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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.

A licensee has licensed a utility model (UM) and know–how (KH) for an oxygen–enriched beverage. In addition, gas-mixing equipment was supplied by the licensor mainly for counting the drinks for calculating the licence fee. Shortly after the equipment was successfully installed at the licensee's facility, problems occurred and the licensee decided to exchange the licensor's equipment for new equipment from a different supplier. After some negotiations, the licensee terminated the licence contract. The licensor sued for payment of minimum royalties for two years which were already due. The licensee denied the basis for this payment because he argued that the UM was invalid and that the KH was of no value and was not used.

Readers may have heard that Central America and the Dominican Republic last year bought a little over $16 billion in US exports. This sum is more than the United States sells to India, Indonesia, and Russia combined, and is enough to constitute the second largest export market for the US.

The new Customs and Trade Mark Registry will enable the Customs Administration and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property to collaborate effectively. Yet a more general improvement of legislation may be slow to follow, explains Saul Santoyo of Uhthoff, Gomez Vega & Uhthoff SC

Patent applications in Mexico are on the increase, but disparities between national and foreign applications remain. Fernando Rosales-Vázquez, of Becerril, Coca & Becerril, SC, discusses the statistics, which graphically illustrate the imbalance

There is no evidence that a significant number of customers are being deceived by so-called lookalike packaging on retailers' own brands (John Noble, British Brands Group, Managing IP September 2007).

The Court of First Instance's recent antitrust decision against Microsoft could affect the way in which many more companies license their IP rights

Managing IP and Ocean Tomo invited IP practitioners to discuss strategies, legal trends and other issues relating to the increasingly important topic of patent sales, acquisitions and valuation