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As a general rule in the UAE, there is no synchronization between the Economic Department and/or the Municipalities (which regulate the grant of trade licences and approval of trade names in the different Emirates) and the Trade Mark Registry in terms of clearing the trade names against the Trade Marks Registry's database prior to granting approvals. As a result, trade marks often compete with company names as identifiers of the origin of goods and services. A common belief is that these signs confirm similar rights to the owner or registrant.

The growth in applications has raised more questions about the qualification requirements for patent attorneys in Turkey. Only patent attorneys are statutorily allowed to represent foreign applicants with regard to patents before the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI).

On March 1 2006, US pharmaceutical company Pfizer sued the Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC) and the Bureau of Food And Drugs (BFAD) before the Regional Trial Court of Makati Branch 61. It accused them of infringing its patent for its anti-hypertension drug Norvasc (which has the generic name amlodipine besylate), after the PITC imported some samples of a similar drug sold by Pfizer in India (under the brand name Amlogard) and submitted the samples to the BFAD for testing and product registration. Pfizer's Philippine patent expires in June 2007. The PITC filed a Ps1.5 million ($30,000) countersuit against Pfizer, claiming that the US company was attempting to stop the government from importing cheap medicine.

Licence agreements in Malaysia are generally governed by the Malaysian Trade Marks Act 1976 and the Contracts Act 1950. Nevertheless, the term "licence" is not expressed in the Trade Marks Act 1976. Instead the licensee is referred to as a "registered user".

Eight out of ten licensors do not perform royalty examinations of their licensees, yet research suggests that in 90% of cases royalties are misreported. Melanie Butler examines what is going wrong and provides some pointers for licensors

INTA has been at the forefront of filing amicus curiae briefs to make courts aware of trade mark issues and arguments. Members of the Association's International Amicus Committee compare the opportunities available around the world

JAPAN: The partners of full service firm Nishimura & Partners are in discussions with their counterparts in Asahi Koma Law Offices over merging their firms. The move follows recent legislative changes further opening up the Japanese legal market and, when completed, the deal will create the largest law firm in Japan.

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

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

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) has been the official European Union authority carrying out the procedures for Community trade marks since 1996 and for the registered Community design since 2003. Mark Kennedy of OHIM provides an update on its activities