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Law 23/2006, of July 7, which amends the consolidation of the 1996 Copyright Act, was published on July 8 2006 in the Official Gazette of the Spanish state.

China's economy is fast developing - and many people fear that IP protection cannot keep up. International investors are concerned about effective enforcement, while domestic companies seek a strong environment for developing IP rights and negotiating on issues such as standards. MIP and Finnegan Henderson jointly hosted a roundtable discussion in Beijing last month to discuss how these issues can be addressed. Read the full, unabridged transcript exclusively here on managingip.com.

The issue of improving the Russian legislation in the field of intellectual property has long been on the agenda. Ever since the new versions of IP laws were adopted in 2002-2003 (the Russian Copyright law was amended in 2004) there was much discussion about further improvements. In fact, the amendments of three years ago did not solve all the problems though they did make some good patches over the legislative gaps. The work continued and by 2006 there were prepared numerous proposals for the patent and trade mark laws.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, IPOPhil, officially launched its new service called TM Online on April 25 2006. After encountering some initial problems, TM Online became available to the public in May 2006. This project is not new. As early as November 26 2004, IPOPhil issued Office Order No. 25 Series of 2004, amended by Office Order No. 42, providing for the rules on the trade mark electronic filing system. However, its implementation was deferred following demand from practitioners for clearer rules. The following are the requirements for using TM Online:

Business method patents, granted for particular business models unique to a particular organization, have been the subject of mounting interest and controversy among business leaders in the digital media, internet and e-commerce sector.

Following a major amendment to China's Trade Mark Law in October 2001, prior to it becoming a member of the WTO, China intends to amend its Trade Mark Law further. A draft was published on April 18 2006 for public consultation. Some of the proposed changes are as follows:

There is controversy in Kenya about a provision of the patent law, highlighted in a statement by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and reported in the press on July 28 2006, about the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2005. The Bill, which is still under debate, proposes (among other things) to amend Section 58(2) of the Kenyan Industrial Property Act, 2001.

Marlous Stal-Hilders of Nederlandsch Octrooibureau provides a brief outline of the advantages and disadvantages of the various systems available for protecting trade marks in Europe

There is little consistency in the decisions of OHIM's Opposition Division, Boards of Appeal and the Court of First Instance regarding pharmaceutical trade marks. But, say Jean L Pire and Sandra R Paulsson, some guidance is now expected from the European Court of Justice

In Brussels, everyone is talking about SMEs. Anne Kristine Jensen, project manager for IP and competition at the Stockholm Network, reviews a recent workshop that addressed their needs and activities with regard to IP rights