The EPO's website has a Law and Practice section which includes the European Patent Convention (EPC), the EPO's Official Journal (OJ), legislation, guidelines and case law. The European Patent Register is also available on the site, together with news, factsheets and other information. The site is available in English, French or German.
Website of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain (CSPD) at Duke Law School in the United States. The Center was founded in 2002 and aims to "promote research and scholarship on the contributions of the public domain to speech, culture, science and innovation." The site gives details of lectures and conferences providing papers, Powerpoint presentations and webcasts (requires RealPlayer download) covering topics such as 'Music and Theft: Technology, Sampling and the Law' and 'How Law Constructs and Constrains Culture'.
Free searchable database with English interface providing information on Japanese patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks issued by the Japan Patent Office. Users can search a range of resources applicable to the different types of industrial property including applications, gazettes and bibliographies. A simple search option uses keyword or number searching and an advanced search provides additional parameters eg. date, classification etc. The site also has trial decisions and online help with using the database and the Japanese design classification scheme.
The website of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) provides information about the organisation and its role in representing the US recording industry. One of its key goals is to help protect its members' legal rights in areas such as copyright enforcement and webcasting. Information on the site covers topical matters such as anti-piracy, copyright issues, music copyright notices and music and the internet. There is information about federal, state and international laws governing these areas.
Website of the Patent and Trademark Office of the Principality of Andorra (OMPA) the government department with responsibility for intellectual property matters. The site provides access to full-text intellectual property laws made freely available in English in PDF. These include laws relating to trade names and company names, establishment signs, copyright issues and patents. There are also regulations and guidance to obtaining an ".ad" domain name and laws relating to the use of state emblems and signs.
The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic is the official body with responsibility for industrial property protection covering inventions, industrial designs and trademarks in Slovakia. The site has sections devoted to the various types of industrial property including patents, utility models, designs, topographies of semiconductor products and trademarks. Each section has background information, legislation, guidance for applicants and a link to the relevant database.
This website is produced by the Law Faculty of the University of Alicante in Spain. It covers industrial and intellectual property law and the information society and is aimed at researchers, students, and professionals. The site provides a database of national, international and European Union legislation (in the original language) and a set of links to other relevant websites.
The website of the Hungarian Patent Office provides guidance and legal information on obtaining patents and trademarks in Hungary. Copies of Hungarian laws and regulations are provided online along with contact details of Hungarian patent agents. The site also includes information on plant variety protection, utility model protection, trademarks, designs and copyright issues in Hungary. The Hungarian Industrial Property Database, which has information on patents, utility models, trademarks and designs protected in Hungary, is free to search on the site.
