David Stone, Partner, Intellectual Property, Simmons & Simmons LLP It is not very often that new IP rights are born – and even rarer that they should turn ten years old. This year, EU-wide design law celebrates that significant milestone, …
Europe is entering the ‘age of the referendum’
Stephen Tierney is Professor of Constitutional Theory at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. Referendums have become increasingly common occurrences in European states in recent decades. Stephen Tierney writes on some of the potential benefits …
Making sense of Europe’s Unitary Patent
Gwilym Roberts, Partner and Julia Venner, Associate, Kilburn & Strode, LLP, London, UK As a concept, a unitary European patent has been under discussion, in one form or another, for over four decades. In the last couple of years, however, there …
The Human Brain Project: Unraveling the mysteries of the mind
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Magazine The inner workings of the mind to a large extent remain a mystery. However, a pioneering team of scientists working on the Human Brain Project (HBP), led by Professor Henry Markram, is taking neuroscientific …
A European Commission approach to Innovation
Robert-Jan Smits, British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium Europe is strong on innovation, more than many of us sometimes realise. We have the largest internal market in the world. We are home to many of the world’s leading innovative companies. …
The Real Meaning of Mogherini
Federiga Bindi is a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Jean Monnet Chair at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. “At times in foreign policy, we make mistakes …
Ukraine – Time for Real Action
Michael Sonenshine is based in Prague and has lived and worked in Central and Eastern Europe since 1992. He is CEO of Symfonie Capital, LLC. The Ukrainian government faces a serious dilemma in Eastern Ukraine. The pro‐Russian forces operate a …
An app that helps you buy good food at the best price
Nothing to cook for dinner? While rushing to the supermarket, you will soon be able to consult the FoodLoop app and find the best offers close to you. This system – made possible thanks to an EU-funded toolbox – informs you if …
EU ‘stands ready’ to impose further sanctions on Russia
The European Sanctions blog by Maya Lester, Brick Court Chambers & Michael O’Kane, Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP The Council of the European Union held a special meeting on (inter alia) Ukraine yesterday. Its conclusions state that it “stands ready” to take “further significant steps in the light of …
The rejection of the euro by Scottish National Party
James Stafford is Commissioning Editor of ‘Renewal: a Journal of Social Democracy’. He is also a PhD candidate in History at the University of Cambridge. The Scottish National Party (SNP) have advocated the creation of a formal currency union between …