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On April 3 2006 the UK Patent Office took the lead in promoting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Intellectual Property disputes by being the first patent and trade mark office anywhere in the world to set up a formal commercial mediation service. The initiative involves the creation of a new Mediation Service Team within the Patent Office who are able to mediate IP disputes referred to them from Patent Office hearings, the Courts or the parties themselves. To raise awareness of the new service the Patent Office has issued Guidance Notes on its website and is producing a range of literature aimed at encouraging parties to consider mediation as an alternative to litigation.

José Antonio Hernández and Patricia Koch of Herrero & Asociados review how courts have dealt with preliminary injunctions in Spain and provide some tips on what IP rights owners need to prove in order to obtain one

Stéphanie Bodoni speaks to OHIM's new director of IP policy, Vincent O'Reilly, about OHIM trade mark practice, examination guidelines and the implementation of EU case law

US high-tech company HP has opened a dedicated IP licensing centre in Singapore to exploit licensing opportunities in Asia.

A recent decision of the UK High Court has confirmed that Trade Marks Registry oppositions can create estoppel in subsequent High Court infringement proceedings.

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

According to the Romanian provisions, a trade mark registration can be cancelled if, within a continuous period of five years, the mark has not been put to genuine use on the Romanian territory in connection with the goods or services in respect of which it is registered, and there are no proper reasons for non-use. Not using the trade mark for an uninterrupted five-year period implies that the trade mark is no longer capable of fulfilling one of its basic functions: to differentiate the goods and services of a natural or legal person from those of other natural or legal persons. Thanks to the non-use, the trade mark does not allow the consumers to easily and quickly choose a verified product, which earned a reputation, the competition function no longer being fulfilled.

The Japanese government has introduced a regional collective trade mark system to boost the value of the country's agricultural exports. John Tessensohn and Shusaku Yamamoto explain how it will work and who will benefit

The Singapore Court of Appeal recently overruled a High Court decision upholding the registration of the trade mark NIKE, which had been registered by a Spanish company, Campomar.

Italy has ratified Directive 98/44/EC on the protection of biotechnological inventions, aimed at harmonizing the laws of the member states to promote investment in the field of biotechnology and avoid barriers to trade.