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On May 1 the EU will open up to 10 new member states. Stéphanie Bodoni seeks answers to frequently asked questions about the impact enlargement will have on IP rights

Trade mark owners wishing to enforce their rights on the internet have suffered a setback, after the Court of Appeal in England and Wales overturned a key ruling dealing with similar names on the web.

In the third ruling on employee inventions in as many weeks, a Japanese court last month ordered a food company to pay an ex-employee a multi-million yen figure for assigning his patent rights over a type of artificial sweetener he developed.

Blaise J Arena, technology evaluation and IP consultant

Competing against established rivals such as Ducati, Honda and Kawasaki, the Foggy Petronas Racing World Superbikes team is using technology and branding to give it an edge as this year's competition gets underway

Decision 486 of the Andean Community, which contains the industrial property law applicable in the Andean Community countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) forbids the registration of trade marks that consist of a sign or indication that designates or describes the quality, quantity, destination, value or place of origin, time of production or indicates other characteristics about the products or services for which the mark will be used. Descriptive expressions lack distinctiveness so they do not have the capacity to distinguish the goods in commerce from similar goods that come from a competitor.

Stéphanie Bodoni, London

From April 1 industrial designers have a cheaper and more efficient means of obtaining protection for their work when the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement comes into force. Ingrid Hering reports

Recent years have seen a long-awaited growth in technology transfer transactions and offshore software development in Ukraine. This fact may be explained by the following factors. Ukraine has a well-developed technical educational system, inherited from former times. Recent economic growth has shown the growing need for an innovative approach. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of Ukrainian research and development, in combination with the above indicated facts, is attracting foreign investors seeking new ideas and technological solutions.

In a recent decision in Intel Corporation v Intelcard Systems Sdn Bhd & Others [2004] 1 CLJ 550, Intel Corporation successfully obtained an interim injunction against the defendant who dealt with smart cards and information technology security solutions. The defendant was using the trade name Intelcard Systems Sdn Bhd and registered the domain name www.intelcardsystems.com.