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AUSTRALIA: IP Australia is proposing to amend regulations dealing with the search results disclosure regime under the Patents Act 1990. The changes should simplify the fee system for providing search results and clarify some of the terms used in the regulations. AUSTRALIA: The Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, a federal government advisory body, has recommended that the law be changed so that business names can only be registered if searches of the trade mark register show there to be no conflict with registered or pending trade marks in the same field of business activity.

In today's Information Age, the amount of data available has increased substantially and so too has the ease with which it can be accessed and transferred. Businesses are operating on an international scale, sharing documentation, collaborating on projects and making global decisions with local impact every day.

Managing a valuable portfolio of trade marks and other IP assets is a tough job. Emma Barraclough, Stéphanie Bodoni and James Nurton spoke to experienced in-house counsel to find out how you can successfully build brands, win cases and make money - and keep your team happy and effective

For two weeks in March, more than 350 people gathered at Singapore's Suntec Center to finalize a new international treaty on trade marks, 12 years after the original rules came into existence. But what will the Singapore Treaty mean for rights owners? Emma Barraclough reports

Ethiopia has prepared draft legislation which, once promulgated, will bring about a more normal registration system to replace the unique system in place at present.

A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam - who received the world's first recorded patent in 1449

James Nurton, London

US: The USPTO has published its list of the top 10 universities receiving the most patents in 2005 (see table).

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board used to be reluctant to find fraud on the basis of over-claiming. But, says Jody H Drake of Sughrue Mion PLLC, recently it has taken a more stringent view of parties that over-claim the use of their marks

The growth of the sports industry has thrown up opportunities for sponsorship, endorsement and broadcasting. Surbhi Mehta and Safir Anand of Anand & Anand look at how these issues are dealt with by IP laws in India, and ask whether specific sports legislation is required