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Todd Dickinson´ s two-year stint as head of the US Patent and Trademark Office ended on Saturday 20 January, following George W Bush´ s inauguration. He was immediately hailed as one of the most successful Commissioners in recent times. Dickinson oversaw a 70% increase in patent applications; a 200% rise in the number of trade mark applications; a complete restructuring of the agency´ s management team; and an increased number of patent and trade mark examiners. It was a busy two years. "He did a marvellous job," says Michael Heltzer, government relations manager of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA). "He totally understood the role of the PTO in safeguarding America´ s ideas, something which his predecessors did not." Michael Kirk, executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) agrees: "Dickinson dedicated a lot more effort to the actual running of the office than his predecessor Bruce Lehman, putting more emphasis on processing applications and the quality of patent examinations, which are critical to the office."

A global campaign to overturn a US patent on basmati rice has scored a major victory with the announcement that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has thrown out 13 of 16 remaining claims from US-based RiceTec's controversial patent. John J Doll, the director of biotechnology examination at the USPTO, himself examined and rejected 13 claims from the patent. He judged that the rice lines, plants and grains that the company claimed in the application were prior art or substantially identical to basmati varieties grown in India and Pakistan, and hence could not be patented.

Egypt has often been seen as backward in IP matters. But major reforms under discussion will overturn that image, says James Nurton

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Douglas & Others v Hello Ltd has been heralded as having recognized a right of privacy in English law. Stephen Bate and Lawrence Abramson analyze the decision and its implications

Zdenka Prádná, of Patentservis Praha, Ltd in Prague, reviews the progress made by customs in seizing infringing goods in the Czech Republic

The month in figures

Over half of UK companies have no system in place to protect intellectual property, according to a survey conducted by UK firm Marks & Clerk. The survey canvassed 203 companies in four sectors ? pharmaceutical, technology, engineering and financial. The survey revealed that 77% of companies believe they should protect their IP, but only 49% have a system in place to identify when they need to seek patent protection, and only 30% carry out regular IP audits.

In three crucial areas, the UK is under pressure to adapt its traditional trade mark practice to European standards. Lee Curtis argues that such harmonization is a culmination of the changes introduced in the 1994 Trade Marks Act

Due to growing importance of modern achievements of biotechnology in industry, agriculture and medicine, an adequate legal protection of IP rights in this field is one of the most vital issues world-wide (including in Russia) that needs to be solved for the benefit of public.

Antti Papula and Perja Papula of Nevinpat in Helsinki explain that Russian patent practice differs from that of Europe. This is particularly true for claims relating to chemical and medical compounds