New innovation policy studies released on CORDIS
A study on candidate countries' innovation policy and a guide to software patenting are now available as part of a range of new innovation studies published on CORDIS, the European Commission's Research and Development Information Service. The candidate country report, 'Innovation policy issues in six applicant countries: the challenges,' is now available on CORDIS' innovation and SME (small and medium sized enterprises) service. It examines selected innovation indicators in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus to offer a comparative overview of the current innovation environment, new developments and the enlargement process as well as the challenges ahead for policy makers and stakeholders. The report also provides individual country profiles and proposals to set up a scoreboard along the lines of the European Innovation Scoreboard benchmarking initiative. A guide on software patenting for SMEs is also downloadable from the CORDIS site. 'Your Software and how to protect it: a guide for small businesses on how to protect the software you have developed' provides quick, easy-to-digest information on the best way to use patents. It offers guidance on the benefits, costs and risks of formal or informal software protection. CORDIS currently offers access to a wealth of previous studies on innovation policy, technology transfer, financing, innovation management and regional issues. It also offers links to forthcoming studies scheduled for release in 2001 or 2002.