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A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam - who received the world's first recorded patent in 1449

The search for prior art is a key component of the patent prosecution process, but it can often be time-consuming and costly. The US Patent Office issued 382,139 patents in 2004 alone, and as more and more patents are being filed, the need for accurate and effective prior art searching becomes even more essential. Patent offices in most major IP jurisdictions will perform patent searches. However companies are still choosing to scour patent office records, trade journals and patent databases themselves, to verify that no identical, similar or partially similar patents already exist. Although there is no affirmative duty to conduct a prior art search before filing a patent application, inventors and their attorneys are required to submit any prior art that they are aware of. A comprehensive search can therefore help support not only a patent application, but also licence negotiations, re-examinations and litigation further down the line. After all, an issued patent will stand up better in court with prior art to substantiate it.

The growth of the sports industry has thrown up opportunities for sponsorship, endorsement and broadcasting. Surbhi Mehta and Safir Anand of Anand & Anand look at how these issues are dealt with by IP laws in India, and ask whether specific sports legislation is required

Like other countries in the region, Malaysia is considering establishing an IP court. S F Wong weighs up the options and speculates on what the court might look like

Several changes to Argentina's IP laws guarantee rights owners better protection and enforcement against infringements. Federico Aulmann of Obligado & Cia explain

WIPO's Madrid system has gained several new members over the past few years, most notably the US and the EU, and it is still growing. Ernesto Rubio of WIPO provides an overview of the latest developments and trends

Spain's only CTM court, in Alicante, has decided its first cases on the merits. Alberto Casado Cerviño and Fabrizio Miazzetto examine what the rulings reveal about the application of ECJ precedents in Spain

Has China turned a corner in its commitment to protecting IP? A series of headline-grabbing court rulings at the end of 2005 in which Chinese judges upheld the rights of IP owners certainly suggests that foreign businesses can have far more success in enforcing their rights than is commonly believed. In the space of two months, Starbucks won an order for damages from would-be rival Shanghai Xing Ba Ke, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero stopped a copycat confectioner from selling look-alike products and five luxury goods companies persuaded a Beijing court to hold a landlord jointly liable for sales of fakes in his market.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has stepped up its action against software piracy. Over the past year, raids were successfully carried out and lead to a number of people being arrested, large numbers of PCs and pirated software confiscated and pirated goods destroyed, and fines imposed on various individuals and companies. This is reassuring for companies wanting to enter the UAE.

China's CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Centre) Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy has been superseded by a new policy that came into force on March 17 2006. There are a number of important changes.