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Since coming into force on November 13 2000, the Singapore Registered Designs Act (Cap. 266) has seen a reasonable level of activity in terms of the number of applications filed. Below are some statistics extracted from the 2002/2003 annual report of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) for years 2001 and 2002.

On the eve of his retirement in May, Wilhelm von Lieres, corporate chief IP counsel of Siemens, tells Stéphanie Bodoni about the company's IP strategy, and his views on the software directive and the Community patent

On December 2 2003 the State Council of the People's Republic of China published new Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (the new Regulations), which will come into force on March 1 2004.

Two Japanese inventors have recently become millionaires after being awarded compensation for their revolutionary patents. The cases have led to concern among Japanese businesses, and proposals for changes to the patent law. Emma Barraclough investigates

The Argentine Trade mark Law has recently been amended to give more agility and efficiency to the prosecution of trade mark applications. The implementing decree of the Trade Mark Act 22,362, in effect since 1981, has been modified by Presidential Decree No 1141 issued in December 2003.

As the EU is set to expand to include 10 more states in May, Jeremy Phillips analyzes the options available to rights owners who need to enforce their intellectual property and examines the systems being put in place by the European Commission

Malcolm Royal, former FICPI president, explains how the reformed innovation patent system works in Australia and, overleaf, compares similar procedures worldwide

With the launch of PCT-SAFE, patentees can now file their international patent applications online. James Nurton asks whether the new system will attract more users to electronic filing

Research involving human tissue donation has thrown up a complex web of ethical and legal considerations. Daniel S Nelki, Ros Cook and Alexa Sartorius explore the tension that can arise between donors and IP holders

Australia: Changes are expected in the area of patent, trade mark, copyright and pharmaceutical law under a free trade agreement with the US. One such change is the extension of copyright protection for another 20 years to 70 years. China: The Chinese State Intellectual Property Office will start accepting electronic patent applications from March 12 - the day of the 20th anniversary of China's first patent law. China: The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) plans to introduce an IP Strategic Alert System to send out warnings to companies about potential overseas claims and to advise them on possible countermeasures. The initiative aims to reduce the rising number of litigation claims brought against Chinese companies, particularly in the US. Japan: Recommendations to overhaul the country's utility model system to try to cut the overhwelming levels of patent applications will be presented by a working group to Japan's parliament, the Diet, before June.