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An IP policy is an essential component in protecting your intangible assets - yet many companies say they do not have one. In-house counsel tell MIP why IP policies are needed and how to draw them up. By Stephanie Bodoni

Charlie McCreevy Internal market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy addressed the European Parliament's legal affairs committee on February 2 to help him form his opinion "on where to go next" on the EU's IP laws.

US: An en banc panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments in Phillips v AWH Corp on February 8. The final ruling could determine how trial courts interpret claim construction in all future patent cases. A decision is expected in early 2006. US: The head of Hewlett-Packard's Linux programme urged open source developers not to ignore software patents. Martin Fink, vice-president at Hewlett-Packard, told an audience at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo that "refusing to patent one's ideas is leaving oneself exposed for absolutely no good reason". US: Microsoft and Nokia signed a deal which will see Microsoft software installed on Nokia's phones. The agreement will allow customers to transfer songs from computers to mobile phones, and also download music from their phones to computers using Microsoft software. US: Fashion company Cartier won a $594 million judgment in a New York district court, after a two-and-a-half year prosecution using private investigators and a paper trail targeting main suppliers, rather than the makers or sellers of counterfeit goods. The company claims the payout is the largest made in a counterfeit case anywhere in the world.

A new trade mark opposition procedure was introduced in the Benelux at the beginning of 2004. One year on, Boudewijn van Vondelen asks whether this has led to a stricter registration system

Sam Mamudi, New York

James Nurton, London

A recent opinion of the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) Advocate General has given ammunition to UK brand owners by suggesting that slogans forming part of other registered trade marks may in principle be distinctive enough to acquire registration in and by themselves.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has introduced a national management and auditing tool named Strategies for Creation, Ownership, Protection and Exploitation of Intellectual Property, or SCOPE-IP. In our technology driven world, IP plays a critical role and successful companies recognize the importance of performing due diligence so they can aggressively exploit their IP rights.

John Mitchell, CEO, AllVoice Computing and chair, Patent Reform Group

Patent terms of advanced technologies in Korea have gradually become shorter as patent examination procedures get longer. To resolve this deficiency in the Korean patent system, officials have revealed a new strategy to reduce the patent examination period from 22 months to 10 months.