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Sam Mamudi, New York

OHIM fees: key changes Service Current

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

According to criteria recently adopted by the Mexican Trade Mark Office (TMO), single invoices are appropriate and sufficient evidence to prove the use of a mark. However, it is important to point out that these criteria are contrary to doctrine and to article 62 of the Regulations of the Mexican Industrial Property Law, which establishes that a mark is in use when the goods or services covered by its registration are available in commerce in the amounts and manners that correspond to its nature.

For many years the English patents judges have striven to reduce costs and time to trial in patent cases. The streamlined procedure introduced in 2003 is the latest such move. It is proving a great success. Although the procedure was primarily intended for use in smaller patent cases, the flexibility afforded to judges in the way that they can manage cases has influenced the conduct of all patent litigation. Actions are now coming to trial in shorter periods of time (nine months to trial is not uncommon), and trials are shorter in duration. Two recent cases may be seen as indicators of the increasing use of the procedure, and a further shift toward more flexible and efficient patent litigation.

In the recent case of Industria De Diseno Textil SA v Edition Concept Sdn Bhd [2005 3 MLJ 347], the defendant filed a notice of motion to set aside and expunge the plaintiff's trade mark "Zara" on the grounds that it had used the Zara mark and made it well-known in Malaysia in respect of clothing well before the plaintiff's trade mark was approved.

After a lengthy and heated debate between business people, scientists and engineers, the Korean Intellectual Property Office has prepared a draft amendment to the Korean Invention Promotion Act, which deals with employee inventions.

Indian politicians are discussing whether to make another amendment to the country's patent rules. On June 20 2005, the government notified the Patents (Second Amendment) Rules, 2005. It was widely expected that the draft Rules would reverse the exorbitant hike in the filing fee introduced in a previous amendment to the Rules.

On August 15 2005, the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court granted a pre-action injunction in favour of a plaintiff whose name translates as Beijing Red Lion Paints Co Ltd. The injunction was granted against the defendant, whose name translates as Beijing Red Lion Jing Paints Trading Co Ltd. This is the first time a Beijing court has granted such an injunction since the revised Patents Law 2000, Trade Mark Law 2001 and Copyright Law 2001 were enacted.

We recently reported on a referral to the European Court of Justice, which may bring about the possibility for getting supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for formulation patents (MIP, June 2005). This month we report on another referral to the ECJ, the outcome of which could also have a significant economic impact.