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The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court has issued a decision in a case where the applicant for a patent had in 1997, by virtue of Article 27 and Article 70 (7) of the TRIPs Agreement, amended the claims of an international patent application filed in 1993 to cover product protection for pharmaceuticals.

In Poland, utility models are distinguished as separate subjects of industrial property from inventions. Pursuant to the statutory definition, utility models are new and useful solutions of a technical character concerning the shape, structure or configuration of an object having a solid form. A utility model, like an invention, is considered new if it is not a part of the state of art, which means it has not been made available to the public before the date determining the priority to exclusive right (protection). However, unlike patentable inventions a utility model does not have to meet the grounds of non-obviousness (invention level). Therefore protection can be granted to a utility model despite the fact that for a qualified person it is obvious that the model originates from prior art.

Genentech's settlement with the University of California has just cost the San Francisco company a cool $200 million

Last year we witnessed celebrations of significant anniversaries connected with patent offices and IP rights in Germany and Austria. Meanwhile, the Czech Patent Office quietly marked the 80th anniversary of its foundation in 1919.

Trade marks which, either intrinsically, or because they are popular on the market, have a clear distinctiveness, enjoy a broader degree of protection than trade marks which are less distinctive. This criterion emerged from the ruling handed down by the ECJ on November 11 1997 in the Puma v Sabel case. The question of when a trade mark is well-known has remained unanswered for some time. However, although this question has a bearing on the application of Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Trade Mark Directive and of Section 13A, Subsection 1 under c of the Uniform Benelux Trade Marks Act which stipulates that the owner of a well-known trade mark can oppose the use thereof or of a similar sign for dissimilar goods or services if such use can result in an unfair advantage being derived from the trade mark or the distinctiveness or reputation of the trade mark being impaired.

In a major victory for a foreign patent owner, Pfizer has stopped a local company infringing its patent for fluconazole.

Collaborations can be the most effective way to exploit new technologies

The variety patent is granted according to the Romanian law if the following criteria are met by the new plant variety: novelty, distinctiveness, homogeneity and stability.

As the sale of so-called "similar" drugs (SDs) increases in Mexico, the Mexican PTO seems to be as confused as Mexican consumers, and has not taken any measures to stop acts of unfair competition which affect the prestige of the pharmaceutical industry´ s trade marks and products.

There is no recent decision of the German Federal Patent or Supreme Court dealing with the patentability of plants or animals. However, issuance of the EC Directive on Biotechnological Inventions on July 6 1998 and the decision G1/98 by the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) on December 20 1999, will influence the interpretation of the provisions on the patentability of plants and animals.