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In a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof of Germany, the European Court of Justice has been asked to determine the concept of "combination of active ingredients" in Article 1(b) of Regulation No 1768/92 on supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for medicinal products (Case C-431/04 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Opinion of Advocate General Léger on November 24 2005).

On January 25 2006, the Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP) was amended concerning the legal framework of franchises in Mexico to incorporate a new infringing cause based on the unauthorized use by a third party of the image of a product, best known as trade dress (Article 213 XXVI LIP).

The Malaysian courts recently handed down their decision in Hu Kin Ai & Anor v Liew Yew Thoong [2005] 6 AMR 363. The plaintiffs had been selling watches in Malaysia and internationally since 1994 and are the registered owners of the trade mark "Blansacar with Five Stars Device" in respect of watches. They sued the defendant for trade mark infringement and passing off. The first plaintiff had also applied to register the Chinese characters "Wu Xing Shang Jiang" (meaning Five Star General) in respect of watches.

Walter Maiwald and Volker Hamm explain how, thanks to changes in the courts and the EU enforcement directive, Germany has ceased to be a paradise for patent infringers and become an upholder of patent rights

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

The entire revocation of a European patent is very rare, and can take up to seven years. Jürgen Kaiser looks at the advantages of another option - filing observations while the patent is still in the examination phase

As president of the German Federal Patent Court, Dr Hans-Georg Landfermann oversees decisions affecting the validity of all patents registered in Germany. Ben Moshinsky spoke to him about the role of the court and the future of European litigation

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

The Russian legislators, when drafting the Patent Law, always sought to make the law as inventor-friendly as possible and to provide the widest possible scope of subject matter that could be protected. Much has been taken from the experience of other countries. Perhaps they went too far.

Customs inspections are of primary importance in protecting IP rights in Europe. In fact, Customs authorities are responsible for 70% of all seizures of alleged infringing goods.