Intellectual property concepts assume new dimensions as green products increasingly dominate an environmentally conscious market. Discover the role of intellectual property in encouraging innovation, handling green trademark infringements, authenticating eco-label claims…and more.

This week's BPSpecial highlights the new vistas in patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property concepts that have been opened by the green revolution. What happens when counterfeiters get a hold of your eco-friendly product? What's the UK's Intellectual Property Office doing to make sure green innovation starts young? How do patents measure the growth of green technology? Does the Green Dot trademark conflict open the floodgates for other green-related litigation? Finally, does "greenwashing" equal counterfeiting? Our BPSpecial on green intellectual property answers these questions and more.  

Previous BPSpecials:

March 2008 – Scene Stealers: Why All the World's a Stage for…Piracy!

Even before the big night, DVD screeners intended for Oscar voters were popping up all over file-sharing networks. BPCouncil takes you backstage into the world of entertainment piracy. Our stories range from Nielsen's latest anti-piracy web tool and Nintendo's aggressive anti-counterfeiting campaign…to the EU proposal to extend copyright protection for sound recordings, the technologies behind Oscar piracy, and MPA's successful Operation Blackout initiative…and more!

February 2008 – Will China's IP Fortunes Change?

One step forward, two steps back encapsulates China's efforts in redeeming its good name in the world of brand protection and intellectual property. Discover Microsoft's new anti-piracy system to protect China's software industry's IP rights…the country's continually evolving copyright laws and their impact…the world's most wanted counterfeiter, new (encouraging) figures on China's electronic authentication market…the continuing allure (and chutzpah) of Silk Street…and more!

January 2008 – The Art of the Fake

In galleries, auction houses, online auction sites (and, can you believe, Costco?), there's a high surge in purchases of counterfeit art. Read about the famous "Bolton Forgers" who almost got away with it…a new guide for artists and designers on how to protect their creative work…new technologies that can detect fakes through the oil painting pigment…how Costco found itself a defendant in a counterfeit lawsuit…and how various personalities, organizations and enforcement agencies are working to stem the tide of art fraud.

December 2007 – Image Makers, Image Breakers

Holidays: 'tis the season for giving…and for booming counterfeit business!  Here's the lowdown on haute counterfeiting – from the technologies to prevent it to the laws that can possibly reverse it…from the steps taken by brand owners to the initiatives adopted by law enforcement. Most important, we'll tackle just why consumers' lust for counterfeit luxury goods continues to bolster the image breakers at the expense of the image makers.