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Geneva: Angola became the 138th contracting state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) when it deposited its instrument of accession at WIPO on September 27. The Treaty will enter into force for Angola on December 27 2007.

Authors of creative works enjoy protection under copyright laws. Copyright laws worldwide exist to protect the authors from any infringement of their work. Books and other written materials on hard copies, web pages, email messages, digital images, text, musical work, software and any copyrighted materials published on the internet are equally protected. Copyright has however faced challenges from digital technology over recent years.

In the battle to cut demand for fakes, some public education campaigns are more successful that others. LiliAna Andreano assesses the results

A world of confusion surrounds the most difficult question in patent law: what is obvious? Gordon Harris compares courts' approaches and seeks common ground

With a backlog of applications threatening to overwhelm examiners, large parts of the patent community furious about its recently implemented rules package and two lawsuits pending against it, the USPTO is facing unprecedented criticism. Eileen McDermott considers why practitioners are angry. Plus: Director Jon Dudas responds to the critics

Recent damages awards demonstrate that Chinese courts will compensate IP owners for their losses, reports Emma Barraclough

There exists in Russia a trade mark Jubilee (number 126030) registered for biscuits. As a person moderately advanced in age, as far as I can remember Jubilee biscuits have accompanied me and other people in Russia all our lives. The history of the biscuits in Russia certainly dates back over a century. Most probably, the product was launched in 1913 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of rule by the Romanov family (the Russian czars until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917). Surprisingly, despite bearing such an anticommunist name, the biscuits survived through the decades and became one of the most popular brands in Russia.

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.