Search results for

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.

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

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.

The effective implementation of the so-called Paediatric Regulation (Regulation 1901/2006, as amended) is taking place. The Regulation came into force in January 2007, but the necessary measures for the implementation of the Regulation are only now under way. In particular, the newly established Paediatric Committee (PDCO) held its first meeting on July 4 to 5 2007, where it set out its future action plan. The meeting was chaired by Daniel Brasseur, former chair of the Paediatric Working Party, pending the election of a chair by the PDCO in September 2007.

On December 12 2007, EU Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices (UCPD) will enter into force in the member states. The Directive fully harmonizes rules within the EU regarding business-to-consumer (B2C) relations and is a big step towards creating a pan-European advertising market without borders. It means that it will be possible to use common advertising campaigns throughout the EU.

In July the Italian Parliament examined two bills relating to the regulations for identification and protection of Italian products. Both the proposals follow faithfully the consolidated text on the "Made in Italy" label already presented in the previous legislature, which was unable to conclude its course due to the end of the legislature.

Peter Ollier, Hong Kong

The new USPTO rules on claims and continuations have provoked controversy, dismay - and already one court challenge

Peter Ollier, Hong Kong

The rulings in MedImmune and SanDisk may also force trade mark owners to re-think their enforcement strategies