The newest patentability assessment tool from Google is referenced at Out-Law.com, which refers to Google's new EPO Prior Art Finder for the European Union, as described by Jon Orwant, Google engineering manager.
The new tool continues a patent finding tradition at Google that started with Google Patent Search in 2006 for USPTO patents.
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Unified Patents in the EU, nearly: Unified Patent Court to be located in Paris, London and Munich for 25 EU Member States as Italy and Spain Opt Out
Owen Bowcott, the legal affairs correspondent at the Guardian, reports that a new European Union EU Unified Patent Court will be split between Paris, London and Munich as the European Council Summit OKd the new unified court
-- except for Spain and Italy, who opted out.
The agreement of the European leaders means that a single patent at some time in the future -- perhaps by 2014 when the court has been set up -- will be valid across the other 25 European Union Member States.
Advocates of States' Rights in the USA should examine the disconcerting Spanish and Italian opt out. That kind of undesired development is what happens when federalism is too weak and legal authority is watered down by local action.
-- except for Spain and Italy, who opted out.
The agreement of the European leaders means that a single patent at some time in the future -- perhaps by 2014 when the court has been set up -- will be valid across the other 25 European Union Member States.
Advocates of States' Rights in the USA should examine the disconcerting Spanish and Italian opt out. That kind of undesired development is what happens when federalism is too weak and legal authority is watered down by local action.
EUPundit Available in Mobile Phone Smartphone Format via DudaMobile
The following is a service, for YOU, our readers.
We thank you for your understanding.
EU Pundit is now available in simplified mobile phone format
via DudaMobile -- check out this link to test your phone type (when you get to that page, the phone types can be clicked in the column at the left):
http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/eupundit_blogspot_5
Smartphones that access EUPundit at the normal online link
will now automatically be redirected to that Dudamobile page.
This is a free service of DudaMobile for which they put ads at the top and bottom of the EUPundit page over which we have no control and in which revenue we do not share.
If enough readers would send us donations, we could pay for the service outright and get rid of those ads, but donations are few and far between. Our ISandIS Network gets about 100,000 hits a year - but thus far we have zero donations. Well, one tries these things out.
We still regard this as a "testing phase" so let us know if there is anything that you do not like.
We thank you for your understanding.
EU Pundit is now available in simplified mobile phone format
via DudaMobile -- check out this link to test your phone type (when you get to that page, the phone types can be clicked in the column at the left):
http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/eupundit_blogspot_5
Smartphones that access EUPundit at the normal online link
will now automatically be redirected to that Dudamobile page.
This is a free service of DudaMobile for which they put ads at the top and bottom of the EUPundit page over which we have no control and in which revenue we do not share.
If enough readers would send us donations, we could pay for the service outright and get rid of those ads, but donations are few and far between. Our ISandIS Network gets about 100,000 hits a year - but thus far we have zero donations. Well, one tries these things out.
We still regard this as a "testing phase" so let us know if there is anything that you do not like.
Monday, July 02, 2012
Paul Krugman Calls it Europe’s Great Illusion: Are Inflation and Monetary Devaluation via Increased Spending the Only Real Solutions?
Paul Krugman's most recent piece at the New York Times is Europe’s Great Illusion, writing inter alia in the aftermath of the recent -- in our eyes "relatively successful" -- Eurozone summit meeting:
We presume that the reason is because the USA and the EU are the biggest bilateral trading and investment partners in the world (with China soon overtaking) whose fortunes are inextricably entwined.
The transatlantic economy has traditionally been the world's motor, as can be seen from these figures from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU):
Hat tip to CaryGEE.
"Over the past few months I’ve read a number of optimistic assessments of the prospects for Europe. Oddly, however, none of these assessments argue that Europe’s German-dictated formula of redemption through suffering has any chance of working. Instead, the case for optimism is that failure — in particular, a breakup of the euro — would be a disaster for everyone, including the Germans, and that in the end this prospect will induce European leaders to do whatever it takes to save the situation."We agree with Paul Krugman on much of his basic macroeconomics, but are recently somewhat more concerned about why he continues to pounce on the economy of Europe rather than on the economic situation in the United States.
We presume that the reason is because the USA and the EU are the biggest bilateral trading and investment partners in the world (with China soon overtaking) whose fortunes are inextricably entwined.
The transatlantic economy has traditionally been the world's motor, as can be seen from these figures from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU):
"Trade in goods
- EU good exports to the US in 2010: €242.1 billion
- EU goods imports from the US in 2010: €169.5 billion
Trade in services
- EU services exports to the US 2010: €125.2 billion
- EU services imports from the US in 2010: €131.0 billion
Foreign Direct Investment
- EU investment flows to the US in 2009: €79.2 billion
- US investment flows to the EU in 2009: €97.3 billion
- Investment stocks inward in 2009: €1044 billion
- Investment stocks outward in 2009: €1134 billion
More statistics on USA"What would be useful to see from Krugman is an analysis of the people and institutions to whom the money of the debt crisis is OWED and why (or not) they should be saved from their bad investments viz. loans and why money speculators, banks looking for absurd returns from sovereign nations -- and failing, hedge funds, and their ilk, etc. should be rewarded for what is nothing other than monetary gambling. That is a far more important question than all this theoretical economic bantering.
Hat tip to CaryGEE.
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Europe Agrees to Bailout as Leaders of 17-Nation Euro Zone (Eurozone) Agree to Roll Over Existing Debt and Recapitalize Troubled Banks Directly Out of the ESM
Europeans Agree to Use Bailout Fund to Aid Banks is the headline by Steven Erlanger and Paul Geitner at the New York Times Global Business with Reuters.
The solution agreed to by the 17-member Euro zone (Eurozone) is something that has been apparent as an alternative for a long time, which is that existing debt must be rolled over and troubled banks recapitalized directly from the Eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
For skeptics, just presume that the people doing this bailout understand banking and also appreciate what "money" at the level of billions and trillions represents.
Debt is never just "one-sided".
You have people and institutions who owe money, and you have people and institutions to whom money is owed.
So why is THAT a crisis? That is the normality in banking.
When trouble surfaces, that can always be settled at the level of nations, much in the same way that personal bankruptcies can be settled.
There is an old saying that goes something along the lines that "fun" does not create alliances, but that sharing "trouble" does, so that all-in-all, the Eurozone's problems are probably good for creating a stronger Europe.
The solution agreed to by the 17-member Euro zone (Eurozone) is something that has been apparent as an alternative for a long time, which is that existing debt must be rolled over and troubled banks recapitalized directly from the Eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
For skeptics, just presume that the people doing this bailout understand banking and also appreciate what "money" at the level of billions and trillions represents.
Debt is never just "one-sided".
You have people and institutions who owe money, and you have people and institutions to whom money is owed.
So why is THAT a crisis? That is the normality in banking.
When trouble surfaces, that can always be settled at the level of nations, much in the same way that personal bankruptcies can be settled.
There is an old saying that goes something along the lines that "fun" does not create alliances, but that sharing "trouble" does, so that all-in-all, the Eurozone's problems are probably good for creating a stronger Europe.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
European Union and Eurozone Deficits and the USA's Romney: What Does Mitt Romney Know About Europe? or about Public Debt and GDP? Find Out Here.
At ABC News, Shushannah Walshe has an article titled
Romney Says That Without Him, US Will Become ‘Like Europe’.
How much does Romney know about Europe? and what about his views on the European "financial crisis"?
Do the facts support what Romney is preaching in the USA, or is this just another example of domestic election campaigning hype with no support in the actual facts?
Romney is quoted as saying that:
We took a look at current IMF and CIA/Eurostat stats on national debt via the Wikipedia. A country's debt is usually calculated as the amount of public debt it has taken as a percentage of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).
Here is that data to which we have added an EU "label" to the EU Member States, FOUR (4) of which have a higher public debt as a Percentage (%) of GDP than the USA and TWENTY-THREE (23) of which have a lower public debt as a Percentage (%) of GDP when compared to the United States.
Hence, the government deficits that Romney is talking about in a
comparison of the USA and Europe come out on the whole in favor of
Europe.
See Deseret News similarly.
What Romney does not appear to realize is that the debt that is hurting some EU countries is of a different kind, and is rooted in evil practices of financial and business institutions, practices that still have to be eradicated and/or corrected, not just in Europe but also in the USA.
See the TOTAL DEBT stats (not just public debt), which point to financial and banking problems other than government deficits and government spending.
As for Europe in general, Mitt Romney can only wish that somewhere down the road America would become more like Europe, for example, in the quality of education or universality of health care.
In fact, the USA is miles behind Europe in many important parameters, including the general quality of the infrastructure as applied to roads, highways, bridges, airports, manufacturing. You name it.
Except for selected areas of high tech, America's leadership has declined steadily over past decades because much of the country has been resting on its laurels and its past greatness, rather than moving forward and doing what needs to be done.
Absolutely surreal in this context, by the way, as reported at Desert News in Mitt Romney economic adviser makes waves, provokes President Obama is the fact that last week, Glenn Hubbard, a former George W. Bush economic advisor (no more of those disastrous economics, please !), dean of the Columbia B-School and Mitt Romney's chief economic adviser (not a good sign for Romney's election chances), wrote an op-ed article for a German business publication urging Europeans "not to learn from America," thus drawing fire from U.S. President Obama, not only for mixing in where he has no business being, but also giving the wrong advice to Europe to boot.
Hubbard advocated the idiotic tax cuts for the wealthy that helped to put America in the financial predicament in which it currently finds itself. One always hopes that people who have committed so many harmful errors for society would fade into woodwork, but that is wishful thinking. They keep trying to get it right. Please, go play golf in central Florida.
Our advice to Mitt Romney if he really wanted to get elected President would be to educate himself about the world's finances, get savvy about Europe and find economic advisors who are not living in yesterday or in dogmatic ivory towers far removed from the economic realities.
Modern economies thrive on a credit-based economy. Look at the list above and you will see that most of the poorer countries have low ratios of public debt to the percentage of GDP, but low debt has not helped them in their poverty, nor has it helped their countries to get wealthy. A man of simple wants and desires can get by with less and simple work.
Men and women who are working to pay for overhyped and overpriced smartphones and pc tablets that they may really not be able to afford -- not to mention bubbled residential real estate priced far above true value -- drive the system. If we all settled for what we really need and for which we had cash in the bank, the world economy would crumble to dust.
Much of the debt of the industrialized Western world is nothing more than deferred taxation and calculated inflation that ultimately will find no other solution than printing more money to account for that.
When problems surface, things like money and credit have to be adjusted.
All this talk about a Eurozone crisis is just yellow journalism and stupid economics.
In the EU, a country like Spain has in fact much less public debt than the United States of America in terms of each country's GDP, so that pointing to a reduction of government deficits and spending is simply not the solution to its current economic situation.
Quite the contrary, to get those armies of unemployed off the streets, you spend money to create jobs, by borrowing or printing money as it were, as Paul Krugman and other savvy economists correctly recommend. And you start bearing down hard on banking practices.
There is no need to panic.
Down the road the matters will be solved.
People have to remember that the DEBT is owed to SOMEBODY.
To solve these financial matters, you start pushing THEM.
They know better than anyone else, what the game is, that is being played.
Crossposted at LawPundit.
Romney Says That Without Him, US Will Become ‘Like Europe’.
How much does Romney know about Europe? and what about his views on the European "financial crisis"?
Do the facts support what Romney is preaching in the USA, or is this just another example of domestic election campaigning hype with no support in the actual facts?
Romney is quoted as saying that:
"If I were not to … get elected, we would instead in my view become more like Europe with higher deficits, with a debt that could put us in a Greece or Spain or Italy-like circumstance...."Oh, really?
We took a look at current IMF and CIA/Eurostat stats on national debt via the Wikipedia. A country's debt is usually calculated as the amount of public debt it has taken as a percentage of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).
Here is that data to which we have added an EU "label" to the EU Member States, FOUR (4) of which have a higher public debt as a Percentage (%) of GDP than the USA and TWENTY-THREE (23) of which have a lower public debt as a Percentage (%) of GDP when compared to the United States.
So which Europe is Romney talking about?
Not the one that we live in.
List
of Public Debt of the
World's Countries (States)
as % of GDP
World's Countries (States)
as % of GDP
(adapted from Wikipedia)
Public debt, International Monetary Fund,
April 2012 World Economic Outlook Database.
** marks data from The World Factbook, (est = estimated).
_____
USA debt here does not include state debt issued
by individual US states and intra-government debt
(amounts owed to Medicare & Social Security funds
are the largest portion of "intra-government" debt)[4].
Public debt, International Monetary Fund,
April 2012 World Economic Outlook Database.
** marks data from The World Factbook, (est = estimated).
_____
USA debt here does not include state debt issued
by individual US states and intra-government debt
(amounts owed to Medicare & Social Security funds
are the largest portion of "intra-government" debt)[4].
We have added the (EU) label to the 27 EU Member States, 4 of which
have greater public debt as a % of GDP than the USA and 23 of which have less.
have greater public debt as a % of GDP than the USA and 23 of which have less.
Country
(State)
|
(IMF)
[3]
|
Date
|
229.77
|
2011
|
|
Greece (EU)
|
160.81
|
2011
|
153.41
|
2011
|
|
138.98
|
2011
|
|
136.22
|
2011
|
|
133.82
|
2011
|
|
Italy (EU)
|
120.11
|
2011
|
117.25
|
2011
|
|
Portugal (EU)
|
106.79
|
2011
|
Ireland
(EU)
|
104.95
|
2011
|
102.94
|
2011
|
|
100.79
|
2011
|
|
99.19
|
2011
|
|
Belgium (EU)
|
98.51
|
2011
|
92.40
|
2011
|
|
90.53
|
2011
|
|
86.92
|
2011
|
|
86.61
|
2011
|
|
France (EU)
|
86.26
|
2011
|
84.95
|
2011
|
|
83.02
|
2011
|
|
|
(data
from World Factbook)
|
82.50
|
2011
|
United Kingdom (EU)
|
82.50
|
2011
|
82.00
|
2011
|
|
Germany (EU)
|
81.51
|
2011
|
Hungary (EU)
|
80.45
|
2011
|
80.35
|
2011
|
|
78.20
|
(est.)
|
|
77.58
|
2011
|
|
76.45
|
2011
|
|
74.55
|
2011
|
|
74.43
|
2011
|
|
74.34
|
2011
|
|
73.14
|
2011
|
|
Austria (EU)
|
72.20
|
2011
|
72.19
|
2011
|
|
72.03
|
2011
|
|
71.95
|
2011
|
|
Cyprus (EU)
|
71.84
|
2011
|
71.41
|
2011
|
|
Malta (EU)
|
70.94
|
2011
|
70.33
|
2011
|
|
69.88
|
2011
|
|
69.78
|
2011
|
|
69.10
|
2011
|
|
68.77
|
2011
|
|
Spain (EU)
|
68.47
|
2011
|
68.05
|
2011
|
|
Netherlands (EU)
|
66.23
|
2011
|
66.18
|
2011
|
|
61.75
|
2011
|
|
60.12
|
2011
|
|
59.96
|
2011
|
|
58.92
|
2011
|
|
57.36
|
2011
|
|
55.46
|
2011
|
|
Poland (EU)
|
55.39
|
2011
|
54.39
|
2011
|
|
54.19
|
2011
|
|
53.89
|
2011
|
|
52.56
|
2011
|
|
52.44
|
2011
|
|
50.79
|
2011
|
|
50.63
|
2011
|
|
50.24
|
2011
|
|
49.61
|
2011
|
|
48.94
|
2011
|
|
48.65
|
2011
|
|
48.61
|
2011
|
|
Finland (EU)
|
48.56
|
2011
|
47.89
|
2011
|
|
Slovenia (EU)
|
47.31
|
2011
|
Denmark (EU)
|
46.43
|
2011
|
Aruba**
|
46.30
|
2005
|
45.83
|
2011
|
|
45.57
|
2011
|
|
45.50
|
2011
|
|
45.23
|
2011
|
|
Slovakia (EU)
|
44.63
|
2011
|
44.39
|
2011
|
|
44.32
|
2011
|
|
44.20
|
2011
|
|
43.81
|
2011
|
|
43.39
|
2011
|
|
42.52
|
2011
|
|
42.46
|
2011
|
|
42.41
|
2011
|
|
41.69
|
2011
|
|
Czech Republic (EU)
|
41.46
|
2011
|
40.90
|
2011
|
|
40.80
|
2011
|
|
40.63
|
2011
|
|
40.62
|
2011
|
|
40.47
|
2011
|
|
39.65
|
2011
|
|
39.44
|
2011
|
|
Lithuania (EU)
|
38.96
|
2011
|
38.77
|
2011
|
|
37.97
|
2011
|
|
37.83
|
2011
|
|
Latvia (EU)
|
37.77
|
2011
|
Sweden (EU)
|
37.44
|
2011
|
37.26
|
2011
|
|
37.04
|
2011
|
|
36.70
|
2011
est
|
|
36.50
|
2011
|
|
36.46
|
2011
|
|
35.35
|
2011
|
|
35.27
|
2011
|
|
35.10
|
2011
|
|
Cuba**
|
34.90
|
2011
est
|
34.67
|
2011
|
|
Syria**
|
34.40
|
2011
est
|
34.14
|
2011
|
|
34.07
|
2011
|
|
33.88
|
2011
|
|
33.86
|
2011
|
|
33.20
|
2011
|
|
Romania (EU)
|
32.96
|
2011
|
32.88
|
2011
|
|
32.35
|
2011
|
|
32.15
|
2011
|
|
31.99
|
2011
|
|
31.48
|
2011
|
|
31.33
|
2011
|
|
30.90
|
2011
|
|
30.84
|
2011
|
|
30.76
|
2011
|
|
30.64
|
2011
|
|
29.44
|
2011
|
|
29.26
|
2011
|
|
29.22
|
2011
|
|
28.60
|
2011
|
|
28.12
|
2011
|
|
28.11
|
2011
|
|
26.07
|
2011
|
|
25.84
|
2011
|
|
25.03
|
2011
|
|
24.06
|
2011
|
|
23.43
|
2011
|
|
23.39
|
2011
|
|
22.86
|
2011
|
|
22.64
|
2011
|
|
22.30
|
2011
est
|
|
22.17
|
2011
|
|
21.85
|
2011
|
|
21.64
|
2011
|
|
Luxembourg (EU)
|
20.85
|
2011
|
20.57
|
2011
|
|
20.45
|
2011
|
|
18.94
|
2011
|
|
17.98
|
2011
|
|
17.86
|
2011
|
|
17.53
|
2011
|
|
17.26
|
2011
|
|
Bulgaria (EU)
|
17.04
|
2011
|
16.89
|
2011
|
|
15.35
|
2011
|
|
13.92
|
2011
|
|
13.66
|
2011
|
|
12.87
|
2011
|
|
12.70
|
2011
|
|
10.88
|
2011
|
|
10.63
|
2011
|
|
10.23
|
2011
|
|
9.92
|
2011
|
|
9.91
|
2011
|
|
9.60
|
2011
|
|
9.10
|
2011
|
|
8.35
|
2011
|
|
7.52
|
2011
|
|
7.50
|
2008
est
|
|
7.35
|
2011
|
|
Estonia (EU)
|
6.04
|
2011
|
5.68
|
2011
|
|
5.60
|
2004
|
|
5.06
|
2011
|
|
0.40
|
2004
est
|
|
0.00
|
2011
|
|
0.00
|
2010
|
See Deseret News similarly.
What Romney does not appear to realize is that the debt that is hurting some EU countries is of a different kind, and is rooted in evil practices of financial and business institutions, practices that still have to be eradicated and/or corrected, not just in Europe but also in the USA.
See the TOTAL DEBT stats (not just public debt), which point to financial and banking problems other than government deficits and government spending.
As for Europe in general, Mitt Romney can only wish that somewhere down the road America would become more like Europe, for example, in the quality of education or universality of health care.
In fact, the USA is miles behind Europe in many important parameters, including the general quality of the infrastructure as applied to roads, highways, bridges, airports, manufacturing. You name it.
Except for selected areas of high tech, America's leadership has declined steadily over past decades because much of the country has been resting on its laurels and its past greatness, rather than moving forward and doing what needs to be done.
Absolutely surreal in this context, by the way, as reported at Desert News in Mitt Romney economic adviser makes waves, provokes President Obama is the fact that last week, Glenn Hubbard, a former George W. Bush economic advisor (no more of those disastrous economics, please !), dean of the Columbia B-School and Mitt Romney's chief economic adviser (not a good sign for Romney's election chances), wrote an op-ed article for a German business publication urging Europeans "not to learn from America," thus drawing fire from U.S. President Obama, not only for mixing in where he has no business being, but also giving the wrong advice to Europe to boot.
Hubbard advocated the idiotic tax cuts for the wealthy that helped to put America in the financial predicament in which it currently finds itself. One always hopes that people who have committed so many harmful errors for society would fade into woodwork, but that is wishful thinking. They keep trying to get it right. Please, go play golf in central Florida.
Our advice to Mitt Romney if he really wanted to get elected President would be to educate himself about the world's finances, get savvy about Europe and find economic advisors who are not living in yesterday or in dogmatic ivory towers far removed from the economic realities.
Modern economies thrive on a credit-based economy. Look at the list above and you will see that most of the poorer countries have low ratios of public debt to the percentage of GDP, but low debt has not helped them in their poverty, nor has it helped their countries to get wealthy. A man of simple wants and desires can get by with less and simple work.
Men and women who are working to pay for overhyped and overpriced smartphones and pc tablets that they may really not be able to afford -- not to mention bubbled residential real estate priced far above true value -- drive the system. If we all settled for what we really need and for which we had cash in the bank, the world economy would crumble to dust.
Much of the debt of the industrialized Western world is nothing more than deferred taxation and calculated inflation that ultimately will find no other solution than printing more money to account for that.
When problems surface, things like money and credit have to be adjusted.
All this talk about a Eurozone crisis is just yellow journalism and stupid economics.
In the EU, a country like Spain has in fact much less public debt than the United States of America in terms of each country's GDP, so that pointing to a reduction of government deficits and spending is simply not the solution to its current economic situation.
Quite the contrary, to get those armies of unemployed off the streets, you spend money to create jobs, by borrowing or printing money as it were, as Paul Krugman and other savvy economists correctly recommend. And you start bearing down hard on banking practices.
There is no need to panic.
Down the road the matters will be solved.
People have to remember that the DEBT is owed to SOMEBODY.
To solve these financial matters, you start pushing THEM.
They know better than anyone else, what the game is, that is being played.
Crossposted at LawPundit.
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