Articles tagged with: European Union and Inventions

EU project picks up the patent processing pace

EU Member States are promoting the creation of an EU-wide patenting system called 'Community Patent' that would allow individuals and enterprises to obtain a unitary patent common to all. Experts say patents fuel innovation and creativity, thus helping intensify and sustain Europeans' competitiveness. For a team of EU-funded researchers, the use of semantic Web technology could be just what the patent doctor ordered. Backed with EUR 2.5 million in funding, the PatExpert ('Advanced patent document processing techniques') project targeted the development of a functioning service and a change in the paradigm currently being followed for patent processing.  more

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OECD Countries Use Tax Breaks to Drive Corporate R&D Spending

More and more OECD governments are giving firms tax breaks to drive innovation while cutting their direct spending on business research and development (R&D), and are also encouraging public research organisations to commercialise their inventions, according to a new OECD report. According to the report, two thirds of the 30 OECD member countries offered businesses tax subsidies in 2006, up from 12 in 1995, and most have tended to make it more generous over the years. Direct government funding financed an average of 7% of business R&D in 2005, down from 11% in 1995.  more

Related Tags: ict, patents, sharp, tax, oecd