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The Italian Council of Ministers has recently approved the bill ratifying the deed of revision of the European Patent Convention 2000 (EPC 2000). The bill is now being examined by the Italian Parliament and its approval is expected by the date that the Convention comes into force.

The US has introduced new rules for the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. This is what they mean in practice

Protection for IP rights in the Dominican Republic is much better than it used to be, thanks to a reorganized registry, effective Customs and efficient courts. Wendy Diaz discusses the latest developments and explains how they can help rights owners

In August, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China (SAIC) announced it was launching a nationwide action to combat free-riding of goodwill. Such free-riding refers to unauthorized use of another's reputable trade name/mark as one's trade name, and using such name on goods/services, thereby confusing the public. Local AICs are required to study this problem thoroughly and proactively initiate administrative actions to stop such infringing acts, including selecting serious and typical cases for focused attention. The SAIC will perform random checks on such actions, and participate where appropriate.

In the Kenya High Court case Mohan Meakin Ltd v Mohan Meakin (Kenya) Ltd and London Distillers Kenya) Ltd, the Indian brewing and distillery giant seeks to restrain the defendants from using and/or asserting ownership of the trade marks Old Monk and Meakin Rum following disposal of the plaintiff's shares in the first defendant in 2001.

The Canadian Trade-marks Office has issued a Practice Notice, effective August 15 2007, stating that the Registrar will "generally no longer require an applicant for registration of a trade-mark to enter disclaimers pursuant to section 35 of the" Trade-marks Act. The Office will, however, continue to accept voluntary disclaimers. Any outstanding disclaimer requests can be overcome by referring to the change in disclaimer practice regardless of whether the request was made prior to the effective date of the notice.

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

The authorities now have more powers to prosecute traders of fake goods

Intel is a familiar word not only outside but also inside Russia due to a full scale invasion of computers and computer-related technologies – so much so that some of the registrations that include the word "intel" have been recognized as famous trade marks in Russia.

The National Board of Patents and Registration has recently established a list into which trade marks with a reputation may be entered on application. According to the National Board of Patents and Registration the purpose of the list is to better serve business life, agents and all other circles that need to obtain information about marks with a reputation. The list may also be helpful when conducting preliminary examinations and tests of confusing similarity concerning trade marks. Consequently, the list undoubtedly has a preventive effect on trade mark litigation.