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All too often, observers of patent trials fail to recognize a settlement as a victory for the accused infringer. Michael Cummings offers several ways to analyze even confidential agreements for signs of which party came out on top

The UN is set to agree a controversial convention that will have serious implications for international licence agreements. Ben Goodger and Patsy Day analyze the details of the convention, and reveal why IP owners should be worried

James Nurton, London

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

China has launched a process to consider amendments to its Patent Law. The Law is being reviewed at the moment and any draft amendments will be presented to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the committee members to discuss and pass into law. It could take at least three years for the legislative changes to come into force.

More than 120 brand owners and trade mark practitioners attended MIP's second Brand Management Forum at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona on June 23 and 24. The programme featured presentations from regulators and brand owners, as well as roundtable discussions and interactive panel sessions. The Forum coincided with the annual Festa de Sant Joan, which Catalans celebrate with fireworks, firecrackers and all-night partying.

India's courts have handed down a steady stream of IP-friendly decisions over the past year, from domain name and phishing cases to counterfeiting and copyright. Vaishali Mittal and Munish Mehra of Anand and Anand explain how the lawsuits have transformed India's IP litigation landscape

Unlike many technology companies, Cisco's recently developed patent strategy stresses working with standards bodies rather than aggressive enforcement. The company's head of patents, Robert Barr, told James Nurton why

Brazil: The Brazilian government on June 24 told US drugs company Abbott Laboratories that if it does not lower the cost of its AIDS-fighting drug, Kaletra, the country would produce its own generic version. The government said that Abbott had 10 days to cut its price. As MIP went to press, no action had yet been taken.

Last March, the Dutch Court of Appeal in The Hague gave its judgment in an infringement/nullity case where (in first instance) a Dutch firm (Fokker Aerospace) was sued for infringing a European patent owned by a Luxembourg firm (Parteurosa). The patent claimed a convertible container construction. The Court referred to a decision of the Dutch Supreme Court of 1996 that said that partial nullity of a patent is only allowable if it is sufficiently clear to the skilled person taking note of the patent and the state of the art at the filing date what the scope of the remaining patent protection is. In this particular case, the Court found that claims 1, 2 and 19 to 21 were void. The remaining claims 3 to 18 described seven different subjects, and it was not clear from the description, according to the Court, which subject was favoured. Using the above-mentioned Supreme Court decision, the Court of Appeal ruled that the whole patent was void.