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The Korean National Assembly passed a new bill on May 3 to amend certain provisions of the Korean Patent Act governing restoration of patent rights. This new bill allows patentees to restore their patents in cases where they lapsed because patent annuity fees were not paid. The new law will become effective on September 1 this year.

Europe is following the US example and introducing a Bolar provision to exempt generic research aimed at obtaining regulatory approval. Marjan Noor and Camilla Smith examine the proposal and how it is likely to be implemented by member states

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

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.

Russia's system of post-grant opposition differs in important respects from that of the European Patent Convention. But this can be a good thing, as Katja Feiring and Petja Papula of Papula-Nevinpat explain

Bert Oosting and Klaas Bisschop of Lovells examine the litigation remedies available to patent owners in the Netherlands

There have recently been a number of developments in the legislation and case law that govern Canadian patents. Christopher Van Barr and Jay Zakaïb of Gowlings highlight the changes, and explain what they mean for rights owners

India's patent law has undergone a series of revisions since 1999. Archana Shanker of Anand and Anand highlights the most important changes

While many foreign companies are rushing into China to exploit the huge market, there are concerns about the level of protection available to owners of IP rights. Connie Carnabuci and Peter Yuen of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advise on the best ways to increase the likelihood of effective enforcement