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A recent Full Federal Court decision in Australia has held that the contributory infringement provisions found in the Patents Act 1990 are effective in relation to method claims.

The Andean Court of Justice has just passed an important decision concerning the implementation of Decision 344. Jose Barreda explains that the decision will lead to greater conformity between the member states

The European Commission has taken a big step towards the implementation of the European Community Patent. On July 5, following discussions at the Lisbon and Fiera summits, internal market commissioner Frits Bolkestein announced that the single EU patent should be available by the end of next year.

The Spanish Government has drafted a new Trade Mark Law which will be presented to the Spanish Parliament for debate later this year. The new law will tighten the existing 1988 law by enforcing the Spanish Constitutional Court ruling which argued that competence in some matters of trade marks should correspond to the Spanish Autonomous Communities; some provisions of the Protocol and TRIPs Agreement; harmonization with the Community Trade Mark Regulation and the complete implementation of the Trade Mark Law Treaty including the introduction of the multi-class system.

Tomorrow's biggest industries will all be driven by technology. Robert Stoll, of the USPTO, takes a timely look at the significance of patent law as an engine of economic development and improvements in human life

The Netherlands "cross-border" judgments in European patent proceedings are famous. In the past a European patent owner could obtain a pan-European cross-border injunction from the Netherlands judges.

Tacking allows you to secure priority for your US trade marks by citing earlier registrations. But Thomas M Williams warns that recent cases have limited trade mark owners' ability to tack old marks on to new ones

Franchising has a big role to play in internet business. As the e-conomy takes off, Mark Abell and Andrew Scott argue that traditional views of market exclusivity in Europe must be changed

The explosive growth in the internet has forced businesses to find new ways of valuing all their assets, not least their brands. Weston Anson explains the main approaches that are emerging for internet brand valuation

As global protection becomes more desirable and more expensive, the new Patent Law Treaty promises to make the process less painful. But progress towards harmonization is slow and pain-staking. Tabitha Parker reports