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A recent ECJ ruling confirms the registrability of combinations of colours as trade marks. David Stone and Nicholas Bolter review the decision, and provide some practical help in overcoming the difficulties now facing trade mark owners

James Nurton, London

EU: The European Commission issued a call for tenders to conduct a study that will provide a picture of the effects of patents on the economy and strategies to develop and implement suitable patent policies. EU: Agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler announced the addition of seven names to the list of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the EU. The names are French Valençay cheese, Scottish Farmed Salmon, Ternera de Extremedura (veal from Spain), and four names for a Spanish cooking oil: Aceite de Mallorca, Aceite mallorquín, Oli de Mallorca and Oli mallorquí. France: Record labels and internet service providers, including Free, Noos, Tiscali France and Wanadoo, signed a government-backed charter to crack down on illegal music downloading sites by attracting more consumers to a wider range of legally available songs on the internet. UK: The UK government launched a national IP strategy aimed at curbing piracy in the country. It will involve the Patent Office, police, trading standards, Customs and brand owners. UK: A trade mark dispute over the colour orange erupted between easygroup and mobile phone company Orange after easygroup announced the planned December launch of a new mobile phone service, easyMobile, which will use the company's orange logo colour. A settlement is expected. UK: Enforcement officers arrested 57 people in a nationwide piracy crackdown, seizing fake goods worth more than £500 million. UK: In a government-backed report released on July 29, the Patent Office called for the creation of an insurance scheme that would support smaller companies wishing to sue patent infringers. UK: An English court dismissed Nestlé's attempts to register the shape of its Polo mint as a trade mark. The case, brought by Mars UK, concerned the legitimacy of Nestlé's attempts to make changes to its trade mark application during the registration process.

Hong Kong: A Hong Kong court handed down its stiffest punishment for a motion picture counterfeiting case, sentencing a husband and wife piracy team to six-and-a-half years in jail for conspiracy after the pair jumped bail. Raids in 1998 revealed the couple had over 22 million pirated VCDs and 41 VCD replication lines. New Zealand: Pfizer failed to persuade the New Zealand courts to allow it to patent methods of medical treatments of humans, after the US pharmaceutical company tried to test the scope of the country's patent law. Japan: The Japanese Fair Trade Commission told Microsoft it must overturn its ban on computer manufacturers suing the software company for patent infringement. The US company has already pledged to drop the no-litigation clause from future contracts but the Japanese watchdog wants Microsoft to cancel the provision retroactively. Microsoft said it would challenge the decision. Malaysia: The Ministry for Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs said it was considering reforming the country's legal system to set up a separate IP court. At the moment IP cases are heard in the commercial division of the High Court, but a backlog of cases has prompted the government re-think. Australia: The Australian Senate passed the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Bill 2004 on August 13 but amendments introduced by the opposition Labor Party are set to make it harder for originator pharmaceutical companies to bring patent litigation against generic rivals.

California's Supreme Court has ruled that wine which is labelled Napa Valley should come mostly from vines in the Napa Valley area.

In two recent decisions (Sony Computer Entertainment Inc & Others v Gaynor David Ball & Others, High Court Action No HC-03-C04467, May 17 2004; July 19 2004; and August 10 2004) the High Court considered UK copyright law concerning devices that circumvent copy protection and litigation practice regarding statements of truth.

Following the first list of well-known marks published by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) in February this year, on June 21 2004, the SAIC published the second list, this time naming 26 marks. A total of 69 marks have now been formally recognized as well-known since the implementation of the Regulations for Recognition and Protection of Well-Known Marks last June.

Asia is increasingly asserting itself as a place that can generate and exploit its own intellectual property. Governments across the region are becoming more and more aware that long term economic success depends on developing intellectual capital and stimulating ideas, rather than simply offering cheap manufacturing facilities for foreign inventors to turn their own designs into final products.

Vietnam's politicians have set themselves an ambitious programme of legislative reform to bring the country’s intellectual property regime closer in line with international norms. Nguyen T Hong Hai examines the government's plans

The last 12 months have seen several important IP initiatives in Thailand. Moreover, the country is readying itself for long-awaited accession to the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty and even the Madrid Protocol. Vipa Chuenjaipanich and Edward J Kelly consider the changes already in place and those on the drawing board