PATENT

• How Quanta will change licensing

  

  The Supreme Court's decision in Quanta v LG could make it harder for licensors to collect downstream royalties. Eileen McDermott explores the implications

• Politics, power and passion - this year's MIP 50

  With IP reforms being discussed around the world, this year's selection of the most influential people in IP features many politicians and campaigners. But there are also a few surprises

• Avoid competition problems in China

  

  China's long-awaited Anti-Monopoly law comes into effect on August 1, but its impact on IP owners is far from certain, explain Kirstie Nicholson and Zirou Liu

• Why privilege rules need to be reformed

  Attorney-client privilege is an increasingly contentious issue worldwide. Jochen Bühling and Michael Jewess introduce a series of jurisdiction-based Q&A articles

• Litigation planning for licensors

  IP licensing is a key tool in any company's belt. But several recent Supreme Court decisions could make the process trickier, say Edward E Vassallo and Swatee Jasoria

• How biotech patentees can navigate KSR

  

  Ewa M Davison and Gary M Myles provide strategies for establishing non-obviousness in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical arts in light of the Supreme Court’s rejection of a rigid TSM test

• HP hit with $184 million jury award

  Hewlett-Packard was last month ordered by a jury to pay $184 million to Cornell University for patent infringement

• Point of novelty test for design patents reviewed

  Judges focused on whether or not to maintain the point of novelty test for determining design patent infringement in last month's hearing in Egyptian Goddess v Swisa

• Tech transfer leaders recognized

  Procter & Gamble, Max Planck Innovation and the Catholic University of Leuven have been recognized for their achievements in technology transfer

• Peer-to-patent increases prior art submissions

  he USPTO's peer-to-patent project has led to an increase in prior art submissions but has failed to bring in fresh patent applications in its first year

• Lipitor dispute settled

  Branded and generic drugs companies could be more willing to compromise on IP rights, following the Pfizer/Ranbaxy settlement over Lipitor

• Letter from the editor

  1968 saw a social revolution in Paris. Forty years on, there is the potential for another memorable achievement in the city

• Biotech's biggest blockbusters

  

  It has been just over three decades since the first biotechnology company - Genentech - was formed in 1976. Since then biotechnology has become a multi-billion dollar industry with ground-breaking products, based on original research. Eklavya Gupte examines five patents that have shaped the sector

• Taiwan's businesses learn to build IP value

  Horng-Dar Lin explains how Taiwanese companies that used only to manufacture for foreign businesses are developing their own brand identities

• How to reward inventive employees

  

  An Australian court has considered the issue of who owns IP generated by employees. Suzy Groom puts the decision in context

• Whealan weighs in on patent debate

  

  Eileen McDermott spoke to former USPTO solicitor and counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Patent Reform Act John Whealan about patent reform in the US

• Community patent plans gain momentum

  European Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen last month called for a Community patent and single litigation system

• Peterlin urges IP counsel to file better patents

• China unveils free patent translation tool

• Federal Circuit seeks new patentability test in Bilski

  The Federal Circuit last month examined terms such as "tangible", "abstract", "concrete" and "transformative", in the closely watched In re Bilski hearing

• A case of IP schizophrenia

  From Shamnad Basheer

• India's patent law needs jurisprudence

  From Varun Chhonkar

• How to survive ITC litigation

  At a recent web seminar organized in conjunction with Finnegan Henderson, two private practitioners, an in-house lawyer and an attorney at the International Trade Commission explained how plaintiffs and defendants can navigate their way around the rules

• Why India's patent battles matter

  

  Four pharmaceutical patent cases being argued in India will have a big impact on healthcare issues in the region. Peter Ollier looks at what is at stake

• How to avoid patent prosecution errors

  

  Mistakes made in the patent drafting process can come back to haunt litigants in the court room. Martin Sulsky and Raj S Davé explain how to avoid common drafting errors

• Microsoft's IP plans under the spotlight

  

  Interview: As Microsoft's global vice-president of IP and licensing, Horacio Gutierrez plays an integral role in protecting the company's IP rights

• Judge calls for European litigation system

  A leading UK judge has called for a "one-stop patent shop" to cater to companies that do business across Europe, after finding a patent invalid just days after it was upheld by a court in the Netherlands

• Philips wins Taiwan compulsory licensing battle

  A court in Taipei has overturned a decision by the local IP office to grant compulsory licences to a Taiwanese company for five patents owned by Philips

• Thailand keeps patent holders guessing

  Thailand's new government has sent out mixed signals on whether it will continue with a controversial compulsory licence programme for pharmaceuticals

• UK IP Office suffers computer software setback

• eBay settles MercExchange suit

• Qualcomm loses high-stakes patent battle with Nokia

• Hitch a ride on the patent highway

  The EPO is the latest patent office to sign up to a patent prosecution highway. But do these schemes offer more advantages to applicants or examiners? Emma Barraclough reports

• Passing judgment on Japan's IP court

  

  Japan's IP High Court celebrates its third anniversary in April. Yoshikazu Iwase looks at how its decisions so far have affected IP owners

• The French approach to IP issues

  

  Benoît Battistelli, director-general of INPI, also serves as vice-chair of the European Patent Office's Administrative Council and is closely involved in the IP policy preparations that France is making as it gets ready to take on the presidency of the EU in July this year. He spoke to Emma Barraclough about fees, work sharing and the debates about patent litigation in Europe

• How the London Agreement will save money

  Patent owners from both large and small companies have welcomed France's decision to take the final steps needed to implement the London Agreement, which will cut the translation costs involved in obtaining a European patent

• CAFC considers whether to revisit State Street

  The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit could reconsider its own landmark decision on business method patents after ordering an en banc hearing in an appeal in In Re Bilski

• UK IP office in software patent u-turn

  The UK Intellectual Property Office has changed its policy on the patenting of software, two weeks after a judge said that the Office was wrong to reject all patent claims to computer program products

• Bush administration speaks out on patent reform

• Texas jury tells Boston Scientific to pay inventor $431.8 million

• India's patent law faces new scrutiny

• Setback for Novartis in India

• Towards a global valuations standard

  Could proposals for a global standard for patent valuation provide greater transparency and clarity for IP owners? James Nurton reports

• Patent firms of the year

  This month Managing IP reveals the results of part one of the world's most detailed and authoritative survey of the IP market. Following five months' research, in this issue we list the leading firms in patent prosecution and contentious work in 65 jurisdictions

• Survey results: Africa and Middle East

  Leading patent firms in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and UAE

• Survey results: Americas

  Top-rated firms in Argentina, Brazil, the Caribbean, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and all the US categories

• Survey results: Asia

  Firms ranked in tiers for Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam

• Survey results: Europe

  Most highly rated firms in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and UK

• Africa turns to IP for development

  The lack of IP protection in Africa deters investors, while inventors in the continent barely register internationally. But, asks James Nurton, is that about to change?

• How Seagate has reshaped patent litigation practices

  The CAFC's decision In re Seagate reshaped the rules on wilful infringement and the use of opinions. Eileen McDermott asseses the impact so far

• Asia's patent quality leaders

  The rate of patenting in Asian countries has increased dramatically over the past decade. But what about the quality? Peter Ollier considers the evidence

• Adiós language woes, bonjour automatic translations?

  Rows about language regimes have stymied attempts to lower the cost of patenting in Europe. Emma Barraclough asks whether automatic translations could be the solution

• Why patent life expectancy matters

  Peter Ollier looks at a range of statistics at the EPO, USPTO and JPO to see if patent renewal rates are decreasing and analyzes the implications

• Fees may rise as EPO stresses quality

  

  Interview: Roland Grossenbacher, director of Switzerland's Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and chair of the EPO's Administrative Council talks about patents, EPO challenges and patent policy in Europe

• Letter from the editor...

  Introducing this year's world IP survey

• Court rules on non-essentiality of patents

  The UK High Court has made its first declaration of non-essentiality (DONE) in a patent dispute between two telecoms companies

• UK loses leading patent judge

  Lord Justice Nicholas Pumfrey, a patent specialist judge in London, has died of a stroke

• KSR cited as court backs $226.3 million award

  Biedermann Motech and its licensee DePuy Spine won a patent infringement case in one of the first decisions to apply the US Supreme Court's directives in KSR v Teleflex

• Continuations rules promote the public interest

  The USPTO's new rules on claims and continuations will overwhelmingly benefit the public interest and should be supported, argues Daniel Ravicher

• JPO bucks trend by cutting filing fees

  The Japan Patent Office says it will cut patent fees by an average of 12% and lower trade mark fees by 43% in the first half of this year