Oct 9, USA -- The US Patent and Trademark Office his rescinded controversial regulations, proposed by the previous administration, which addressed the number of continuation applications as well as the number of claims that could be included within each application...  

Oct 7, Asia & Pacific -- September 29, 2009, China's State Intellectual Property Office issued the Notice about Related Matters for Implementing the Revised Patent Law. The notice further clarifies the related matters for filing patent applications and handling other patent issu...  (cpahkltd)

May 16, Europe -- If an invention relates to a 'green' or environmentally-friendly technology, applicants can now request accelerated processing of their application. The "green" patents initiative was partly a result of the recent UK/China Economic and Financial Dialogue...  

Mar 25, Europe -- Axel H. Horns has noted a recent EU Council document on recommendations for opening negotiations for the adoption of an agreement creating a Unified Patent Litigation System, possibly regarding EPC Member States not forming part of the EU (e.g. Turkey)....  ()

Feb 16, Europe -- On February 11, 2009, the French Senate took another step towards unifying the attorney-at-law and patent attorney professions in France, adopting Articles 32 to 50 of a Bill on the Enforcement of Judgments. However, the debate on unification is not over....  (Breese)

Jan 17, All -- India is bristling at the recent confiscation of drug shipment bound for Brazil by Dutch authorities on charges of patent infringement. The drug seized, losartan, is under patent in the Netherlands by US-based DuPont....  

Jan 14, Asia & Pacific -- The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress has voted to revise the country's patent law, effective October 1, 2009. The revisions focus primarily on improving patent quality and patent enforcement....  

Nov 21, Europe -- In January 2008, the European Commission launched an inquiry into competition in the pharmaceuticals sector. Final results are expected in Spring 2009. The inquiry is based onc concerns about competition in Europe's pharmaceuticals markets....  ()

Sep 23, USA -- The landscape of design patent law changed fundamentally following a federal appeals court ruling this week that sets aside the decades-long use of the . . ....  (BLT)

Sep 2, USA -- Intellectual property attorneys are eagerly anticipating a ruling on whether the appointment of certain patent appeals board attorneys since March 2000 violated the appointments clause of the constitution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Ci . . ....  (BLT)