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Cooperative agreements with the US government bring many benefits to their recipients, but can also lead to a loss of crucial IP rights. Jay P Urwitz and Davina L Small explain how to negotiate the best deal with federal agencies

The close relationship between parties in licensing agreements leaves companies vulnerable if their partners go broke. Karen Artz Ash and Bret J Danow provide 10 tips for navigating the US bankruptcy minefield

International trade mark applicants stand to benefit from faster trade mark examinations after an agreement by the world's three largest offices.

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

Sam Mamudi, New York

The Customs Regulations on IPR Protection in China (the Regulations) came into force in March 2004. On May 25, the General Administration of Customs of China (Customs) issued Implementing Measures, which will come into operation on July 1 2004. The Measures set out the details relating to IP rights recordal, detention of infringing goods, investigations, disposal of confiscated goods and the related fees. They provide operational guidelines to Customs. The following are worthy of notice:

Sam Mamudi, New York

India's pledge to make its pharmaceutical patent regime innovator-friendly may be under threat following the results of May’s general election. Emma Barraclough assesses what is at stake for drugs companies as the new government finalizes its product patent rules

Will recent rulings on peer-to-peer music sharing in Canada lead to the country becoming a haven for copyright infringers? Elliott S Simcoe and Patrick D Reimer examine the recent cases and how the situation can be resolved

EU: On May 19 the European Council of Ministers adopted a compromise proposal by the EU Irish Presidency on the patenting of computer-implemented inventions with the adoption. The compromise restricts the scope of patent protection purely to computer-implemented inventions. EU: The European Commission outlined rules for the implementation and functions as well as the registration principles of the .eu top-level domain. The rules establish who can register a name, who can be an accredited registrar and the ADR service for the new domain. EU: During a May 17 and 18 meeting, the trade ministers of the 25 EU countries again failed to agree plans for a Community patent. The failure came after the leaders of more than 300 international companies signed a petition urging the European Council of Ministers to reach an agreement over the Community patent. The petition was organized by the European Association for Bioindustries (EuropaBio) with the support of several national biotechnology associations. EU: The European Council of Ministers adopted the Directive on measures and procedures to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights just six days before the EU's expansion to 25 countries, on April 26. The Directive strengthens the remedies available to rights holders, but not include controversial criminal sanctions provisions. UK: The UK amended its trade mark law on May 5, and now requires trade mark owners to prove use of earlier trade marks that are more than five years old in opposition and invalidation procedures. A streamlined opposition procedure has also been introduced, as has a new right for the PTO to give a preliminary indication on some opposition cases.