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Proposals for an EU Patent
 ollowing wide-ranging consultation with all interested groups and the European Parliament, at the end of March the European Commission adopted a Communication presenting a series of measures which will eventually make it easier and cheaper to obtain patent protection covering the whole of the European Union. The Communication(1) forms part of the Commission's First Action Plan for Innovation in Europe.
Users of the present patent system want legally defensible protection to be available at a reasonable cost, making the introduction of a unitary patent, valid throughout the Single Market, a priority for the Commission. The new measures lay the foundations for cost-effective pan-EU patent protection, which is expected to promote investment in innovation, boosting employment, growth and competitiveness in the EU. They will especially benefit innovative European businesses.
The measures outlined include:
- a Regulation creating an EU Patent which would be valid, with immediate effect, throughout the EU on the basis of a single application
- a Directive to harmonise conditions for the patentability of inventions related to computer programs
- clarification by the Commission of how patent agents can benefit from rules on freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services throughout the EU
- pilot action to be launched by the Innovation and SMEs programme to support the efforts of national patent offices in promoting innovation.
(1) The full text of the Communication is available at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/intprop/indprop/99.htm
D. Vandergheynst,
European Commission, DG XV/E-2
Tl. +32 2 295 6923
Fx. +32 2 299 3104
E-m. e2@ec.europa.eu
New Networks of Business Angels
 usiness angels are wealthy entrepreneurs willing to invest money and time to support the creation and development of start-up companies. They provide a vital source of finance and management experience for young businesses not yet sufficiently well established to attract venture capital. Indeed, the involvement of a business angel often makes risk capital more accessible, by convincing investors that the project is in competent hands.
However, matching angels to projects is often a matter of luck - few formal channels exist to help either party find suitable partners, although a number of semi-public initiatives in the United Kingdom have proved highly successful. Now Directorate-General XXIII (enterprise policy) has launched a new programme to promote networks of business angels. The programme will fund up to 50% of the cost of one-year feasibility studies relating to the creation of national or regional networks, and of three-year pilot projects aimed at establishing them.
Applications from those wishing to take part in the programme must be submitted before 30 September.
R. Aernoudt,
European Commission, DG XXIII/B-3
Fx. +32 2 295 2154
E-m. rudy.aernoudt@ec.europa.eu
Easier Computer Dating
 t is not always easy to find suitable partners for your research project - especially across national borders. By mid-April, over 3,000 potential participants in the Fifth Research Framework Programme (FP5) had registered with the CORDIS partner search web service.
To make matching easier for the user, a special new 'Expression of Interest' (EoI) section has been launched. Accessible directly from the FP5 home page, the new service allows users to update their own request profiles on-line, using a password provided by the system. Those who are already registered with CORDIS' automatic information delivery service, Rapidus, may use the same password and login name to gain access to the EoI database in order to update their record.
The EoI service is available from the FP5 web service at /fp5/
The Information Society Technologies programme has its own EoI service at /ist/eoi.htm
JRC Heads into the 21st Century
 he new work programme for the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, covering the period 1999-2002, groups projects around four main themes:
- serving the citizen
- enhancing sustainability
- underpinning European competitiveness
- safety and security of nuclear energy
The work programme summarises the scientific and technical objectives of 100 projects which form the basis of the JRC's activities. It reflects the JRC's role as intermediary between European policy- makers and the industrial and scientific communities, and its mission "to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of Community policies".
L. Torell,
European Commission, JRC
Fx. +32 2 296 1835
E-m. lena.torell@ec.europa.eu
http://www.jrc.org/jrc/
Israel Joins FP5
 A scientific and technical co-operation agreement between the European Union and Israel was signed at the beginning of March. The agreement associates Israel with all the non-nuclear activities of the Fifth Research Framework Programme (FP5), and gives European researchers access to Israeli research programmes in similar fields. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel becomes an Associated State, which means that Israeli project participants can receive EU funding.
FP4 produced 350 joint European-Israeli projects, many of which have already produced concrete results. The new agreement signals both parties' commitment to strengthening their co-operation, extending its benefits to a wider group of individuals and institutions. Each has a great deal to gain from the other, not least in pooling their expertise to develop solutions to shared problems - for example in the management of water resources.
European Commission, DG XII/E-3
Fx. +32 2 296 9824
E-m. inco@ec.europa.eu
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January 1999
