05/12/2008

European Union. The Council adopts key conclusions in the fields of research and innovation and intellectual property

The last Competitiveness Council (research) recently adopted a number of important conclusions for Community research and innovation policies. They concern the following areas: competitive clusters in Europe; the "2020 Vision" for the European Research Area; the joint programming of research in Europe; international science and technology cooperation; and marine and maritime research.

The Council meeting was also an opportunity to take note of the progress report from the French presidency on the discussions to create a Community patent and establish an EU patent court. A number of issues remain to be examined, specifically the composition of the judicial panels, the language arrangements, jurisdiction on validity, the control exercised by the Court of Justice, the financing of the judicial system and the transitional arrangements. As regards the Community patent, the Member States reiterated concerns in relation to costs and the language arrangements.

The Council also took note of a progress report on a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2006/116. The discussions will continue in the working group on issues related to the extension of the term of protection of related rights enjoyed by performers and phonogram producers.

Related Links:
French Presidency Press release
Competitiveness Council conclusions (provisional version)

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