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On April 10, the European Parliament, in its first reading of the Tissues and Cells Directive (the Directive), voted in favour of a ban on the creation of human embryos for research purposes including stem cell research. MEPs stopped short of demanding an outright ban on the use of embryonic stem (ES) cells for research. However, they imposed severe restrictions, the effect of which could be to make it difficult for scientists to justify their use.

? Italy: The country has joined Greece and Denmark in implementing the EU copyright directive into its national law - with most other EU member states facing the prospect of being taken to the European Court of Justice.

Optional searching could be the compromise to break the deadlock over the issue of national searches, the head of Europe's trade mark office has suggested.

Marion Rees, IP manager, Virax, Australia

As the race among global leaders spurs exponential growth in nanotechnology, companies must keep watch on intellectual property issues emerging with the new field, explains Vicki Norton

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

Readers of this column will recall that we published an article last year indicating that the French government was studying a proposed revision of the 'Lois sur la bioéthique'. The draft bill contained an article 12bis, which unambiguously indicated that "the sequence or partial sequence of a gene is not patentable". If adopted, the French law would have been in complete contradiction with the EU Biotechnology Directive (Directive 44/98/CE).

On February 28 2003 the Singapore government introduced a number of fiscal incentives in the 2003 budget to make Singapore an even more attractive location for IP rights holders.

Section 10 of the German Patent Act defines the constituent elements of contributory infringement as follows: a patent has apart from prohibiting direct infringement the further effect that a person not having the consent of the patentee shall be prohibited from supplying or offering to supply within the territory to which the Act applies a person, other than a person entitled to exploit the patented invention, with means relating to an essential element of such invention for exploiting the invention, where such person knows or it is obvious from the circumstances, that such means are suitable and intended for exploiting the invention. This does not apply when the means are staple commercial products, except where such person induces the person supplied to commit acts of direct infringement.

Sam Mamudi, New York