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Belgium's proposed tax exemption for patent royalties is more than just a tax benefit. It will prompt companies to reassess their approach to innovation. By Bruno Vandermeulen, Paul Hermant and Marc Martens of Bird & Bird

Carlos Octavio Mitelman of Obligado & Cia gives his take on Article 39 of the TRIPs Agreement and how it protects scientific data

IP's intangible nature does little to bolster investor confidence in biotechnology. Roya Ghafele, who works as an economist at WIPO, says that biotechnology is insufficiently funded due to a lack of awareness of the value of patents among both borrowers and investors

Africa: The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), which covers 16 English-speaking countries, has revised its patent fees: a basic application fee is now $250, plus $75 per country designated. The examination report fee is $250, as is the search report fee. The publication fee is $300. The new fees came into effect on April 1.

English courts are known for being thorough, but that can be expensive for litigants. Brian Whitehead, Stuart Jackson and Richard Kempner examine ways you can reduce the costs

How you prosecute a patent can affect how enforceable the right is. Blayne Peacock and Tim Watkin explain why legal changes in Singapore could mean that applicants face unexpected consequences if they try to patent on the cheap in one of Asia's burgeoning R&D centres

Patent protection for a new dosage regime of a known drug is now available in New Zealand after a decision by the assistant commissioner of patents

Europe's highest court has said it favours a "broad definition" of comparative advertising, which could lead to more adverts falling within the scope of an EU directive regulating the practice

On April 1 Korea concluded historic free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the US. Korea has a $1 trillion economy and is the United States's seventh largest partner in trading goods, while the US is Korea's second largest market, importing 17% of Korean exports. In general, the FTA will eliminate tariffs and other restraints on trade in addition to strengthening economic ties between the two countries.

Irish writers and performers have welcomed a recent decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which concerned Commission proceedings against Ireland in respect of Directive 92/100/EEC of November 19 1992 on rental rights and lending rights and on certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property. In Commission v Ireland, C-175-05, the ECJ held that Irish copyright legislation which exempted all categories of public lending establishments from paying royalties to authors and performers breached Ireland's obligations under the directive. Similar Commission proceedings had also been brought against Spain (which intervened on behalf of Ireland), Portugal and Belgium.