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The situation of intellectual property protection in Russia has long been described by experts as disastrous. The share of illegal videocassettes in the Russian market is 50%, of audiocassettes 64%, and of DVDs almost 100%. In this connection, at the session held on October 3 2002 the Russian government determined the list of urgent anti-piracy measures. A specialized government committee led by the Prime Minister will be engaged in stage-by-stage development of the measures connected with intellectual property protection. It is supposed to improve the legislative base by working out amendments and changes into the existing laws and acceptance of new legal acts. Moreover, Russia intends to sign and ratify international agreements on copyright and related rights protection (namely, the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty).

? Australia: David Clark has become a partner of Blake Dawson Waldron in its Sydney office, where he will set up the office's patent services group. He previously was a partner of Griffith Hack.

Vacuum cleaner maker Dyson has pocketed over £4 million ($6.24 million) in a settlement with rival Hoover. The settlement - £4 million plus costs and interest - comes just weeks before the High Court was due to decide what level of damages should be awarded against Hoover.

One might have thought that the question of the exhaustion of trade marks in the European Economic Area (EEA) had been resolved, or at least stabilized, to a certain extent.

James Hamilton, Philippe Signore and Christopher Ward explain why design patents are becoming more popular as a means of protection in the US

Singapore's patent rules have been amended this year to recognize search and examination reports and patents issued by the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) in the grant process of Singapore patents. Singapore patent applications with a priority filing date on or after August 15 2002, may rely on JPO search and examination reports and granted patents in place of local search and examination.

It is no great news to report that bureaucratic delays continue to dog the new Trademarks Act passed by the Indian parliament way back in 1999 with much TRIPs Agreement-compliant hype and fanfare. The latest to join the game of hurdles is a writ filed before the High Court of Delhi, challenging certain aspects of the new law.

In a series of four decisions rendered recently by the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH), the Court considered the extent to which the doctrine of equivalents applies to patent claims reciting numerical ranges: BGH GRUR 2002, 515 - Schneidmesser I (in English, Cutting Knife I); 519 - Schneidmesser II; 523 - Custodiol I; 527 - Custodiol II.

Reinhardt Schuster and Clemens Rübel, from the Düsseldorf and Mannheim offices of Bardehle Pagenberg Dost Altenburg Geissler Isenbruck, examine the recent court decisions on the interpretation of patent claims containing numerical data

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