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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has affirmed the high threshold that applies to three-dimensional trade marks in Europe, after rejecting two attempts by the maker of Werther's Original sweets to obtain a Community trade mark for the shape of the sweets and their wrapper.

The patentability of methods for controlling the operation of medical devices has long been disputed in Japan. But, as Akihiko Okuno of Sonoda & Kobayashi in Tokyo explains, it is now possible to get protection – provided you draft your claims carefully

The Canon ink cartridge case examines how the exhaustion theory should be applied to recycled products. Yoshinari Kishimoto of Sughrue Mion outlines the case and compares Japan's approach to that of the US

An understanding of copyright developments has become vital for all involved in digital and networking technology. Yuko Noguchi of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto analyzes recent legal changes and court decisions in this area, and compares Japanese and US practice

Justine Henin-Hardenne wears adidas Tennis players at Wimbledon and the US Open can wear clothes featuring the distinctive adidas three-stripes design, thanks to an injunction granted by an English High Court judge last month.

The Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP) provides that use of a registered trade mark inures to the benefit of a registration only if it is effected directly by the registrant or by a recorded licensee.

It is a cruel blow to succeed in both lower courts but to fail at the final hurdle. That is the fate that befell parties in two recent New Zealand cases, interestingly at the hands of two different courts, as New Zealand completes the transition from the old to the new.

The Korean Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling on April 27 2006, establishing a list of factors that must now be considered when calculating the reasonable royalty rate in all patent infringement cases.

Generic manufacturers operating in Ireland will welcome the recent introduction of legislation which enables them to conduct necessary pre-approval experiments without infringing the patent rights of the original manufacturer. The exemption is contained in new Irish regulations in the form of the European Communities (Limitation of Effect of Patent) Regulations, 2006 (the Irish Regulations) which implement certain sections of Directive 2004/27/EC (with respect to medicinal products for human use) and Directive 2004/28/EC (with respect to veterinary medicinal products).

On April 26 the European Commission responsible for Justice, Safety and Liberty presented a proposal for a directive aimed at strengthening the fight against counterfeits.