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In October 2005, the Provincial Appellate Court of Madrid gave an interesting judgment in an action that Lilly Group had brought against two companies in the business of selling generic products. The judgment confirmed that these companies' advertising was illegal and that there was trade mark infringement. The judgment is particularly noteworthy as high damages were awarded compared to what is usual in Spain.

Patented inventions in Ireland provide a large source of revenue in the pharmaceutical and technology industries. Ireland's tax exemption in respect of certain patent royalties has been one of the driving factors behind investment by multinationals, principally from the US, in the Irish economy. After much recent speculation about the possible removal of the Irish patent exemption from the Irish statute books, in a welcome development, the Irish government in its recent budget retained the tax incentive for companies creating patentable intellectual property in Ireland. In this month's piece we give an overview of the main provisions of the exemption.

Following a period of calm, Russian law has again made a slight move towards better protection of the owners of IP rights. The major changes in the IP-specific laws were made in late 2002/early 2003. Since then, amendments have occasionally been made to the non-specific laws, such as the Criminal Code.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the Beijing AIC to strengthen IP enforcement by banning sales of certain well-known brands of goods in the Silk Market and other markets in Beijing, stall operators have continued to offer counterfeits for sale. As a result, Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada joined forces and instituted legal proceedings against five stall operators as well as their landlord Beijing Xiushi Haosen Clothing Market Co Ltd.

WIPO's bid to expand its headquarters has so far cost the organization more than SFr90 million, and led to five investigations and one criminal enquiry. Following the latest report, released by Ernst & Young in December, WIPO's managers want to draw a line under the affair. But some member states believe too many questions remain unanswered. Stéphanie Bodoni investigates

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

Knowing what can be protected under trade mark legislation is key to devising a strategy to protect your company's name and product. Kamleh Nicola, Andrea Kokonis and Lisa Allegro of Torys explain the rules for prospective applicants

A series of recent decisions in Canada and the UK has established rules for the way courts interpret patent claims. Robert H C MacFarlane and Adam Bobker of Bereskin & Parr explain what the changes mean for rights owners

The scope of IP protection in the biotechnology and life sciences sectors in Canada and the extent that such IP rights may preserve market exclusivity has been shaped by a number of recent authoritative judicial decisions. Arthur Renaud and Martin Kratz of Bennett Jones look at two areas that have particularly been shaped by the courts

In an age of increasing globalization, Canada's courts have crafted a copyright jurisprudence that brings the country closer to the US in particular says Robert Howell of the University of Victoria