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Singapore and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will offer each other some of the most advanced IP protection in the world when their free trade agreement comes into effect, probably on January 1 2003. The EFTA-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (ESFTA) was signed on June 26 at the EFTA ministerial meeting in Iceland and is the first free trade pact an east Asian country has signed with EFTA, which is made up of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The IP section of the agreement goes beyond anything on IP contained in the free trade agreements Singapore has signed in the last two years with New Zealand and Japan.

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

James Nurton, London

Interview: Mozelle W Thompson, Federal Trade Commission Mozelle W Thompson is a Commissioner with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC. A lawyer by profession, he worked at the US Treasury Department and was formerly general counsel at the New York State Finance Agency. The FTC, along with the Department of Justice, is holding hearings on the intersection between antitrust and IP law and policy. Sam Mamudi asked Thompson about his role.

The US Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit may be on a collision course after the higher forum reprimanded the lower and curtailed its powers in patent cases. James Nurton and Sam Mamudi report

There is an anomaly in the law of exhaustion of rights between national trade marks governed by the Trade Marks Directive and Community Trade Marks (CTMs) governed by the Trade Marks Regulation. It is well known that article 7(1) of the Directive provides for community exhaustion and that pursuant to the EEA Agreement, this rule has been expanded to give rise to EEA exhaustion. Therefore, if goods are put on the market with the consent of the trade mark owner in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or any of the EU member states, then the exclusive rights given by the national trade marks are exhausted.

Three-dimensional configurations, including the shape of goods or their wrapping as well as other packaging can be protected as trade marks (3D-marks) in Germany according to section 3 (1) of the 1994 Trade Mark Act. For registration purposes the 3D shape must be portrayed by a two-dimensional illustration. The general rule is specified – that is restricted – by section 3 (2) of the Act which states that signs shall not be protected as trade marks:

Over the next 18 months, 10 central and eastern European countries will receive their patent green card – membership of the European Patent Organization. Ingrid Hering visited some of the candidate countries to find out how they are preparing

What are your favourite brands of tea, coffee, soft drink and whisky? If your answers are Lipton, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and Johnny Walker then your answers are not far away from those given by consumers polled in Readers' Digest's annual survey conducted in six Asian markets namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Respondents were asked to rate different brands of goods and services from a range of one to five. The score would reveal the respondent's preferred brand in 37 categories which included their preferred airline, shampoo and conditioner, instant noodles, mineral water, car, watch, cooking oil, air conditioner and hotel.

Edward Kelly and David McGinty, Tilleke & Gibbins International, Bangkok