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With the grand aim of creating the world's largest free trade market internally linked by free-trade agreements (FTAs) across nations, the US administration has taken up the role of protecting and upholding the free trade environment, (free of anti-competitive, anti-dumping, anti-trust among other features). The FTA with Singapore (being the first FTA with an Asian country), when negotiations are completed and the fine print agreed upon, will be a precedent upon which future FTAs with other countries will be based on.

Lucien Enescu and Melania Radulescu, of Rominvent in Bucharest, analyze the latest amendments to the design law in Romania, which bring protection into line with international standards

Despite economic upheavals across Latin America, new governments and coming elections bring a promise of change - and improvement. Sam Mamudi reports

The Federal Court of Australia has struck another blow for novel trade marks with its recent decision to allow the registration of a single-colour mark. Justice Mansfield ruled that Philmac, a maker of equipment for the water industry, can register terracotta as a colour mark for non-metallic rigid irrigation pipe fittings because it is capable of distinguishing the company's products. Philmac had appealed to the court after the Registrar of Trade Marks had rejected the application.

James Nurton, Nice

Today, the vast majority of national patents pending in the European countries have evolved from patents granted by the European Patent Office. Even if the validity of such a patent has been confirmed in opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office, it can still be attacked in nullity proceedings before the national patent authorities. In national invalidation proceedings, any differences between the European Patent Office and the national authorities with respect to the interpretation of the basic standards for patentability might turn into a trap for the patent owner.

Membership of the EU and EPO will transform patent practice in the countries of central Europe, as James Nurton discovers. But attorneys are looking forward to the challenge

The European Commission has published controversial proposals to amend the Community Trade Mark Directive.

Parties who wish to appeal against decisions in patent oppositions must appeal at the right time or they will be shut out. This was the outcome of a recent case in the Federal Court of Australia. In some cases it is the notionally successful party which must appeal, explain Richard Hamer and Jon Gottschall

? Malaysia: Shopping mall owners have lobbied the government to give them more time to eliminate the sale of pirated goods from their premises. The commerce ministry had given the owners of 12 shopping malls until February 1 to ensure that no fake products were being sold in the malls.