News

As it celebrates its 5th birthday, the European Research Council is not about to give in to pressure to spread grants more evenly across Europe. Excellence will prevail, says president Helga Nowotny

Policy makers have put innovation and the promotion of entrepreneurship at the heart of economic rejuvenation plans. But can start-ups seriously be expected to end unemployment overnight?

It can be difficult for technology start-ups to locate the support and finance needed to grow

The decline in venture capital funding means that seed funds are even more important to technology start-ups.

When a patent becomes part of an industry standard everyone in the field needs a licence. The Commission says these must be granted on reasonable terms, but who says what is reasonable and how is this policed?

Europe needs a fresh cycle of innovation to create a more “reactive economy” that can absorb shocks and bounce back, the European Education Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou tells the Science|Business European Entrepreneurship Summit

The EIT launches its first awards – ACES enters its fourth year. Start-ups from the UK and Germany lead the list of winners, which also includes Spanish and Hungarian companies.

US patent office offers patent examination at breakneck speed for a price

A private equity firm is to raise the largest specialist fund in the world dedicated to commercialising university R&D. The money will be invested in partnership with three of the UK’s leading research universities

The US patent office has released studies on international patenting and prior user defence, with other reports looking at the US patents scene to follow