EU: The European Commission issued a call for tenders to conduct a study that will provide a picture of the effects of patents on the economy and strategies to develop and implement suitable patent policies. EU: Agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler announced the addition of seven names to the list of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the EU. The names are French Valençay cheese, Scottish Farmed Salmon, Ternera de Extremedura (veal from Spain), and four names for a Spanish cooking oil: Aceite de Mallorca, Aceite mallorquín, Oli de Mallorca and Oli mallorquí. France: Record labels and internet service providers, including Free, Noos, Tiscali France and Wanadoo, signed a government-backed charter to crack down on illegal music downloading sites by attracting more consumers to a wider range of legally available songs on the internet. UK: The UK government launched a national IP strategy aimed at curbing piracy in the country. It will involve the Patent Office, police, trading standards, Customs and brand owners. UK: A trade mark dispute over the colour orange erupted between easygroup and mobile phone company Orange after easygroup announced the planned December launch of a new mobile phone service, easyMobile, which will use the company's orange logo colour. A settlement is expected. UK: Enforcement officers arrested 57 people in a nationwide piracy crackdown, seizing fake goods worth more than £500 million. UK: In a government-backed report released on July 29, the Patent Office called for the creation of an insurance scheme that would support smaller companies wishing to sue patent infringers. UK: An English court dismissed Nestlé's attempts to register the shape of its Polo mint as a trade mark. The case, brought by Mars UK, concerned the legitimacy of Nestlé's attempts to make changes to its trade mark application during the registration process.
