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The British Phonographic Industry, the trade body for record labels in the UK, is to begin action against 28 major file sharers - individuals who make their record collections available for others to download from peer-to-peer (P2P) sites. In a P2P site, there are four groups of potential defendants; each is considered below.

As business leaders increasingly recognize the value of IP rights, it is more important to consider the tax issues involved in protecting them, argue Isabel Verlinden, Axel Smits and Patrick Boone

US: The Justice Department unveiled a report by its IP Task Force. The report recommends the creation of five new Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Units in Washington DC, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Orlando. The Department has 13 CHIP Units across the US at present. The report also includes calls for an increase in the number of FBI special agents dedicated to investigating IP crimes, and the use of more federal resources and tougher enforcement to tackle infringers. US: A California state court of appeals in Los Angeles upheld a $500 million infringement verdict against biotechnology leader Genentech. Genentech was found to have hidden licensed sales and not paid royalties on human insulin and human growth hormone developed by the City of Hope National Medical Center. US: Biotechnology company Amgen won a federal district court case against Transkaryotic Therapies (TKT) and Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Judge William Young of the district court of Massachusetts ruled that Transkaryotic and Aventis violated two of Amgen's product patents on erythropoietin and two patents with claims on the production of erythropoietin. TKT said it would appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. US: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of KP Permanent Make-Up Inc v Lasting Impressions on October 5. Lasting Impressions is claiming trade mark infringement against KP Permanent Make-Up for use of the words micro color on the packaging of KP Permanent's products. In hearing the case, the Court asked whether the classic fair use defence to trade mark infringement is an absolute defence, regardless of whether confusion may result.

Sam Mamudi, Washington DC

Execution of private coexistence agreements is not a ground for automatically allowing the registration of identical or similar signs as trade marks. This was the position of the Council of State of Colombia when it decided to refuse the registration of the trade mark Starbucks (File 7063 dated August 20 2004).

Alain Pompidou takes over as president of the EPO as industry is becoming increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of patent reform in Europe. MIP visited Munich to ask him about his plans for the presidency. Interview introduced by James Nurton

Last month, after a long wait, the .eu registry signed a contract with the European Commission to start offering domains next year. But, as Tony Willoughby argues, the EC Regulations governing .eu (733/2002 and 874/2004) will lead to chaos and uncertainty and must be radically reexamined

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong and Stéphanie Bodoni, London