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US Supreme Court examines key patent issues

Tectonic shifts in the patent landscape could follow on from high-profile lawsuits challenging what can be protected by a patent and how patents are enforced that are due to be heard by the US Supreme Court this month.

German angels seek the light

Business angels in German-speaking countries have traditionally been shy about what they do. Mary Lisbeth D'Amico watches them come out of hiding.

German VC - back on track

Friedrich Bornikoel, managing partner for TVM Capital's Information & Communications Technology group, sees a recovery in German venture capital - but still no boom.

Barren ground for agricultural research in Europe

Europe's aversion to GM crops has killed investors' appetites for agricultural research. Even in the UK, historically a world leader in this field, it is almost impossible to commercialise agricultural biotechnology of any kind.

Roche spin-out BioXell raises €10.5M

BioXell, an Italian spin-out from Roche, said it has raised €10.5 million in funding from an extension of its Series C round which was first closed in October, 2004. TVM Capital, one of Germany’s biggest venture capital funds, led the financing.

Soccer it to them

We stray from the usual stuff of R&D to report on a development that will doubtless appeal to those sad souls who are preparing for World Cup fever.

The Innovation Manifesto

In the 1980s, it was fashionable for European politicians to fret about the “technology gap” between the old and new worlds: the United States dominated trade in computers, software, airplanes and missiles. To redress the balance, Europe mustered billions in government subsidies for its failing tech industries. A generation later, only the aerospace industry has really responded – yet once again, the European Union is planning a new round of tech subsidies, in its €54.5 billion, seven-year “Framework 7” programme. Will it do any good?