I checked the list on
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/565&format=HTML
2 nominees from France.
One is prof. Alain Pompidou who just finished a 3 years term as
president of the European Patent Office. I have no precise idea of
his actions there, but it does make me suspicious. The EPO is not
exactly an organisation that promote free use of immaterial resources.
It seems to have a strong inclination the other way, even if its
requires distorting existing laws or treaties.
I am thinking in particular of the extension of patentability to
intangibles, such as software.
On this topic, he was previously a member of a commission of the
French Academy of Technology, in charge of a study of software
patentability. The least I can say is that the study was not conducted
ethically. Their choice of external experts to be audited was totally
and deliberately biased. However it did not really matter since the
report was essentially written before most of them were audited.
Howver, the role of Pompidou in that commission is not visible.
ref on this comission:
http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/observat/innov/carrefour/tabsyn.htm#36
regarding the remark on the writing of the report : this was evidenced
during a discussion with the chair of the commission, witnessed by
journalists.
> Let us wish them well.
Let us hope first they do a good job.
Bernard Lang
* N. Miradon <nmiradon_at_YAHOO.FR> note le 22-04-08 :
> On 11 April 2008 the European Commission announced "the names of 22
> personalities who will make up the European Research Area Board (ERAB).
> These persons ... will provide independent and authoritative advice to the
> European Commission on European research and science policy..." [1]
>
> Let us wish them well. And may the Commission take their advice more
> seriously than it took the advice of their predecessors - e.g. the European
> Research Advisory Board's Final Report "Scientific Publication: Policy On
> Open Access" pub December 2006 [2], which has still not been implemented.
>
> N Miradon
> [1]
> http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/565&format=HTML
> [2]
> http://ec.europa.eu/research/eurab/pdf/eurab_scipub_report_recomm_dec06_en.pdf
> ("Recommendation #4. EURAB recommends that the Commission should consider
> mandating all researchers funded under FP7 to lodge their publications
> resulting from EC-funded research in an open access repository as soon as
> possible after publication, to be made openly accessible within 6 months at
> the latest.")
--
Le brevet logiciel menace votre entreprise
Software patents threaten your company
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Received on Tue Apr 22 2008 - 14:11:11 BST