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Research involving human tissue donation has thrown up a complex web of ethical and legal considerations. Daniel S Nelki, Ros Cook and Alexa Sartorius explore the tension that can arise between donors and IP holders

Australia: Changes are expected in the area of patent, trade mark, copyright and pharmaceutical law under a free trade agreement with the US. One such change is the extension of copyright protection for another 20 years to 70 years. China: The Chinese State Intellectual Property Office will start accepting electronic patent applications from March 12 - the day of the 20th anniversary of China's first patent law. China: The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) plans to introduce an IP Strategic Alert System to send out warnings to companies about potential overseas claims and to advise them on possible countermeasures. The initiative aims to reduce the rising number of litigation claims brought against Chinese companies, particularly in the US. Japan: Recommendations to overhaul the country's utility model system to try to cut the overhwelming levels of patent applications will be presented by a working group to Japan's parliament, the Diet, before June.

Ingrid Hering, London

Sam Mamudi, New York

Emma Barraclough, Hong Kong

Sam Mamudi, New York

A Colombian tobacco company registered in 1994 a trade mark in international class 34 to cover the following goods: tobacco; smokers' articles; matches. In 1996 the owner of the trade mark agreed partially to assign the trade mark with regard to some goods covered by the registration. The trade mark was assigned to a third party covering only matches while the owner maintained mark with regard to tobacco and smokers' articles.

On the eve of his retirement in May, Wilhelm von Lieres, corporate chief IP counsel of Siemens, tells Stéphanie Bodoni about the company's IP strategy, and his views on the software directive and the Community patent

The fourth and final part of the annual World IP Survey lists the leading trade mark/copyright firms as voted for by MIP readers

The entertainment industries are increasingly active in taking steps to combat the copyright dangers posed by the internet. Sam Mamudi investigates the strategies rights owners are developing, and asks whether copyright has a future