National Instruments announced a new suite of software and hardware intellectual property (IP) to make using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in measurement, control and signal processing applications easier.

The author of “Harry Potter” J.K.Rowling together with the maker of the film about the small wizard are trying to avert publishing the book version of a Web site about Harry Potter.

The allegations that China is providing a safe haven for product piracy and counterfeiting are to be investigated by the World Trade Organization. The U.S. complaint over China's enforcement of intellectual property rights is the culmination of years of agitation in Washington and elsewhere over one of the world's biggest sources of illegally copied goods, ranging from DVDs, CDs and designer clothes to sporting goods and medications.

HP announced that Germany-based Pelikan Hardcopy Deutschland GmbH and the Swiss Pelikan Hardcopy (International) AG have admitted claims asserted by HP in an action for patent infringement filed with the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany.

Intellectual property theft has cost the U.S. economy some $250 billion, according to some estimates, and more than 700,000 American jobs. But product counterfeiting also hurts those who buy the fakes because they are often of poor quality and, in the case of pirated pharmaceuticals, can be dangerous. U.S. government officials say they are doing all they can to stop intellectual property theft, especially in China where much of the counterfeit goods are made.

The top U.S. official in charge of protecting intellectual property rights says Chinese counterfeiters are often one step ahead of China's intellectual property rights enforcement agencies.