Search results for

By an amendment to the Patents Act earlier this year, Finland became one of the 14 countries where the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) has entered into force.

Shahnaz Mahmud, New York

Emma Barraclough, London

Following the enactment of the Austrian Utility Model in 1994, not much guidance was given by the courts with regard to the level of inventiveness required to meet the statutory requirement of "inventive step". According to the considerations given by the legislator and the prevailing opinion in academic writing, a lower quantity of inventiveness compared to patent law was considered sufficient for the registration of valid utility models in Austria.

When Argentina joined the TRIPs Agreement in 1995, the Patent Law was modified to include the minimum standards. One of the most important changes was the term for which patent protection would be available for inventions in Argentina. The former Patent Law 111 established that patent protection was for 15 years from the granting date. Under this system, the prosecution delays of the Patent Office did not matter very much because they did not affect the effective life of the patent. But when Argentina adapted its regulations to TRIPs standards in 1995, and Argentina's Patent Law 24,481 was enacted, the situation changed completely, and the term of patents was set at 20 years counted from the date of filing of the application.

In an extract from their book Little Blues: How to Build a Culture of Intellectual Property Within a Small Technology Company, André Carter and Raymond Millien examine how a small business with IP rights can also nurture an IP culture

Graeme Hall and John Glengarry of Buddle Findlay assess the IP enforcement options available in New Zealand and identify a trend towards alternative forms of dispute resolution

The competitive and heavily regulated nature of life sciences makes it important to understand the IP issues the industry faces. By Wayne McMaster and Kim O'Connell of Mallesons Stephen Jaques

IP owners are rarely fans of parallel imports, which are often used to short-circuit markets they have traditionally controlled. But Graeme Samuel, chairman of the Australian competition watchdog, the ACCC, warns companies that efforts to restrict grey market goods must stay on the right side of the law

The Australian Federal Court's stance on manner of manufacture holds the door open for patents of business methods. Scott Berggren of Spruson & Ferguson explains