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India introduced a product patent regime to meet its TRIPs deadline by promulgating the Patents Ordinance 2004 on December 26. The Ordinance came into force on January 1. This measure, albeit temporary, reflects the government's resolve to meet its WTO obligations. The Indian constitution provides that an Ordinance expires six weeks after Parliament reconvenes, giving it an effective life span of six months. The government now has the unenviable task of facing opposition parties in its efforts to substitute the Ordinance with an Act.

Under the Mexican Industrial Property Law (IPL), in force since August 2 1994, a trade mark application resulting either in a relative or an absolute ground for refusal can be objected to in a first instance proceeding before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). This proceeding provides the applicant with a reasonable term to file arguments to overcome the objection. If the arguments submitted by the applicant do not overcome the objection, according to IMPI's criteria, the application should be formally refused.

'Generic Tide Is Rising' was a cover story that appeared in the September issue of Chemical & Engineering News in 2002. More and more it is said that the innovative pharmaceutical companies are losing market share, not only because their current blockbusters run out of patent protection, but also because the number of new drugs that should boost the profits of the innovators back to the high levels they are accustomed to is said to be very limited.

On December 21 China's Supreme People's Court and the Procuratorate jointly issued an Interpretation on Various Issues Relating to the Handling of Criminal Actions on IPR Infringements (the Interpretation). This came into effect a day later on December 22.

A number of recent cases have addressed the breadth of protection for patents in the UK, Germany and Japan. Ewan Nettleton, Alex Wilson, Julian Eberhardt and Hirokazu Honda examine the consequences for inventive improvements and ask how far international practice is harmonized

Patent leader IBM has said that it will provide open access to 500 of its patents to anyone working in the field of open source software.

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

The US Supreme Court’s recent trade mark ruling has broadened the scope of fair use defences that can be used by alleged infringers. But, says Jonathan Moskin, the ruling’s cautious logic also raises questions for trade mark owners to consider

With Vietnam discussing membership of the WTO, the government is already improving the country’s IP regime. Thomas Treutler provides a guide to enforcing IP rights in one of Asia’s fastest growing economies