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An Australian attorney has patented the wheel in an attempt to draw attention to problems with the country's recently introduced innovation patent. Since May this year, the innovation patent has been available for inventions with a lower inventive threshold than standard patents. It is defined as a development that makes a substantial contribution to the working of the invention compared with the prior art.

Spain is a step closer to bringing its trade mark system into line with the rest of the EU after the Spanish House of Representatives approved the draft Spanish Trade Marks Act. The legislation will now be debated by the Senate for a final vote, with July 31 mooted for its implementation. Its key objectives include implementing the Madrid Protocol and the EU Harmonization Directive, TRIPs compliance, and introducing amendments that bring Spain closer to harmonization with the Community Trade Mark.

The Russian Patent and Trademark Office (Rospatent) has approved Anheuser-Busch's application to register the Bud trade mark in Russia, following a 12-year battle with Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar.

On June 18 and 19, MIP held its first IP Forum at Simpson's in the Strand in London, sponsored by IP law firm Morgan & Finnegan. Nearly 30 speakers covered a range of topical issues, with a particular focus on the latest developments in the US. The conference opened with a keynote speech by Todd Dickinson, former director of the PTO, outlining recent changes to IP law in the US. The first day covered patent developments such as business methods, gene patents, litigation, trade secrets and damages. Day one concluded with a panel session on European litigation and a cocktail reception.

Jeff Neuman is director of policy and intellectual property for Neulevel, which has the licence to run the new .biz top-level domain. He was formerly an attorney with Greenberg Traurig’s technology department, and also worked on ICANN’s working groups to develop the UDRP. James Nurton and Ralph Cunningham spoke to him during the INTA Conference in San Francisco in May.

Victims of trade secrets misappropriation often seek monetary awards to compensate for their loss. John P Fry and Robert L Lee analyze how US courts have calculated damages in recent trade secrets cases

Australia: MicroMedical Industries has been granted a second US patent for technology relating to a blood pump used in its artificial hearts. The patent brings the company one step closer to conducting human clinical trials of the artificial heart.

Over half of UK companies have no system in place to protect intellectual property, according to a survey conducted by UK firm Marks & Clerk. The survey canvassed 203 companies in four sectors ? pharmaceutical, technology, engineering and financial. The survey revealed that 77% of companies believe they should protect their IP, but only 49% have a system in place to identify when they need to seek patent protection, and only 30% carry out regular IP audits.

Hong Kong's high profile anti-piracy legislation is to be partly suspended less than a month after it came into effect. The Hong Kong administration is to enact the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance, which will put parts of its anti-piracy legislation on hold after protests from the public and industry. The administration's much-lauded Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance to combat copyright infringement came into effect on April 1. The highly-publicized legislation aimed to make criminally liable anyone who possessed pirated copies of copyrighted works in the course of, or in connection with, any trade or business.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline's proposed scheme to restrict exports of cheap medicines from Spain to other parts of Europe is illegal under EU competition rules, according to the European Commission. On May 8, Mario Monti, the EU competition commissioner, ended three years of deliberation by banning the dual-pricing scheme claiming it interfered with the Community's objective of integrating national markets and restricting price competition.