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With discussions on the accession to the European Union and global harmonization of IP protection in an emerging economy, Turkey has experienced remarkable advances not only in the new regulations introduced but also in the enforcement of IP rights.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the Beijing AIC to strengthen IP enforcement by banning sales of certain well-known brands of goods in the Silk Market and other markets in Beijing, stall operators have continued to offer counterfeits for sale. As a result, Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada joined forces and instituted legal proceedings against five stall operators as well as their landlord Beijing Xiushi Haosen Clothing Market Co Ltd.

Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) are provided under Regulation 1768/92/EEC and extend the lifetime of patents covering medicines by a maximum of five years. In particular they provide compensation for the effectively reduced lifetime of such patents caused by the lengthy marketing approval procedures which have to be followed before new medicines can be launched on the market.

As the deadline for the implementation of Europe's enforcement directive looms, Hanne Weywardt and Hea Vinskov examine the lessons from a recent case, involving luxury goods trade marks, in Denmark

In less than six months Germany will host the 18th tournament of the FIFA World Cup, attracting thousands of visitors eager to support their favourite football team. Marketing opportunities will be plenty. But what legal protection will Germany offer to official sponsors to protect them against the marketing practices of unofficial third parties? Boris Uphoff, Rohan Massey and Sarah Brown explain

WIPO's bid to expand its headquarters has so far cost the organization more than SFr90 million, and led to five investigations and one criminal enquiry. Following the latest report, released by Ernst & Young in December, WIPO's managers want to draw a line under the affair. But some member states believe too many questions remain unanswered. Stéphanie Bodoni investigates

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

"Today we are putting our most valuable intellectual property on the table so we can put technical compliance issues to rest and move forward with a serious discussion about the substance of this case." That was how Brad Smith, Microsoft's senior vice-president and general counsel, explained the company's decision to license parts of its Windows source code to competitors on January 25.

Translation of priority documents no longer required From January 1 2006, patent applicants are no longer required to provide Korean translations of priority documents unless requested to do so by an examiner at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) or a trial examiner at KIPO's Intellectual Property Tribunal. Applications where the deadline for submitting a Korean translation of priority documents expires on or after January 1 2006 will be subject to this new rule. As a result, foreign applicants will benefit from substantially lower patent filing costs in Korea because they will no longer need to pay translation costs.

As many observers predicted, WTO members made little progress at their ministerial meeting in December. Does the Organization still have a role to play in setting global IP rules? Emma Barraclough reports from Hong Kong