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A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam – who received the world's first recorded patent in 1449

Trade mark owners are increasingly frustrated at having to police online auction websites to prevent sales of fakes. In an open letter to eBay, one IP lawyer demands action. Ray Black

The Chinese authorities have increased their efforts to recognize and protect both domestic and foreign well-known trade marks during the past year. Cedric Lam and Janet Wong of Dorsey & Whitney examine recent developments

If IP owners want to maximize their chances of having an application for a biotech or chemical invention granted in China, they need to pay careful attention to their test data, says Amy Feng of Liu Shen & Associates

Bai Gang of Wan Hui Da IP Agency and Paul Ranjard of UNIFAB say that IP owners have a duty to try every means of enforcement provided under Chinese law

Benjamin Bai, Peter Wang and Tony Chen of Jones Day explain how to enforce a patent in the world's most litigious country for patent disputes

Do copyright laws incentivize artists to create in a way that benefits society as a whole, or do they discourage innovation by locking up culture for the financial benefit of a small minority? MIP asked a copyright owner and a pro-piracy campaigner to debate whether the copyright law balance has tipped too far in favour of rights holders. Christian Engström of the Swedish Pirate Party opens the correspondence, and Scott Martin of Paramount Pictures responds

Companies losing millions of dollars to makers of fakes want consumers to understand that counterfeiting harms legitimate businesses, exploits workers and is often run by criminal gangs with murky links to terrorism. So why do people still buy knock-offs? Peter Ollier took the short journey from Hong Kong to Shenzhen to see how the counterfeit buyers justify their purchases

When business strategy contemplates the expansion of a particular brand or the introduction of a new brand into the US marketplace, it is recommended that US trade mark counsel first be retained to conduct and review a complete US trade mark search to ascertain the availability of the proposed mark for use and registration. Conducting a full search and obtaining the advice of counsel will, among other things, help a trade mark owner understand the potential risks associated with use of a mark in the United States, assist in developing a plan to ensure the ability to obtain a federal trade mark registration and facilitate an approach to avoid infringement of third party rights.

In Taiwan, although a trade mark owner is not required to submit evidence of use of his/her registered mark to the Trademark Office voluntarily, the registered mark will be vulnerable to cancellation if, without justifiable cause, the mark has not been used for three years following its registration or if, after a period of use, use of the mark is discontinued for a period in excess of three years.