CEC DG Enterprise Consultation on Innovation Policy
Responses must be submitted by 2004-05-30.
Consultation Paper for DG Enterprise Consultation on Innovation
Consultation Questions (HTML converted from original MSWordDoc)
The consultation paper and and consultation questions are based on questionable assumptions, e.g.:
- "innovation" is the magic salvation formula in face of pressure from "low-cost economies"
- innovation must be driven and financed mainly by the private sector
- the key is to make knowledge a tradable good
- "intellectual property" is essential -- and it is understood between the lines that this means "patents", although this word is never used.
- an "intellectual property culture" must be propagated to all companies, i.e. the patent movement must expand further
It should be noted that this consultation exercise is not conducted by the Commission's patent department (DG Markt) but by a department that has been relatively open-minded about patents in the past. Unlike with DG Markt consultations, the page points to a wide range of studies and there may be more willingness to conduct a real consultation than at DG Markt.
