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Patented drugs are expensive and are out of the reach of the majority of citizens in the developing world. As a result, activist groups and non-governmental organizations continually put pressure on governments to ensure that poor people are able to access drugs at prices they can afford.

Infringement of world famous geographical indications (GIs) is becoming increasingly common in Asia, including in India. Shoppers are able to find a number of goods bearing fake GIs in India. However, very few owners of high-value GIs have sought to register their GIs in India. Therefore, it is time for the world to know that an effective GI registration system exists in India and that IP owners can enforce GIs effectively by launching lawsuits.

The British Horseracing Board (BHB) has received a welcome endorsement of its overseas data supply contracts in recent proceedings taken against it by Irish bookmakers. The proceedings went to trial in the second week of November in the Irish Commercial Court before Justice Kelly. The group of independent Irish bookmakers representing 357 bookmaking shops were seeking repayment of about €20m that had been paid by them under a contract for the supply of elements of the BHB's pre race data. A settlement was reached on day two of the trial that involved the repayment claim being dropped in its entirety, and an affirmation by the bookmakers of the contracts under which the data had been supplied to them since 2002.

A reference for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC was received from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (Germany) at the European Court of Justice on March 5 2004 concerning the interpretation of Article 5 (1)(b) of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of December 21 1988 in the case Medion AG (petitioner) v Thomson multimedia Sales German & Austria GmbH (defendant) dealing with the following question:

Recently the Benelux Trademarks Office (BTO) announced that as from January 1 2006 the opposition procedure will be open for all classes. This means that oppositions can be filed against all applications filed on or after January 1 2006.

This year saw key changes to the Regulation governing Community trade marks. But is further reform necessary? Jeremy Phillips wonders what lessons legislators could learn from the trade mark system of the mythical jurisdiction of Atlantis

Recently released guidelines for USPTO examiners should help to clarify what is patentable in the murky area of business methods. John L Dauer, Jr explains what the change in policy will mean

Many Asian jurisdictions have adopted dispute resolution policies modelled on ICANN's UDRP. But understanding key differences between national and international practices could mean the difference between success and failure in the battle against cybersquatters. Jennifer Lam and Gabriela Kennedy explain what you need to know in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan

The internet has changed the way we do business. We size up our holiday options in our lunch breaks, select our Christmas gifts online without moving from our seats and communicate with friends and associates by e-mail to plan weekend events and corporate deals. Ours is a digital age, and today's business must harness the capabilities of the internet if it is to succeed in both global and local markets. IP practices are no exception, but while IP firms have not been slow to follow the digital trends in terms of marketing their services, the same cannot always be said for the software they use to support their work.

The topic of whether rights owners or consumers should take priority in the case of technological anti-copying protection devices on CDs or DVDs has been the cause of a hot debate in Italy for some time. Matteo Orsingher, Paolo Bertoni and Fabrizio Sanna of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer examine the law and the possible outcome