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The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce of Colombia (SIC) recently stated that the mere "registration of a licence agreement at the industrial property office does not prove actual use of the trade mark", in its Opinion 04045240 of 2004 (www.sic.gov.co).

Despite owning some of the world's most famous comic-strip characters, Marvel went bankrupt in 1996. But an aggressive licensing strategy has returned the company to financial health. Sam Mamudi investigates

As more and more foreign companies seek to boost profits by outsourcing service sector jobs to low-cost jurisdictions, IP professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the need to safeguard their companies' intellectual property in the process. Pravin Anand and Ameet Datta explain how outsourcing customers can avoid some of the potential pitfalls in India

EU: The European Commission issued a call for tenders to conduct a study that will provide a picture of the effects of patents on the economy and strategies to develop and implement suitable patent policies. EU: Agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler announced the addition of seven names to the list of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the EU. The names are French Valençay cheese, Scottish Farmed Salmon, Ternera de Extremedura (veal from Spain), and four names for a Spanish cooking oil: Aceite de Mallorca, Aceite mallorquín, Oli de Mallorca and Oli mallorquí. France: Record labels and internet service providers, including Free, Noos, Tiscali France and Wanadoo, signed a government-backed charter to crack down on illegal music downloading sites by attracting more consumers to a wider range of legally available songs on the internet. UK: The UK government launched a national IP strategy aimed at curbing piracy in the country. It will involve the Patent Office, police, trading standards, Customs and brand owners. UK: A trade mark dispute over the colour orange erupted between easygroup and mobile phone company Orange after easygroup announced the planned December launch of a new mobile phone service, easyMobile, which will use the company's orange logo colour. A settlement is expected. UK: Enforcement officers arrested 57 people in a nationwide piracy crackdown, seizing fake goods worth more than £500 million. UK: In a government-backed report released on July 29, the Patent Office called for the creation of an insurance scheme that would support smaller companies wishing to sue patent infringers. UK: An English court dismissed Nestlé's attempts to register the shape of its Polo mint as a trade mark. The case, brought by Mars UK, concerned the legitimacy of Nestlé's attempts to make changes to its trade mark application during the registration process.

Hong Kong: A Hong Kong court handed down its stiffest punishment for a motion picture counterfeiting case, sentencing a husband and wife piracy team to six-and-a-half years in jail for conspiracy after the pair jumped bail. Raids in 1998 revealed the couple had over 22 million pirated VCDs and 41 VCD replication lines. New Zealand: Pfizer failed to persuade the New Zealand courts to allow it to patent methods of medical treatments of humans, after the US pharmaceutical company tried to test the scope of the country's patent law. Japan: The Japanese Fair Trade Commission told Microsoft it must overturn its ban on computer manufacturers suing the software company for patent infringement. The US company has already pledged to drop the no-litigation clause from future contracts but the Japanese watchdog wants Microsoft to cancel the provision retroactively. Microsoft said it would challenge the decision. Malaysia: The Ministry for Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs said it was considering reforming the country's legal system to set up a separate IP court. At the moment IP cases are heard in the commercial division of the High Court, but a backlog of cases has prompted the government re-think. Australia: The Australian Senate passed the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Bill 2004 on August 13 but amendments introduced by the opposition Labor Party are set to make it harder for originator pharmaceutical companies to bring patent litigation against generic rivals.

While it is too early to know what effects reforms to Vietnam's patent laws will have, Tran Kim Chi, of Pham & Associates in Hanoi, says that the new changes should be applauded

Singapore's government has reformed the country's patent code to bring it in line with its international obligations. Kristian Robinson of ECSF, in Singapore, explains the how the reforms will help patent holders

The patent protection framework in Russia has greatly improved in recent years. However, there are still some stumbling blocks, as Petja Papula of Papula-Nevinpat in Helsinki explains

Ukraine's IP enforcement regime has changed over the past 18 months. Alexander Pakharenko and John Anderson of Pakharenko and Partners examine some of the new laws and developments and their impact on the country and IP owners

Germany's courts are the most popular forum for patent disputes in Europe. Wolfgang von Meibom and Matthias F Meyer of Bird & Bird in Düsseldorf offer an insight into how the system works and why it is so effective