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In Romania, the legal provisions regarding the obligation to use a trade mark and the applicable sanction for failing to use it have been adopted relatively recently, through Law 84/1998 on trade marks and geographical indications. This provision gives two benefits: it allows the registration of new trade marks that are identical or similar to previous, non-used, ones and it incentivizes a trade mark owner to preserve his rights by using his mark.

Unbeknown to many, the DVD logo pictured above belongs to the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Company of Japan (DVD FLLC). In the 1990s Hitachi, Philips, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, JVC, Pioneer, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner and Toshiba developed a standard media format with accompanying specifications. From this came the DVD logo and a set of rules for using it. Only authorized manufacturers may apply the corresponding logo to their goods.

According to Article 130 of Mexican Industrial Property Law, a trade mark must be in continuous and uninterrupted use for at least three consecutive years from the date when the registration is granted. If use of a mark does not commence within this period of time, the mark will become vulnerable to a cancellation action due to non-use which can be brought by any third party with a legal interest. This legal action is brought before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI).

US burger chain McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases involving trade mark issues in its 66-year history. In Malaysia, they have now successfully protected their interests and obtained the exclusive use of the Mc prefix following a five-year legal tussle with McCurry Restaurant (KL). The Malaysian High Court has ruled that McDonalds has an exclusive right to "Mc" and it is the trade mark of the US fast food company.

On September 22 2006, the Italian Council of Ministers approved a new law decree that contains interesting new elements regarding intellectual property in Italy.

The Indian music industry has grown rapidly over the years and has become a major business in India along with the country's famous film industry colloquially known as Bollywood. As a result, copyright cases that affect the industry are closely watched. A recent case is Super Cassettes Industries Ltd v Chanda Cassettes Pvt Ltd 2006 (33) PTC (Del), where the Delhi High Court attempted to frame a test of balance of convenience in a copyright infringement case. The appeal was against the decision of the Additional District Judge denying the plaintiffs an interim injunction.

Disputes concerning trade marks in Russia are examined primarily at the Chamber of Patent Disputes of the Russian PTO. Sometimes the Rules of the Russian PTO, which are the guiding light for the Board of the Chamber, do not cover all the eventualities in the practice of the Russian PTO.

The US patent law is about to undergo a major change with a raft of reforms set to be implemented. These changes are considered to be the most comprehensive since Congress passed the 1952 patent Act. But, the path has not been smooth, with voices of dissent materializing as the government carves out its plans. MIP and Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt jointly hosted a roundtable discussion – at a real roundtable – in Washington DC in late summer, to discuss some of those concerns and what really needs to be done

In the latest twist in the long-running battle between Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb and Apotex, the originator drugs companies secured a preliminary injunction against the Canadian company to stop it selling generic versions of their blockbuster anti-blood clotting drug Plavix.

Do you know a DNS from a DIG? What's the difference between a domainer and a typosquatter? If you want to protect your brands on the internet, then you need to know the answers to questions such as these. Nick Wood and Michael Murphy provide an A to Z guide to domain name jargon