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The Czech Republic has modified its IP laws to harmonize with the European Union. Karel Cermak, of Cermak Horejs Myslil in Prague explains the changes

France: Lovells will merge with French firm Siméon & Associés, effective November 1. The combined Paris office will have 25 partners and more than 80 other attorneys.

One of the most fundamental biotechnology inventions is due to be tested in a Massachusetts district court, after Applied Molecular Evolution (AME) filed a patent infringement suit against Morphosys on June 26. AME owns a licence to six patents filed by Stuart Kauffman covering directed evolution technology. The patents have been described by Nature Biotechnology magazine as being as important as those filed by Cohen and Boyer in the first generation of biotechnology.

There are an estimated 190 core biotech and 460 biotech-related companies operating in Australia Approximately 35 core biotech companies and 25 biotech-related companies are publicly listed The industry as a whole has raised about A$900 million since the previous industry report in 1999, five times more than estimated in 1998-1999 Revenues generated by core biotech companies over the past 12 months are estimated at almost A$1 billion. Human health, equipment and services, and agriculture are the sectors with the most number of products under development. In 2001 there is an estimated A$300 million of ongoing publicly funded research in biotechnology Victoria has the greatest number of core biotechnology companies (38%) New South Wales has the highest number of biotech-related companies (40%) R&D investment by Australian biotech companies in 1999-2000 was approximately A$150 million. Approximately half the biotech companies operate in the human health sector, including diagnostics and therapeutics Genomics and bio-informatics companies has more than doubled since 1999 Australia's patent system gives it a competitive advantage in attracting foreign companies to invest in the country's biotechnology industry, according to a recently released report on the growth of the sector.

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