Seizures reported last week include counterfeit luxury goods such as Rolex watches and Gucci bags in the Philippines… Also in the Philippines a number of computers have been seized installed with pirated Microsoft software… Fake auto-parts have been seized and destroyed in the UAE… Pirated computer games, movies and music have been seized in a number of countries including Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

Cases and Outcomes reported last week include federal prosecutors charging six people for their role in a $20 million fake designer clothes smuggling ring… Luxury goods brand Louis Vuitton has won a lawsuit which alleged that a Britney Spears music video breached its IP rights by showing a pink Vuitton-upholstered dashboard… Police in the UK have arrested three people on suspicion of being involved in one of the countries biggest internet-based music and film piracy rings.

Policy developments last week include Taiwan signing a MoU with the Philippines regarding IP protection. Taiwan also signed a similar agreement with Japan last week… In France a three-way agreement between ISP’s, the government and rights owners of film and music, will mean that users who illegally download music or films risk losing their web access.

Studies and reports out last week include one from Japan which shows that the length of civil trials concerning IP rights has halved in the past 10 years… There are a number of conflicting reports out last week regarding the size of the counterfeit pharmaceutical trade in India; the figures vary between 3.1 and 30 percent.