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Koos Rasser of Howrey Simon Arnold & White in Washington examines the implications of the Festo ruling on US patent practice

Japanese patent law allows applicants to file so-called product by process claims. But the scope of such claims can be complicated to interpret. Yoshiaki Muto of Tokyo Aoyama Law Office – Baker & McKenzie in Tokyo reviews recent cases on this question

Questel•Orbit reveal how to do comprehensive and precise prior art searches using the European Patent Office’s ECLA codes and the USPTO’s patent classifications

Antti Papula and Perja Papula of Nevinpat in Helsinki explain that Russian patent practice differs from that of Europe. This is particularly true for claims relating to chemical and medical compounds

Japan’s domain name system has seen fundamental changes in the past year. Yasuyoshi Goto and Ari Staiman, of Tokyo Aoyama Aoki/Baker & McKenzie in Tokyo, examine the recently introduced changes

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 copyright landscape for publishers has been redrawn by a landmark US Supreme Court decision in June that found the inclusion without permission of previously published articles in an electronic database constituted copyright infringement.