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The protection of the appearance of a product is often neglected. Companies tend to focus on patents (protecting technical aspects) or on trade marks (protecting the name of a product) but seldom on the shape of the product.

Several rules of the German Patent Act with regard to oppositions have recently been amended. In order to reduce the backlog of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO) in opposition cases, transitional rules were implemented in 2002 that oppositions against German patents filed up to July 2006 have to be handled by the Federal Patent Court instead of by the GPTO. These rules have now been cancelled, so that all oppositions filed from July 1 2006 will again be handled in the first instance by the GPTO.

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.

Putting a value on IP during licensing negotiations can be a complicated business. Regina Quek of One Legal LLC outlines some useful approaches and explains the issues that licensees and licensors need to take into account

Singapore's Registrar of Patents has wide powers to revoke a patent once it has been granted. Winnie Tham and Jason Chan of Amica Law LLC explain what the rules mean for IP applicants and challengers alike

In the race to attract overseas investment and nurture home-grown companies, governments in Asia are doing what they can to make life easier for business. Singapore is leading the way, says Emma Barraclough

The Singapore courts, after a period of relative calm, have considered and interpreted the Trade Marks Act in a spate of recent cases. Dedar Singh Gill, Paul Teo and Yvonne Tang of Drew & Napier outline the latest trade mark litigation developments

The state of implementation of the EU Directive on the enforcement of IP rights varies across Europe, although progress has been made in virtually all jurisdictions. Hub. Harmeling and Bas Berghuisvan Woortman provide an update on the most significant markets

In the past few years, the abundance of technical information on the internet has allowed patent attorneys to become versed in technical fields that previously would have been inaccessible. Gwilym Roberts argues that this enables advisers to be more mobile in handling new areas and is also good news for innovators

Quality of search and examination is top of the list of demands from most patent applicants. MIP asked EPO President Alain Pompidou what the Office is doing to ensure that standards are maintained