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As the deadline for the implementation of Europe's enforcement directive looms, Hanne Weywardt and Hea Vinskov examine the lessons from a recent case, involving luxury goods trade marks, in Denmark

In less than six months Germany will host the 18th tournament of the FIFA World Cup, attracting thousands of visitors eager to support their favourite football team. Marketing opportunities will be plenty. But what legal protection will Germany offer to official sponsors to protect them against the marketing practices of unofficial third parties? Boris Uphoff, Rohan Massey and Sarah Brown explain

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

"Today we are putting our most valuable intellectual property on the table so we can put technical compliance issues to rest and move forward with a serious discussion about the substance of this case." That was how Brad Smith, Microsoft's senior vice-president and general counsel, explained the company's decision to license parts of its Windows source code to competitors on January 25.

Translation of priority documents no longer required From January 1 2006, patent applicants are no longer required to provide Korean translations of priority documents unless requested to do so by an examiner at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) or a trial examiner at KIPO's Intellectual Property Tribunal. Applications where the deadline for submitting a Korean translation of priority documents expires on or after January 1 2006 will be subject to this new rule. As a result, foreign applicants will benefit from substantially lower patent filing costs in Korea because they will no longer need to pay translation costs.

As many observers predicted, WTO members made little progress at their ministerial meeting in December. Does the Organization still have a role to play in setting global IP rules? Emma Barraclough reports from Hong Kong

As global IP chief for one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, Jackie Leimer has considerable experience of working with private practice law firms. She shares some of her insights with Sam Mamudi

Ben Moshinsky, London

Sorting out who owns what in when a licensing partner goes bust can be a tricky business. Andrew Jones of Sim Lowman Ashton & McKay looks at cases that have shaped the rights and obligations of parties in such cases