Recent estimates suggest that spam now accounts for as much as 60% of all global email traffic, a statistic all too evident to most email users. The content of such emails ranges from unwanted business advertisements to attempts at downright fraud. A recent example at the latter end of the scale purported to be from the lawyers of the late Sir Dennis Thatcher, and sought to dupe recipients into thinking they would receive just shy of a million pounds on providing identification information neede

The issues raised by the parallel trade of pharmaceuticals are rarely out of the European courts for long. This article considers how competition law currently treats parallel trade by pharmaceutical companies, and looks at likely future developments.

The proceedings between SAS Institute Inc ("SAS") and World Programming Limited, ("WPL") which led to an extensive judgment from Mr Justice Arnold in July 2010, have resulted in nine questions, principally relating to the interpretation of the Software Directive, being referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ").

This report covers recently published decisions of interest from the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office.

It is extremely rare for any patent case to make it to England’s highest court. Now, however, within a week, two decisions have been issued which cover three of the main aspects of patent law – infringement, obviousness and sufficiency – as well as redefining one important aspect of the law of novelty.

This is a decision of the TBA in respect of an appeal from the Examining Division refusing the appellant’s application for lack of novelty.

Article 5.3 of Directive 2002/58/EC, which regulates the use of cookies and similar, was amended in 2009.

This case concerned an appeal by the applicant from a decision of the Examining Division to refuse its medical use patent application for lack of novelty.