Ladas & Parry Home Page

<script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><body BACKGROUND="LPBackground.GIF"><CENTER><IMG SRC="LadasLogo.GIF" ALT="[LADAS & PARRY LOGO]" WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=54 ALIGN=middle></CENTER><PRE></PRE><CENTER> </CENTER><H2><CENTER>Ladas & Parry Home Page</CENTER></H2><P>These World Wide Web pages are intended to help keep our clientsand other interested parties abreast of changes in the laws governingthe protection of <B>intellectual property rights</B> around theworld. Intellectual property refers to a collection of rights createdin the law to protect inventions, ideas, trademarks, trade names,written compositions, computer programs, fine art, music, soundrecordings and the like. These pages contain information which wehope will prove useful to you. While we believe the informationpresented is accurate, as the reader will note by reference to theinformation provided, changes occur frequently and thus we cannot beheld responsible for any errors or misstatements. These pages are nota substitute for competent legal advice. If you have a legal problem,you should seek the advice of a lawyer who is knowledgeable in thesefields. Finally, use of the information set out in these pages shouldnot be taken as establishing any contractual or other form ofattorney-client relationship between Ladas & Parry and the userof this information.</P><CENTER><IMG SRC="smlpbar.GIF" WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=6 ALIGN=bottom></CENTER><PRE></PRE><H2><CENTER>Announcements</CENTER></H2><P><IMG SRC="PleaseNote.GIF" WIDTH=89 HEIGHT=19 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Someof the articles in these are taken from <B>Newsletters</B> and<B>Special Information Bulletins</B> published by Ladas & Parrywhich report recent developments in intellectual property law fromaround the world. Our <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/BULLETINS/1997/1297Bulletin/BULLETIN.1297.html">December1997 Newsletter</A> is available on-line. More and more of ourearlier Newsletters are being made available <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/ladasnews.html">on-line!</A>Look for our next Newsletter which will be published in these pages.If you wish to receive copies of our newsletters by mail, <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/FORMS/LPNewsletterRequestForm.html">pleaselet us know</A>.</P><P><IMG SRC="New.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 BORDER=0 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Ourpaper on <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/ForeignPatLit/Foreign_Patent_Litigation.html">ForeignPatent Litigation</A> has been updated to discuss patent litigationin <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/ForeignPatLit/Mexico_Patent_Litigation.html">Mexico</A>.The paper now addresses patent litigation not only in Europe and theFar East, but also in the United States' NAFTA partners, <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/ForeignPatLit/Canada_Patent_Litigation.html">Canada</A>and <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/ForeignPatLit/Mexico_Patent_Litigation.html">Mexico</A>.</P><P><IMG SRC="New.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 BORDER=0 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Complementingour article about <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/Biotechnology.USA.html" TARGET=content>U.S.Patent Practice in Biotechnology</A>, we are pleased to makeavailable to our readers an article concerning <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/EPOBiotechInventions/EPOBiotechPractice.html" TARGET=content>RecentDevelopments Chemical and Biochemical Practice at the EPO</A>. If youare involved with either chemical technology or biotechnology andEuropean Patents, you will want to read this timely article.</P><P><IMG SRC="New.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 BORDER=0 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Wehave posted an article about <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COPYRIGHT/Copyright.USA.1996.html" TARGET="_top">RecentCase Law and Legislative Developments in Copyright Law in the UnitedStates</A> - The Copyright Law protects not only computer programsand works of fine art, but also much of what you see on the Internet.This article examines case law development of copyright law in1996.</P><P><IMG SRC="New.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 BORDER=0 ALIGN=left hspace=4>HongKong reverted to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. In the closinghours of British rule, the Hong Kong government was busy changing itsIntellectual Porperty laws to harmonize them with China's laws. Anote entitled <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/HongKongIPLaws.html">Hong Kong - Amendment ofIntellectual Property Laws</A> summarizes the changes made to HongKong's Intellectual Property Laws.</P><P><IMG SRC="new1.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Patentlitigation abroad is different from the United States, both havingregard to substantive law, but also in matters of procedure and thecultural milieu in which the legal system operates. A recent paper,simply, but aptly titled <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/ForeignPatLit/Foreign_Patent_Litigation.html" TARGET="_top">ForeignPatent Litigation</A>, summarizes differences in substantive law andprocedure that are relevant to the planning of patent litigationabroad.</P><P><IMG SRC="new1.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 ALIGN=left hspace=4>Recentamendments to the U.S. Patent Law and the Court of Appeals for theFederal Circuit's decisions in In re Brouwer and In re Ochiai areexpected to have significant impacts on the prosecution andlitigation of process claims for chemical and biotechnologicalinventions. If you are involved with biotechnology relatedinventions, be sure to read both our new article entitled <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/PATENT/Durden-ProcessClaims.html">Patentabilityof Process Claims in the U.S.</A> and our earlier report on <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/Biotechnology.USA.html">U.S.Patent Practice in Biotechnology</A>.</P><P><IMG SRC="new1.GIF" WIDTH=40 HEIGHT=20 ALIGN=left hspace=4>DomainNames, e.g., "yourcompany.com" or "yourtrademark.com" are beingknocked off every week. Ladas & Parry is pleased to announce thatwe have adding a new service to our <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/WATCH/tmwatch.html">TrademarkWatch Service</A> whereby new domain names registered in the U.S. cannow be watched. Check out our <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/WATCH/dnwatch.html">DomainName Watch Service</A> if you are interested in this importanttopic.</P><CENTER><IMG SRC="smlpbar.GIF" WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=6 ALIGN=bottom></CENTER><PRE></PRE><H2><CENTER>Recent Developments in the World of IntellectualProperty</CENTER></H2><P> </P><DL> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/TRADEMARKS/MakingSenseTM.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Making Sense of Trademarks</A> - Color, sound and scent marks have been protected in the United States when the colors, sounds and scents involved are properly distinctive for the products or services concerned. Find out if are they protected internationally. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/CommunityTrademark.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Community Trademarks</A> - The Community Trademark office is open for business. Learn more about protecting trademarks in Europe by reading this article. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/Biotechnology.USA.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>U.S. Patent Practice in Biotechnology</A> - The United States provides one of the major markets for biotechnology and therefore any developments in U.S. patent law are of significant interest to biotechnology industries around the world. Recent changes to U.S. patent law will certainly impact <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/Biotechnology.USA.html">U.S. Patent Practice in Biotechnology</A>. If you are involved with biotechnology, be sure to read about the recent developments in the U.S. You may also want to read about <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/BIOTECH/EPOBiotechInventions/EPOBiotechPractice.html" TARGET=content>Recent Developments Chemical and Biochemical Practice at the EPO</A> as well. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/Madrid.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protocol to the Madrid Agreement</A> - The Mardrid Agreement provides a means of filing for an International trademark registration. For a number of reasons, the United States, and a number of other major countries, have not joined the Madrid Agreement. A new Protocol to the Madrid Agreement make it more acceptable to the countries which have resisted joining it in the past. Read about the <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/Madrid.html">Protocol to the Madrid Agreement</A>, from a non-European perspective, as there may be an International Trademark registration in your future! <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/ProvisionalPatentApps.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Provisional Patent Applications</A> - the United States Patent Act was recently amended to provide for the filing of provisional Patent Applications which provide certain advantages and disadvantages for both foreign and domestic inventors. You may find that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/gatt.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>GATT's effects on U.S. & Foreign Intellectual Property Laws</A> - Latest information on changes in U.S. and foreign patent, trademark and copyright laws caused by GATT. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/japannews.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Japanese Patent Law Amendments</A> - A brief summary of recent changes made in the Japanese Patent Law. <P> </P></DD></DL><CENTER><IMG SRC="smlpbar.GIF" WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=6 ALIGN=bottom></CENTER><PRE></PRE><CENTER><A NAME=tableofcontents></A></CENTER><H2><CENTER>Table of Contents</CENTER></H2><P>This Table of Contents provides quick access to the informationyou need. From the Table of Contents you will be taken directly toother WWW pages by simply clicking on the underlined text.</P><H3>Information about Ladas & Parry</H3><DL> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/LADASINFO/FirmResume.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Ladas & Parry Firm Resume</A> - Our history, people and capabilities.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/LADASINFO/ladasoffice.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Ladas & Parry Offices</A> - Ladas & Parry Offices and How to Contact us.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/ladasnews.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Newsletters and Special Information Bulletins</A> - Issues back through 1994 are available on-line. You can subscribe to our newsletter and obtain copies of back issues.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/WATCH/tmwatch.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Trademark, Company Name and Domain Name Watch Services</A> - Protect your trademarks or others will acquire them.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/disclaimer.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Our Disclaimer</A> - Read this, especially if you have a legal matter which needs attention. <P> </P></DD></DL><H3>Information about Patents</H3><DL> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/patpers.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Patent Perspectives</A> - How and why patents are obtained.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/patcoun.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Patents are of National Origin</A> - Patents are issued by governments.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/patintl.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protecting Inventions Internationally</A> - International protection of an invention has many pitfalls.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/epo.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protecting Inventions in Europe</A> - The European Patent Office (EPO).<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/epopatent.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Recent Decisions of the European Patent Office (EPO)</A> - A brief summary of recent decisions by the European Patent Office affecting patent protection in Europe.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/gatt.html#GATTPAT"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>GATT Imposed Changes to Patent Laws</A> - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) impacts the patent laws of many countries. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COMPUTER/Computer.USA.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Ladas & Parry Guide to Statutory Protection for Computer Software in the United States</A> - This article examines not only recent changes in patent law which make the patenting of software related inventions more feasible, but also looks at recent trends in copyright protection of computer software and semiconductor chip protection.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COMPUTER/Computer.EPOJP.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protection of Computer Software Related Inventions in Europe and Japan</A> - Computer software related inventions can also be protected in many other countries of the world, including Japan and most of the countries of Europe. Given the economic incentives of using the European Patent Office, this paper briefly reviews the protection of such inventions at the European and Japanese Patent Offices. <P> </P></DD></DL><H3>Information about Trademarks</H3><DL> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/tminfo.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Trademarks</A> - They are the identity of your products or services.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/tmprot.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protect them or lose them</A> - So, you think you own 'your' trademark?.<BR> </DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/WATCH/tmwatch.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Watch that Trademark!</A> - How to guard against trademark pirates and domain name knock offs.<BR> </DD></DL><H3>Information about Copyrights and the Protection of Software</H3><DL> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COMPUTER/Computer.EPOJP.html" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Protection of Software-related Inventions in Europe and Japan</A> - Patents can be used to protect software related inventions in many countries. Two areas of particular interest outside of the United States are Europe and Japan. This paper briefly reviews of the patenting of software and computer technology inventions in Europe and in Japan. If you are interested in this area of the law you will also want to read the <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COMPUTER/Computer.USA.html" TARGET="_top">Ladas & Parry Guide to Statutory Protection for Computer Software in the United States</A>. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COMPUTER/Computer.USA.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Ladas & Parry Guide to Statutory Protection for Computer Software in the United States</A> - Learn about recent trends in copyright protection of computer software as well as semiconductor chip protection and patent protection of computer technology inventions. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COPYRIGHT/Copyright.USA.1996.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Recent Caselaw and Legislative Developments in Copyright Law in the United States</A> - The Copyright Law protects not only computer programs and works of fine art, but also much of what you see on the Internet. This article examines case law development of copyright law in 1996. A similar article regarding developments in copyright law for the year 1995 is also <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/COPYRIGHT/Copyright.USA.1995.html" TARGET="_top">available on line</A>. <P> </P></DD> <DD><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/NII/NIITofC.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4>Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure</A>. This is a hypertext version of this paper, published by the Information Infrastructure Task Force of the Department of Commerce. This paper delves into possible changes to U.S. Intellectual Property Laws, and particularly to U.S. Copyright law, to make them fit better with the emerging technologies of the information age.</DD> <DT> </DT></DL><H3>Information about Licensing Intellectual Property Rights</H3><BLOCKQUOTE><A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/GUIDES/LICENSING/InternationalIPLicensing/index.html"><IMG SRC="smlpbutton.GIF" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=11 BORDER=0 ALIGN=bottom hspace=4> International Licensing: Structuring Deals Worldwide</A>. Licensing of intellectual property rights outside the United States contains all of the challenges associated with such licensing in this country and a number of additional ones. The additional challenges have both cultural and legal aspects. This paper concentrates primarily on legal issues which should be borne in mind when licensing Intellectual Property rights on a worldwide scale.</BLOCKQUOTE><CENTER><IMG SRC="smlpbar.GIF" WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=6 ALIGN=bottom></CENTER><P><A NAME=mail></A> <A HREF="mailto:webmaster@ladasparry.com"><IMG SRC="Mailto2.GIF" WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=68 BORDER=0 ALIGN=left hspace=4></A>Foradditional information, or if you have comments regarding thesepages, you may e-mail <A HREF="mailto:webmaster@ladasparry.com"><EM>webmaster@ladasparry.com</EM></A> -please note that messages transmitted via e-mail over the Internetare not secure and therefore should not contain any confidentialinformation. Also, not all browsers support this e-mail function.Thus, you may wish to use our <A HREF="http://www.ladas.com/FORMS/LPSubmissionForm.html">Ladas& Parry Comment Submission Form</A> to transmit non-confidentialcomments to us.<BR></P><CENTER><BR>Updated on 12/22/97<BR>Copyright © 1997 LADAS & PARRY<BR>webmaster@ladasparry.com<P><BR>http://www.ladas.com</P></CENTER><P></P><script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></body>