Search results for

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

"The focus of this case is a very small animal, namely a mouse - to use a poet's description, a 'Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie' (R Burns, "To a Mouse", 1785). In all other respects however, this case is not small." This is how the EPO's Technical Board of Appeal starts its reasons for the decision in the long-fought case on the validity of the European patent covering the Harvard oncomouse (T 315/03). The Board made the decision on July 6 2004, less than a year before the expiry of the patent in June 2005.

According to the last paragraph of article 78 of the Industrial Property Law (LPI), when resolving a patent invalidity claim, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) can, besides denying invalidity, declare the whole patent invalid or partial invalidity.

Under the revised PCT procedure, International Preliminary Reports on Patentability (IPRPs) are now issued for both Chapter I and Chapter II applications with filing dates on or after January 1 2004. Various amendments have also been made to the Singapore Patents Act to reflect this new PCT procedure.

Owners of European IP rights are vulnerable to central attacks on validity at the EPO and OHIM, which can threaten enforcement in national courts. Mark Finn, Konstantin Ewald and Marie-Hélène Lemaitre examine what you can do to counter such an attack in the UK, France and Germany

After it started life as a kitchen-table publishing operation, generations of globe-trotting backpackers clutching Lonely Planet guidebooks have turned the Melbourne-based company into an internationally recognized brand. General counsel Chaman Sidhu tells Emma Barraclough how she manages its growing portfolio of IP rights

Of all the IP regimes in Australia, copyright has seen the most dynamic developments and reforms in the last 18 months, particularly in relation to digital technology. Cameron Harvey and David Wilson of Deacons explain what the changes mean for IP owners and users

Stéphanie Bodoni, Cannes

James Nurton, London and Sam Mamudi, New York

The Intellectual Property Office (IPOPhil) and the EC-ASEAN Cooperation Programme (ECAP II) held a five-day Patent Application Drafting and Prosecution seminar from October 10 to 15, which was conducted by Karl Rackette, a European and German patent attorney. At the seminar, IPOPhil distributed a draft regulation aimed at introducing a qualifying examination for patent agents. At the moment, there is no formal patent attorney or patent agent profession in the Philippines. Patent applications are handled by lawyers with assistance from people with technical knowledge, many of whom are former IPOPhil patent examiners. The objective of the proposed regulation is to develop a patent agent profession in the country. The main points of the proposal are as follows: