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A feature of the Singapore patent system that makes it very cost-effective is that a Singapore patent may be obtained based on the search and examination results of certain corresponding foreign patents and patent applications. It is therefore possible to avoid the costs of a local Singaporean search or local Singaporean search and examination.

The Russian language is rich in idiomatic expressions. Russians are also known for their consumption of vodka, sometimes inordinate consumption. An application was filed recently for a combined trade mark with the word element "Squirrel – Here I Am" in class 33, Vodka. The word 'squirrel' is at the top of the picture and 'here I am' is under the claws. This will mean nothing to a foreigner. He/she will only wonder at the somewhat strange expression of the squirrel's face with its rolled-out eyes and bared ugly teeth.

Under the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, the "acts of unfair competition" include "an act of causing confusion with another person's commercial facilities or activities by using signs identical or similar to another person's name, trade name, emblem or any other sign widely known in the Republic of Korea as an indication of commerce."

Subscribers to Managing IP received a free wall map with the May 2013 issue of the magazine, setting out information that can help companies and their counsel plan a global anti-counterfeiting strategy. It makes use of both public information – on the volume of counterfeit seizures around the EU, for example – and analysis from Baker & McKenzie.

In Taiwanese practice, a surname used in connection with goods or services is generally for indicating the surname of the supplier, not as a source identifier. Therefore, in principle, an applicant applying to register a surname needs to prove that the surname has acquired distinctiveness through long term and extensive use.

The most highly anticipated case in the fashion world in 2012 was Christian Louboutin v Yves St Laurent, in which footwear designer Christian Louboutin sued design house Yves St Laurent over footwear incorporating a red sole, claiming that it infringed Louboutin's trade mark registration covering a lacquered red sole on footwear. An April ruling by the USPTO finally put an end to this case, the net impact of which may be more noteworthy not for the questions it answered but for the questions that it left open.

David Kappos argues that IP systems must continue to evolve – and keep in mind how they have succeeded in the past

Teresa Stanek Rea describes issues at USPTO WIPO's James Pooley on the PCT Paul Michel in exclusive video interview Managing IP held its second US Patent Forum in Washington, DC in March. One of the key speakers was acting USPTO Director Teresa Stanek Rea, who said US patent applications were "three to four times" higher than normal in the week before first-to-file came into force on March 16.

INTA has appointed Etienne Sanz de Acedo as the trade mark association's new chief executive, replacing outgoing CEO Alan Drewsen.He joins from OHIM, where he served as head of communications and was a member of president António Campinos's cabinet.

At the end of last year Gift Huggins Sibanda stepped down as director-general of ARIPO. During the course of a career spanning almost three decades, he has been a lone pioneer, a dedicated team player, a consensus-generating diplomat and a respected leader – while always remaining a consummate IP professional.