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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) holds German trade mark registrations for Fussball WM 2006 and WM 2006 for, inter alia, goods and services covering sporting events. These registrations were subject to cancellation actions, filed by Ferrero, who submitted that the marks lack distinctive character and are descriptive in relation to such goods and services; moreover, it was also alleged that the trade mark registrations were filed in bad faith.

Customs officers have the power to stop the flow of fakes at China's borders. But if they are to do their job properly, they need far more help from IP owners, says Li Qunying, chief of the IP division in China's Customs administration

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

Has China turned a corner in its commitment to protecting IP? A series of headline-grabbing court rulings at the end of 2005 in which Chinese judges upheld the rights of IP owners certainly suggests that foreign businesses can have far more success in enforcing their rights than is commonly believed. In the space of two months, Starbucks won an order for damages from would-be rival Shanghai Xing Ba Ke, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero stopped a copycat confectioner from selling look-alike products and five luxury goods companies persuaded a Beijing court to hold a landlord jointly liable for sales of fakes in his market.

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

The snappily titled The Performances (Moral Rights etc) Regulations 2006 will help us all answer the question "Who is that singer?" and avoid the comment "Oi, that's my recording you're mucking about with!"

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has stepped up its action against software piracy. Over the past year, raids were successfully carried out and lead to a number of people being arrested, large numbers of PCs and pirated software confiscated and pirated goods destroyed, and fines imposed on various individuals and companies. This is reassuring for companies wanting to enter the UAE.

The Republic Act No. 9168 (known as the Plant Variety Protection Act 2002) took effect on July 19 2002. The aim of the legislation was to protect and secure exclusive rights for breeders of new plant varieties. As of February 1 2006, the Plant Variety Protection Office has received 39 applications for Certificates of Plant Variety Protection, the breakdown of which is as follows:

The National .es Domain Names Plan approved by Order ITC/1542/2005 on May 19, provides that Spain should set up a system for the friendly settlement of disputes arising in relation .es domains between the owner of that domain and a third party claiming lawful interests in it.

On January 25 2006, the Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP) was amended. Among other changes, these included a new infringement cause which provides as follows: