Because almost all franchise agreements involve a bundle of intellectual property rights, prior to January 1 1998, registration of this type of agreement was mandatory. After that date, registration became voluntary and enforceable in the Philippines, provided it complied with the provisions of the IP Code. The signatories to the registered agreement are certainly the real parties in interest, but in Pepsico Inc doing business in the name and style Pepsico Restaurants International v Emerald Pizza Inc (GR No 153059) promulgated by the Supreme Court on August 14 2007, the Court declared that Pepsico Inc, who was not a party to the franchise agreement, was a real party in interest. The case facts are as follows:

When it comes to prosecuting a patent application before the Mexican Patent Office, the applicant should remember that the Office does not undertake a completely independent substantive examination of patent applications. Mexico's Law of Industrial Property contemplates that the Office may accept or require the findings of substantive examinations conducted by foreign patent offices or, where appropriate, a copy of the patent granted by foreign patent offices.

This year has seen Malaysia experience a positive whirlwind as far as IP rights are concerned. The deployment of specialist tracking dogs to combat software piracy, relentless raids conducted by authorities in their quest to curb piracy, the Prime Minister's declaration of a national IP day on April 27 2007; these are among the very many developments that bear testimony to Malaysia's serious approach to the protection and enforcement of IP rights.

Proprietary and open software have developed in parallel in the US over the past two decades. Craig Bachman and Anne Glazer of Lane Powell examine some legal intersections between the two models

In its most recent Decision G 1/05, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office clarified several issues on the validity of divisional applications (first and subsequent generations) containing added subject matter at the actual filing date. In this decision the EBA consolidated three referrals from the Technical Boards of Appeal.

Jorge Amigo Castañeda, director-general of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, outlines the challenges the Institute faces, and the steps it is taking to improve life for IP owners in Mexico

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