Time for a global patent? Join the President of the European Patent Office in Brussels, 21 April 2009

[CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight]

Colleagues,

A message from the publishers of Science|Business..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time for a global patent?
A Science|Business Policy Bridge meeting, featuring Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office.

21 April 2009, Brussels
Hosted by the Mission of Norway to the European Union
11:30-14:30, Networking lunch included

REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND


Protecting new inventions is vital, everyone agrees – but most also agree that the system that has evolved, piece by piece and region by region, to accomplish that aim globally is in need of serious overhaul. Getting a patent for all the European countries is costly, and a political solution remote.The US and Japan face huge backlogs. Protection in China and other parts of the world remain uncertain. The current international patent process is complex and costly. New technologies – stem cells, software, the Internet – raise legal quandaries that the patent authorities are only gradually resolving. And the current economic crisis adds new urgency.

There is a need for more IP cooperation at an international level, as initiated by the five large offices around the world (EPO, USPTO, JPO, SIPO and KPO).

So what’s the best way forward? That is the subject of an exclusive Science|Business Policy Bridge meeting with Alison Brimelow, the EPO president and a leading force in the future evolution of our intellectual property regime.
REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND

Venue: Norwegian Mission to the European Union
17 Rue Archimède
1000 Brussels
Belgium

For more information, contact [e-mail]

Science|Business is an independent news and events service for early-stage investment in R&D, across Europe, across industries. Drawing on a network of leading journalists and scientific institutions, www.sciencebusiness.net reports on the first wave of technology - licensing, spin-off investment, intellectual property, contract research and corporate R&D management. Its aim: to bridge the gap between academia and industry in Europe.