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The month in figures

The pharmaceutical industry has been given another month to sharpen its arguments as it challenges the South African government over patent rights. But it is also fighting against charities, the media and public opinion. Tabitha Parker reports

A ruling that has received wide public attention in the United States, even in the popular press, is the one that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) handed down on February 14 2001 in Amazon.com Inc v Barnesandnoble.com Inc. This ruling vacated a district court's preliminary injunction order preventing Barnes and Noble (BN) from continuing to offer its own so-called "one-click" method for ordering books and other goods online during the course of Amazon's suit asserting that the BN method infringes an Amazon method patent. Despite all the publicity accorded to the ruling, it rests upon very well-established law, widely availed of to defeat preliminary injunction motions in patent infringement suits throughout at least the twentieth century. Its claim to the degree of publicity it received rests upon the case's status as one of the earliest efforts to enforce a "business method" patent against an alleged infringer and not upon the novelty of the legal ruling.

Kathleen E McCarthy, Morgan & Finnegan, LLP

There is in every contract of employment an implied term to maintain confidentiality of information and trade secrets belonging to the employer. This duty stems from the notion of faithful service or fidelity owed both during employment and after that employment has terminated. The duty imposed by the contract of employment during the term of employment on an employee is not to put his or her interests in conflict with those of the employer.

Law and accountancy firms are coming under greater scrutiny in Hong Kong from April 1, under the new Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance intended to combat corporate piracy. Aimed at preventing bootlegging in places of public entertainment and combating corporate piracy, the new Ordinance targets those companies taking advantage of the loopholes in the law to avoid prosecution for copyright infringement.

ICANN is to set up a working group to make policy recommendations concerning the controversial multilingual domain (MLD) names.

US membership of the Madrid Protocol may be only a few months away according to Bruce MacPherson, director of external affairs of the International Trademark Association. Thanks to pressure from US companies and the INTA, the legislation to implement membership, first considered in 1989, is nearing the end of its journey through Congress. Attempts to implement the Protocol have not been easy. It has been dogged by conflict with the EU, and lately by complications over Cuba's role.

Australian copyright law has been overhauled with amendments covering moral rights and digital protection. Kristin Stammer provides a guide for copyright owners and users of copyright material

Time, patience and sympathy ran out for the Ukraine on March 13 when, nine months after the central Asian country committed itself to implementing anti-counterfeiting measures, the US Trade Representative (USTR) designated it a Priority Foreign Country (PFC).