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The Playboy bunny is one of the most widely recognized trade marks in the world. But that also makes it a target for counterfeiters. Ana Cashman, Playboy's assistant counsel, tells Shahnaz Mahmud how the company tackles the problem

Hong Kong used to be a counterfeit buyer's paradise. But over the past 10 years Customs officials have upped their efforts to drive the sellers from the streets and smash the syndicates that control the trade. Peter Ollier followed a team of officers over three days to find out how successful they have been

When business strategy contemplates the expansion of a particular brand or the introduction of a new brand into the US marketplace, it is recommended that US trade mark counsel first be retained to conduct and review a complete US trade mark search to ascertain the availability of the proposed mark for use and registration. Conducting a full search and obtaining the advice of counsel will, among other things, help a trade mark owner understand the potential risks associated with use of a mark in the United States, assist in developing a plan to ensure the ability to obtain a federal trade mark registration and facilitate an approach to avoid infringement of third party rights.

In Taiwan, although a trade mark owner is not required to submit evidence of use of his/her registered mark to the Trademark Office voluntarily, the registered mark will be vulnerable to cancellation if, without justifiable cause, the mark has not been used for three years following its registration or if, after a period of use, use of the mark is discontinued for a period in excess of three years.

Article 3 of the Swedish Patents Act states that no one other than the patent holder or the patent holder's licensee is entitled inter alia to manufacture, offer, launch on the market or use a product which is protected by a patent. A recent judgment addressed the question of what constitutes an offer and when such an offer contravenes the terms of article 3 of the Patents Act as far as pharmaceutical preparations are concerned.

The Polish Parliament has been given a proposal of changes to the Law on Industrial Property (the IP Act). The proposed changes cover several aspects of industrial property protection in Poland, including the protection of trade marks under criminal law. If the proposed changes are implemented, they should have a significant impact on criminal case law.

Section IV of article 90 of the Mexican Law of Industrial Property (IPL) establishes an absolute ground for refusal based on the descriptiveness of the mark. This provision prohibits the registration of descriptive names, figures and three-dimensional forms. However, it also contains an exception in that all the elements and characteristics of the mark should be "considered as a whole".

In a recent High Court case (Unilever plc v Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks and Sunrider Corporation [2006] IEHC 427), Unilever successfully appealed against the decision of the Irish Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks who had dismissed its opposition to the registration of the trade mark SunSmile by Sunrider. Irish law states that a trade mark cannot be registered in circumstances where it is likely to deceive or cause confusion. In his High Court judgment, Mr Justice Smyth examined the degree of similarity and the potential for confusion between the words "Sun" and "SunSmile" in respect of detergents and goods for personal hygiene.

Record numbers of trade mark and patent applications were filed in China in 2006, reflecting the growing awareness of IP in the country. But the growth is also putting increasing pressure on the agencies that administer IP rights, say Xuemin Chen and Xiaoguang Yang of Zhongzi Law Office

Chinese and foreign companies are filing patent applications at the State Intellectual Property Office at a phenomenal rate. At the same time, a small but growing number of Chinese applicants are trying to protect their IP rights overseas. Emma Barraclough and Peter Ollier consider the trends behind the statistics