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The District Administrative Court in Warsaw (Case VI SA/Wa 1482/09) confirmed the view of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland that a single colour per se does not have distinctive character, but that this obstacle to registration as a trade mark may be eliminated by acquired distinctiveness.

A recent Italian legislative decree to relaunch the economy includes tax relief measures related to patents, trade marks and know-how. This decree increases the deductible amortization rate for the costs of the right to use original works, patents, processes, formulas and information related to experience acquired in the field of industry, commerce and science from 33% to 50%.

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.

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:

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:

In accordance with Article 88 of the Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP), a trade mark is a visible sign that distinguishes products or services from others of the same kind in the market.

On July 18 2006, the full court of the Australian Federal Court, in Grant v Commissioner of Patents [2006] FCAFC 120, made a significant pronouncement likely to add confusion to the borders of possible business method patent protection in Australia.

Marina Benassi of Novagraaf Netherlands and Helene Whelbourn of JE Evans-Jackson & Co, both part of the Novagraaf Group, compare opposition proceedings before OHIM, in the Benelux and in the UK

Franck Soutoul, Jean-Philippe Bresson and Sophie Normand analyze the specific approach of French courts on the similarity of clothing products and consider the consequences for your trade mark strategy

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