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One of the key issues in the complex of problems surrounding exhaustion is the question of whether goods bearing the mark of a trade mark owner have been put on the market with that owner's consent. If so, the trade mark owner cannot prohibit parallel-importers from importing the goods into the EEA, according to article 7, section 1 of the Harmonization Directive (89/104/EEC).

? China: An appeal court in Shanghai has banned seven former Unilever employees from appealing any further against a verdict finding them guilty of making fake shampoo worth Rmb1.27 million

There are grounds under the UK Trade Marks Act (1994, section 3(6)) for refusal or invalidity of registration where a trade mark is applied for in bad faith. The provision derives from the European Trade Marks Harmonization Directive (89/104) and has a counterpart in EU Trade Mark Regulation 40/94 (article 51(1)(b)). Bad faith is not defined and its scope has produced a divide between UK and EU case law over the need for subjective dishonesty on the part of the trade mark applicant (Trillium, First Cancellation Division of OHIM, C000053447/1, March 28 2000).

A rare glimpse into the workings of the USPTO reveals an organization rich in history and poised on the threshold of change. Sam Mamudi visits the Arlington agency and finds out what makes it tick

The difference between first-to-invent and first-to-file is critical to the US and Chinese patent systems. Now that China has joined the WTO, inventors must keep proper records of invention if they want US patents, argue Jack Barufka, Bryan Collins and Catherine Sun

"A world patent is the eventual aim but this is difficult in the near future"

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

Technology was the driving force behind some of the year’s most interesting cases, but others have made their mark in the drama stakes or for their impact on consumers. From India to Indonesia, South Africa and the US, James Nurton, Ralph Cunningham and Ingrid Hering look at what was a year of intriguing and often exciting litigation

Ingrid Hering, London

Michael Evans, London