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An academic finds that basic research comes in various shades of purity, and that scientists can change their use of the term in mid sentence.

Multinationals have a new weapon in the innovation race: technology scouts. These people scan the globe looking for the next big thing.

Researchers in Denmark have invented a bioplastic material made from dairy products that could replace traditional polymer-based packaging. The technology is currently available for licensing.

French researchers have discovered that an anti-rejection drug could treat Huntington's disease. Intellectual Property based on the research is available for licence.

Are patents too easy to acquire – or too hard? The UK is trying to find out, writes Nuala Moran

134,073: the number of patents filed for via the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 2005, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization – a rise of 9.4 per cent over 2004.

If you think it’s hard to do a biotech start up, try doing it in Poland. You’ll face international condescension, local incredulity and the mysteries of Polish law, says Charles Goldfinger.

Helping UK universities turn their ideas into business has turned into a business of its own – with four IP management companies quoted on London’s Alternative Investment Market.

It is one thing to recognise the need to manage intellectual property like any other strategic resource. But it is quite another to install the systems and devise the processes for doing it.

The climate for R&D-based start-ups in Central and Eastern Europe should be improving. But there’s still a way to go, writes Mary Lisbeth D’Amico.

Acrobot Ltd., a spin-out from Imperial College London, is currently fund raising and is seeking partnerships and licence agreements.

Everyone wants to encourage innovation. But, says Alain de Serres from the OECD, a survey of the world’s leading industrial countries shows they are going about it in different ways and with very different results.

The Scotsman reports on a life sciences industry meeting in Edinburgh, and sparks off some thoughts about Qinetiq.