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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.

"2P or not 2P" was scribbled in a coin phone box in the UK in the 1990s and has recently been the title of an article in The Guardian on whether or not the 1p and 2p coins should be taken out of circulation in the UK. While having a different connotation, the same question can equally be asked about the IP rights for plants in Europe. The two types of IP rights for plants which co-exist in Europe, patents and plant variety rights (PVR), overlap in their scope of protection to a considerable extent, although the original intention had been to keep these two Ps separate.

On January 25 2006, the Mexican Law of Industrial Property (LIP) was amended. Among other changes, these included a new infringement cause which provides as follows:

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

How easily patents are granted and how well the overall patent system works are questions addressed by several reviews at the moment, one of them being the Gowers Review in the UK. Stephen Bennett and Daniel Brook ask whether the inventive step requirement is part of the problem in a system that produces a growing number of questionable patents

James Nurton, London

Recent disputes between research-based pharma companies and generics have addressed the viability of use patents in PMNOC proceedings. Bill Richardson of McCarthy Tétrault LLP examines the cases and asks whether the Regulations need to be changed

Eleven years after Mexico joined the international patent system, Luis Schmidt and Cesar Ramos of Olivares & Cia look at the recent changes to the PCT system, and consider their impact in Mexico

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