The IPKat brings some news of recent developments in the field of international IP:The Islamic Republic of Iran has acceded to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, as amended to 1979. The Agreement enters into force for Iran on 9 March 2006. Iranian foods and recipes here.
WIPO's PCT Notification No. 172 lists amendments made to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that were adopted on 5 October 2005. These amendments take effect from 1 April 2006. If you're a PCT user, note that the amendments affect Rules 4.9, 13bis.4, 26bis.2, 47.1, 48.1, 48.2, 48.3, 86.1, 86.2, 87.1, 87.2 and 91.1
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has acceded to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, which will enter into force there on 22 March 2006.
Following hard on the heels of the UK, the Republic of Finland has acceded to the Patent Law Treaty with effect from 6 March 2006.
There has been a small modification to UK copyright law too: the grotesquely-named Copyright (Certification of Licensing Scheme for Educational Recordings of Broadcasts and Cable Programmes) (Educational Recording Agency Ltd (Revocation) Order 2006, SI 2006 No. 35 has recently been published; it came into force on 9 January 2006 and repeals an Order relating to an earlier licensing scheme which has ceased to be of effect.Finally the UK's draft Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 - which seek to bring UK law in line with the requirements of the EU's IP Enforcement Directive - have been put online together with a request for comments, which should be sent to Jeff Watson here.