text:
Single European Patent11 December 2012
by eub2 -- last modified 11 December 2012
EU inventors will soon be able to get a unitary patent at last. After over 30 years of talks, the European Parliament put its stamp to a new regime which will cut the cost of an EU patent by up to 80%, making it more competitive vis-à-vis the US and Japan. In the compromise deal with the Council endorsed by Parliament on 11 December 2012, MEPs cut costs for small firms and tailored the regime better to their needs.
Patent reform package - Frequently Asked Questions
I. Presentation of the unitary patent package
1. What is the 'unitary patent package'?
The 'unitary patent package' consists of three elements:
- a Regulation creating a European patent with unitary effect (or 'unitary patent');
- a Regulation establishing a language regime applicable to the unitary patent;
- an international agreement among Member States setting up a single and specialised patent jurisdiction (the 'Unified Patent Court').
The two Regulations implement enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection. 25 Member States participate in this enhanced cooperation. All these Member States and Italy which signalled in December 2011 its intention to join will conclude the international agreement on the Unified Patent Court.
2. What are the advantages of the proposed unitary patent package?
The unitary patent package will have four major advantages:
It will create a unitary patent with uniform protection within the territory of the participating 25 Member States;
The unitary patent will be available on a one-stop shop basis at affordable costs, as it will be centrally granted by the European Patent Office and no further validation requirements need to be fulfilled and applications can be filed in any language;
It will create a unified and specialised jurisdiction in patent matters for the participating Member States, and thus avoid an unnecessary duplication of litigation cases before the various courts of the various Member States concerned, and enhance legal certainty; and
It will ensure the dissemination of patent information in all languages of the European Union through high-quality machine translation services which will be available online and free of charge.
The single unitary patent option will offer those who wish to protect their invention in Europe huge cost advantages and reduce the administrative burden.
The single jurisdiction for patent matters will have the major advantage compared to today's situation that, in the future, legal certainty will be enhanced. The risk of multiple parallel court proceedings leading possibly to divergent outcomes will disappear.
3. What is a patent?
A patent can be granted for any inventions having a technical character provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. A patent can cover how things work, what they do, what they are made of, and how they are made. Anybody - an individual or a company or an institution - can apply for a patent.
Aesthetic creations, mathematical methods, computer games etc. are not regarded as inventions as they lack a technical character. To qualify as new, it is important that the invention has not been in the public domain (state of the art) before the date on which the patent application is filed.
Patents encourage companies to make the necessary investment for innovation. There would be little incentive otherwise for individuals and companies to devote the necessary resources to research and development.
A patent gives the owner the right to prevent others from making, using or selling the invention without permission. However, it is not automatically implied that the patent owner may make use of it. Quite often, permits from national authorities governed by laws other than patent law, have to be obtained before commercialising a product covered by a patent.
In general, the exclusive rights of a patent owner to exploit the invention commercially last for a maximum of 20 years from the filing date, subject to the payment of regular renewal fees. Anyone else wishing to use the invention while it is still patented must request authorisation from the patent holder and may have to pay a licence fee. In return for this exclusive right, the details of how it works are published 18 months after filing the patent application. In this way, the scientific or technical know-how - the technical teaching of the invention - is made public allowing others to further their own research. As a general rule the patent renewal fees increase over time. This means that only the most commercially viable patents are maintained for the full period. At the end of the 20-year term, the patent lapses.
As a hypothetical example, a company may get a patent for a new chemical that acts as better lubricant than existing products on the market. The patent could include claims about the molecule or composition of the lubricant, how it can be made, and examples of where the lubricant can be applied, for example, in the engine of a car. Anyone wanting to produce the chemical would have to ask the company for a licence, normally in return for payment. However, researchers in the field would benefit from the technological knowledge disclosed, for example the process involved to make the chemical protected by the patent. This could bring about further research leading to more advanced lubricants which themselves could be patented.
4. What is a ('classical') European patent?
Today, (technical) inventions can be protected in Europe either by national patents granted by the competent national authorities or by European patents granted centrally by the European Patent Office (EPO).
Member States have their own patent authorities which deal with applications for national patents. The protection conferred by a national patent is limited to the territory of the State concerned.
If the applicant chooses to apply for a European patent, the application will be dealt with by the EPO, having its headquarters in Munich and a branch in The Hague. The EPO is a body of the European Patent Organisation, an international organisation comprising 38 members (27 EU Member States + 11 other European countries). The Organisation was established in 1973 following the signature of the European Patent Convention (EPC).
The EPC provides a single procedure for granting patents in Europe. On the basis of one single patent application processed in one of the three official languages of the EPO (English, French and German), inventors and businesses can obtain a European patent. When the EPO grants a European patent, the full text of the patent, known as the specification, is published in the official language of the EPO chosen by the applicant as the language of the proceedings. At the grant stage, the applicant must also provide a translation of the part of the patent that defines the scope of protection - the claims – into the other two official EPO languages.
However, the grant of the European patent is not enough for it to take effect in most Contracting States to the EPC. The patent proprietor must choose the countries in which he/she wishes to have protection and validate the European patent in these states within a short time limit after grant. A number of different validation requirements may apply. For example, the patent proprietor may have to pay a fee to the national patent office, comply with various formal requirements and provide a translation of the patent to the official language of the State.
In order to obtain unitary effect, patent holders need to request the unitary effect at the European Patent Office (EPO) no later than one month after the grant of their European patent has become effective. The unitary effect which is entered by the EPO into its Register transforms the European patent into one single patent for the 25 Member States. Anybody, regardless of the country of origin, can opt for a unitary patent.
The unitary patent will be centrally administered by the EPO throughout its whole life, i.e. until the end of the patent term (20 years from the filing date of the patent application at the latest).
For the two Member States which, up until now, do not participate in this project, inventors will of course be able to obtain patent protection via their 'classical' European patents. The European patent will need to be separately validated in these two countries.
As the unitary patent is a further option, it is at the moment not clear how frequently the new alternative will be used. We are however confident that the system will stand the test which however can only be demonstrated once the system is in place.
5. What is a 'unitary patent'?
The unitary patent – which is the object of today's EU regulations - will be a third option for companies or inventors seeking patent protection in Europe. It will be a further tool in the inventor's toolbox in addition to national patents and 'classical' European patents (i.e. without unitary effect). For more details on the latter see point 6.
A unitary patent is a European patent with unitary effect. The procedure up to the grant of the patent will be the same as for ('classical') European patents without unitary effect. After grant, European patents will fall into one of the two categories.
A 'classical' European patent needs to be validated in each State for which it has been granted. It has the same effect as a national patent granted in the respective territory and its fate in these States may be different, depending e.g. on any court proceedings which take place in these States. The 'classical' patent is therefore often compared with a bundle of national patents which is centrally granted.
In contrast, the unitary patent will ensure uniform protection for an invention in 25 Member States (all Member States except Italy and Spain) on a one-stop shop basis.
6. How many applications for European patents are submitted annually? Which countries patent the most? How many European patents are granted a year?
In 2011, 142 810 patent applications were filed with the EPO, of which 71 904 came from EPC countries and 70 906 from other parts of the world.
Germany filed the most applications to the EPO (26 234), followed by France (9 633), the Netherlands (5 611), the UK (4 765) and Italy (3 982). For the full list, please consult the EPO's 2011 annual report.
In 2011, 62 112 European patents were granted by the EPO.
7. What is the history of the EU patent?
Efforts to create a common patent applicable across all European countries have been made since the 1960s but for a number of reasons have never been successful.
In 2000 the European Commission made a proposal to create a Community Patent through a Regulation [now 'EU patent' under the Lisbon Treaty]. The aim was to provide for a single patent title applicable in all Member States. In 2003 Member States agreed a common political approach but failed to reach a final agreement, including over the details of the translation regime. Following a wide-scale consultation in 2006, the Commission produced a Communication in April 2007 which confirmed the commitment to the Community patent and re-launched negotiations in Member States.
In December 2009 Member States unanimously agreed on Conclusions for an enhanced patent system, including the main features of the EU patent, except for the translation arrangements. Instead, they affirmed the need for a new Regulation to cover the latter matter. The Commission proposed a regulation on the translation arrangements for the EU patent in July 2010. But despite all the efforts of the Belgian Presidency, the Council could not reach a unanimous agreement on the applicable translation arrangements. In December 2010 the Competitiveness Council confirmed that there were insurmountable difficulties that made the establishment of such a regime impossible to attain within a reasonable period by applying the relevant provisions of the Treaties.
At the request of 12 Member States, the Commission proposed to launch enhanced cooperation in the area of unitary patent protection on 14 December 2010. Following the Commission's decision, another 13 Member States submitted their request to join the enhanced cooperation. The European Parliament gave its consent on 15 February and on 10 March 2011, the Competitiveness Council authorised the launch of enhanced cooperation with the participation of 25 Member States.
The implementation of the authorising Council decision requires the adoption of two regulations; one on the creation of unitary patent protection and a second on the applicable translation arrangements. On 13 April 2011, the Commission adopted the proposals for the two implementing regulations which now form two of the three legal initiatives of the unitary patent package.
8. Why has the unitary patent package been proposed?
One aspect of the reform package is the creation of unitary patent protection via the European patent with unitary effect ('unitary patent'). This will make it possible for inventors (individuals, companies or institutions) to protect their inventions in 25 Member States by filing a single patent application with the European Patent Office. After the patent is granted, there will be no need to validate it one by one in each country. This will make the existing system much simpler, much less burdensome and less expensive for inventors. It will end the complex validation requirements, and in particular limit the very expensive translation requirements in the participating Member States. Today, obtaining patent protection in the territory of the 27 Member States by means of a European patent costs about 36 000 euro (the majority of which goes on translation and other costs linked to validation, such as fees of local patent offices and costs for local patent agents). After full implementation of the unitary patent project, the costs will go down to about 5 000 euro (i.e. the fees up until the grant of the patent including the translation of the claims into the two other official languages of the EPO).
Unitary patent protection will also protect inventions better than the current system. Due to the prohibitive costs involved in the national validation of European patents, today many inventors only patent their inventions in a handful of countries. This makes inventions less valuable as the lack of protection in other countries allows them to be copied more easily.
The second aspect is the setting up of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). This court will have exclusive competence for European patents with unitary effect and, after a transitional period, for all 'classical' European (bundle) patents. Undertakings will thus have legal certainty (once the UPC has decided) and will no longer need to defend, or respectively challenge, the patents in various national courts. The risk of parallel court proceedings with different outcomes in the participating Member States will therefore disappear.
The new system will consequently stimulate research, development and investment in innovation helping to boost growth in the EU. It will be advantageous for all inventors, in particular those which are most affected by the deficiencies of the current system, including SMEs.
For other major markets such as the United States of America and China, one single patent with a single jurisdiction is in place. The implementation of the unitary patent package will do the same for Europe.
II. Functioning of the unitary patent
9. Will the European patent with unitary effect be valid in all Member States?
No. The European patent with unitary effect will be based on two regulations which will be adopted in the framework of enhanced cooperation of 25 Member States (all Member States but Italy and Spain). This was necessary because an agreement between all 27 Member States could not be found. Eventually, 25 Member States have decided to proceed with enhanced cooperation in order to create a system of unitary patent protection in Europe. Member States not participating now can join later.
Enhanced cooperation is a possibility ensured by the Treaties that can only be adopted by the Council as a last resort, when it has established that the objectives of such cooperation cannot be attained within a reasonable period by the Union as a whole, and that at least nine Member States participate in it.
10. How can an applicant apply for a 'unitary patent'?
Applicants will have to file an application for a European patent with the EPO the same way as they do today. The new element is that, no later than one month from the date on which the grant of the European patent has become effective, the patentee can request the EPO to register the unitary effect in the European Patent Register. In the case of such a request made after the grant, the patent will take effect retroactively (from the mention of the grant) in the 25 participating Member States without any additional validation requirement. It will provide equal protection through the territories of these countries. The patent owner will have the choice of whether or not to request unitary effect for their European patents.
Inventors may therefore choose between unitary patents, the 'classical' European patents (to be validated in the Member States) or national patents (to be filed in all the Member States). The new reform package just provides an additional tool in the toolbox.
11. How much will it cost to obtain a 'unitary patent' and how much does a similar protection cost today?
After the transitional period (in which certain additional translations will be required), the cost to obtain a European Patent with unitary effect will be around 5 000 euro. This covers the procedural fees of the EPO as well as the cost of the translation of the claims to the two other procedural languages of the EPO.
During the transitional period of maximum 12 years, the cost will be slightly higher, about 6 500 euro. This includes the cost of the additional translation required during the transitional period: in order to facilitate the access to patent information until high-quality machine translations become available, European patents with unitary effect that were granted in French or German will need to be translated to English and the ones granted in English will need to be translated to another official language of the EU.
Obtaining patent protection in the territory of the 27 Member States by means of a European patent costs today about 36 000 euro (the majority of which goes on translation and other costs linked to validation, such as fees of local patent offices and costs for local patent agents).
By comparison, in the US, a patent costs about 2 000 euros, in China about 600 euros.
12. Do patent applications and patent specifications have to be translated?
Applications for European patents can be filed in any language. Yet applicants have to provide a translation of the application into English, French or German which are the official languages of the EPO (if the application was not filed in one of the official languages).
Under the new translation regime applicable to the creation of the unitary patent protection, SMEs, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations having their residence or principal place of business within any of the 27 EU Member States will get a compensation of all translation costs up to a ceiling if the application was filed in one of the official languages of the European Union that is not an official language of the EPO.
The European patent is granted in one of the three EPO languages. Before the grant, the applicant is required to provide a translation of the claims (which define the scope of the subject-matter for which patent protection is sought) into the other two official EPO languages.
Moreover, for a transitional period of maximum 12 years, European patents with unitary effect that were granted in French or German will need to be translated into English and the ones granted in English will need into be translated to another official language of the EU. These translations will be required until high-quality machine translations into all the official languages of the Union are made available to ensure the availability of patent information.
High-quality machine translations – on-line and free of charge - will soon be available in all languages. The European Patent Office (EPO) is already providing a machine translation service for 13 languages (between English and Danish, Dutch, German, Finnish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish). By the end of 2014 the service is expected to cover 32 languages, including all languages of the European Union, plus important non-European languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
The machine translation service "Patent Translate" can be accessed via this website
13. How can SMEs be certain not to infringe a patent if the patent is not translated into their language?
The information on patents will be available in all EU languages due to high-quality machine translations. The European Patent Office (EPO) is already providing a machine translation service for 13 languages (between English and Danish, Dutch, German, Finnish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish). By the end of 2014 the service is expected to cover 32 languages, including all languages of the European Union. This will ensure that everyone can obtain information on all European patents – and not only on those validated in the respective country - in his own language and free of charge.
To ensure that the information is available before the quality of the machine translations has been established, the regulation provides that, for a transitional period of maximum 12 years, a manual translation into English will in any case have to be provided
14. What will be the role of the Unified Patent Court?
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will be the future centralised patent jurisdiction of the participating Member States. It will be a court common to the participating Member States and thus subject to the same obligations under Union law as any national court of the participating Member States, in particular refer, where necessary, questions on the interpretation of European Union law to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The UPC will have exclusive jurisdiction especially in respect of civil litigation related to infringement and validity for both the "classical" European patents and the European patents with unitary effect. It will also have competence in respect of supplementary protection certificates issued for a product protected by a European patent with or without unitary effect. (1)
During a transitional period of 7 years, actions concerning "classical" European patents without unitary effect can still be brought before the national court if those patents have been opted-out before an action has been brought before the UPC. This period may be prolonged up to a further 7 years by the Administrative Committee (decision making body within the court system composed of one representative per Contracting Member State). In addition, persons who have filed applications for European patents within this transitional period can decide to opt these patents out of the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court.
The UPC will consist of a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Registry. The Court of First Instance will comprise local and regional divisions as well as a central division. The Court of Appeal will be located in Luxembourg while the seat of the central division of the Court of First Instance will be in Paris. Specialised sections of the central division will be set up in London and in Munich. All panels of the new jurisdiction will have a multinational composition. In addition, they will be composed of legally qualified judges and, depending on the cases, they will also include technically qualified judges. All judges will ensure the highest standards of competence and shall have proven experience in the field of patent litigation.
15. What will court fees be?
The Court fees will be fixed by the Administrative Committee, once the Unified Patent Court has been set up. Member States are politically committed that the level be such as to ensure a right balance between the principle of fair access to justice and the objective of a self-financing Court with balanced finances. The fee system will provide specific tools to ensure proper access for e.g. SMEs to the Unified Patent Court. In addition, natural persons may be eligible for legal aid, if they do not have sufficient financial resources.
16. Will cases be split between the local/regional and central division of the Court of First Instance?
In principle, cases will be brought either before the local division hosted by the Member State where the actual or threatened infringement has occurred or may occur (or the regional division in which this Member State participates); or the local division hosted by the Member State where the defendant has his residence or place of business (or the regional division in which this Member State participates).
However, in some instances, cases have to be brought before the central division, e.g. (direct) revocation actions, infringement actions if the Member State does not host a local division nor participates in a regional division, actions for declaration of non-infringement and actions concerning administrative decisions of the EPO.
In other cases, the case may be brought or referred by a local/regional division to the central division, e.g. in cases in which the defendant has his residence in a third country, in cases in which both parties agree, in cases of counterclaims for revocation of patents or in cases in which a (direct) action for revocation is already pending before the central division.
17. Will the new system lead to fragmentation?
The unitary patent package will reduce fragmentation.
25 Members States take part in the creation of the unitary patent protection (all except IT and ES) and potentially 26 Member States in the creation of the uniform patent jurisdiction (in December 2011 Italy signalled its intention to join; ES does not participate). It is evident that we would have preferred to have all Member States on board, but this was unfortunately not possible in the light of divergent views amongst the Member States.
However the situation of today is that, in order to get Europe-wide protection, it is necessary to validate the European patent in all 27 Member States. Patent litigation may theoretically occur in all those 27 Member States in parallel, even if the patent, the parties and the cause for the dispute (e.g. the allegedly infringing product or a prior art which was not yet taken into consideration) were the same.
Under the forthcoming unitary patent system, only one 'validation' (the request of the unitary effect with the EPO) will be necessary for obtaining patent protection in the 25 Member States. The system is of course available for all applicants, regardless of their nationality or domicile.
Furthermore, instead of a multiplication of potentially parallel patent litigation, only one court case will have to take place. This case will be centrally decided by the Unified Patent Court which is a court common to the participating Member States. This is a major step towards reducing fragmentation.
18. What will be the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union?
The Court of Justice of the European Union interprets the law of the European Union as highest instance. This remains unchanged.
The Unified Patent Court is a court common to the Contracting Member States and will ensure the correct application and uniform interpretation of Union law, as any national court, in particular in accordance with Article 267 TFEU. Decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union shall be binding on the UPC.
This means that the UPC is obliged to refer questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the interpretation of, in particular, the two new Regulations creating the unitary protection and the Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions.
19. Will the new unitary patent regime facilitate the patenting of plants or of conventional breeding techniques?
The patentability requirements for European patents with unitary effect are identical to those of 'classical' European patents. The envisaged regulation on unitary patent protection does not change these patentability conditions.
The Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions (Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998, 'Biotechnology-Directive') harmonises the national laws of the Member States notably in the area of patenting biotechnological inventions. The Biotechnology-Directive has been fully integrated in the legal framework of the European Patent Organisation ("EPO") in 1999, before the expiry of the transposition period. This means that, as of that time, the European Patent Office which is the central authority responsible for the examination and, if the legal requirements are fulfilled, the granting of European patents follows the standard as laid down in the Biotechnology-Directive.
The Biotechnology-Directive, in particular, clarifies that biotechnological inventions are, as a general rule, patentable, provided that they meet the patentability criteria of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. However, the Directive clearly provides that plant and animal varieties and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals (i.e. conventional breeding methods based on crossing and selection) are not patentable.
20. Will the new unitary patent regime facilitate the patenting of inventions whose commercial exploitation could create moral or public concerns?
The patentability requirements for European patents with unitary effect are identical to those of 'classical' European patents. The envisaged regulation on unitary patent protection does not change these patentability conditions.
The Biotechnology-Directive which has been fully integrated in the legal framework of the European Patent Organisation, also confirms the principle that inventions whose commercial exploitation offends against ordre public (eg. a process for cloning human beings) or morality cannot be patented. In particular, it provides an illustrative list of inventions which are excluded from patentability for these reasons. The non-exhaustive list comprises (1) processes for cloning human beings, (2) processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings, (3) the use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes and (4) processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals which are likely to cause them suffering without any substantial medical benefit to man or animals, and also animals resulting from such processes.
Up until now, the Court of Justice of the European Union was asked to interpret one of these categories, namely the use of human embryos for industrial and commercial purposes. The case is known as Brüstle-judgement (C-34/10). The judgement is binding on the courts of the Member States, and, of course also to the future Unified Patent Court. The CJEU-ruling has also been implemented in the practice of the European Patent Office.
21. Will the new unitary patent regime facilitate the patenting of computer programmes?
The patentability requirements for European patents with unitary effect are identical to those of "classical" European patents. The envisaged regulation on unitary patent protection does not contain any particular disposition or derogation on the patentability conditions for inventions.
As to the patentability of software, Article 52(2) of the European Patent Convention provides that programs for computers do not constitute a patentable invention. However, patentability is only excluded for programs for computers 'as such'.
An invention which involves the use of a computer, a computer network or other programmable apparatus, where one or more features are realised wholly or partly by means of a computer program (so called computer-implemented inventions, "CII") can be patented if it fulfils the strict patentability requirements, in particular, it must have a technical character, be new and make an inventive technical contribution to the knowledge available at the date on which the application was first filed.
III. Legislative process
22. What is the current state of play?
Progress on the unitary patent package has been interrupted since June this year when the Heads of States and Governments reached a political agreement on the remaining major political issues, in particular the seat of the Central Division of the Unified Patent Court. As part of the final deal, the Heads of States and Governments suggested an amendment to the Regulation on the unitary patent. This suggestion made it necessary to reopen the discussions between the co-legislators – the European Parliament and the Council.
The Member States were seeking to delete three articles from the proposed Regulation (Articles 6-8) which defined the scope of the unitary patent (definition of what constitutes a direct and indirect infringement of the right as well as the applicable limitations). The European Parliament and its Legal Affairs Committee, on the other hand, considered these provisions necessary and did not support this deletion.
The compromise suggested by the Member States to the European Parliament on 19 November 2012 which was found acceptable by the JURI Committee, includes the replacement of Articles 6-8 by a new Article 5 which reaffirms the principle of the uniformity of the scope of the unitary patent and replaces the definition of this scope and its limitations by a reference to an applicable national law. At the same time, the corresponding provisions which were contained in the draft Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) have been extended to apply both to the current "classical" European patents and the future unitary patents. The UPC Agreement, once ratified, would be incorporated into the national laws of the Member States and would therefore provide a uniform scope of the rights conferred by a unitary patent as well as the applicable limitations.
23. What are the next steps?
Concerning the creation of unitary patent protection, the legislative procedures for the two proposals for regulations (see IP/11/470 and MEMO/11/240) will need to be finalised. The next step in the procedure – the final confirmation of the political agreement on the regulations should take place on 10 December at the Competitiveness Council. The discussion and vote in the plenary of the European Parliament (EP) would follow the day after, on 11 December. The regulations would be formally adopted upon the signature of the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
24. When will the provisions governing the procedures for obtaining 'unitary patents' be established, and by whom?
The Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of the unitary patent protection will commonly implement the two Regulations (on the unitary patent and on the language regime). For these purposes, they will form a special committee within the framework of the European Patent Organisation (the so-called Select Committee) which will adopt new Rules according to which the European Patent Office will, in particular, register the unitary effect for European patents, administer these European patents with unitary effect and apply the language regime.
The preparation of these new Rules will take place within the framework of the EPO and will start as soon as the two Regulations have been adopted.
25. When will the first 'unitary patent' (European patent with unitary effect) be granted?
The Commission hopes that the first European patent with unitary effect can be granted in April 2014.
The date of application of the two regulations on the creation of unitary patent protection is conditional on the entry into force of the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court.
Thus, for a unitary patent being issued in early 2014, it would be necessary that, by November 2013, at least 13 Member States (including the three States with the highest number of European patents in force, i.e. France, Germany and the United Kingdom) have ratified the draft agreement on the Unified Patent Court. The Agreement between the Member States is expected to be signed in early 2013. This will be the starting point of the ratification process in the Member States.
26. When will the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court enter into force?
The agreement on the UPC is expected to be signed in early 2013 under the Irish Presidency. This will be the starting point of the ratification process in the Member States. In addition, the preparatory work for the setting up of the Unified Patent Court and of the new procedures dealing with the unitary patent within the European Patent Office will start.
It will then enter into force once 13 Member States, including the three States with the highest number of European Patents in force (France, Germany and the United Kingdom), have ratified the agreement.
If, initially, not all 25 Member States (participating in the enhanced cooperation) ratify the court agreement, the agreement will only enter into force amongst the ratifying Member States. In addition, the unitary effect of a European Patent will only extend to those Member States which have ratified the Court agreement.
27. When will the Rules of Procedure for the Unified Patent Court be established, and by whom?
The Preparatory Committee that will be established after the signature of the draft agreement on the Unified Patent Court and take care of the setting up of the new court system will draw up a complete and detailed set of Rules of Procedure before the entry into force of the Agreement. In this work, the input of expert judges, lawyers and industry representatives will be required and a broad consultation with stakeholders carried out. The Rules of Procedure will be adopted by the Administrative Committee created under the Agreement on the UPC.
Currently, a very first draft for the Rules of Procedure is being elaborated by a committee of expert patent judges and lawyers from the Member States with the highest patent litigation activity. A stakeholder consultation is planned after finalisation of the first draft Rules.
Further information, EC website
1 : A supplementary protection certificate is a sui generis intellectual property right that extends the exclusive right after expiration of the patent upon which it is based.
Source: European Commission


text:
Last week I added an example file to the GPX library that Simeon and I created for Flex/Flash/AIR applications. If you haven't seen it and are interested in checking it out you can grab the code from the project page on GitHub.
The example provided is a very, very basic one that just takes a GPX file and plots the waypoints on Google Maps. It's an AIR application so to use it you just drag and drop the GPX file onto the app. The code is here.
I haven't been able to do anything cool with it yet, but I have some things in mind once I get a bit of downtime. If you're using it, I'd love to hear about it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Law.com - International
- Law.com - United States
- Law.com - International
- Home
- Publications
- Practice Tools
- Events
- Legal Newswire
- Legal Dictionary
- Verdict Search
- Jobs
- International Edition Home
- Regions
- Topics
- Law Firm Management
- Legal Technology
- General Counsel and In-House Counsel
- Litigation
- Regulation
- Deals & Transactions
- Browse All ➝
- Surveys & Rankings
- Law Firms
- Kirkland & Ellis
- DLA Piper
- Dentons
- Clifford Chance
- Linklaters
- Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer
- Browse All ➝
- About Us
- Contact Us
- All Sections
- Advertise
- Customer Care
- Terms of Service
- Privacy Policy
- Follow International Edition
Copyright © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
- Search
International Edition
- International Edition Home
- Law.com
- Publications
- The American Lawyer
- National Law Journal
- Corporate Counsel
- New York Law Journal
- The Legal Intelligencer
- The Recorder
- Daily Business Review
- Browse All Publications ➝
- Law Topics
- Litigation
- Deals and Transactions
- Law Firm Management
- Legal Practice Management
- Legal Technology
- Intellectual Property
- Cybersecurity
- All Law Topics ➝
- Surveys & Rankings
- Law Firms
- Kirkland & Ellis
- DLA Piper
- Dentons
- Clifford Chance
- Linklaters
- Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer
- Browse All ➝
- About Us
- Contact Us
- All Sections
- Advertise
- Customer Care
- Terms of Service
- Privacy Policy
- Follow International Edition
Copyright © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
byteback:All change in court
Michelle Randall asks if it is time for another look at consultations
Thank you for sharing!
This premium content is reserved for
Law.com International Subscribers.
- Customized news by region including UK, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and North America
- Cutting-edge research such as UK Top 100, China 45, and Asia 50
- Get the inside track on the biggest breaking stories that delve deep into the issues behind the headlines
- Comprehensive coverage of the dynamic legal market from people moves to the major international jurisdictions
- Global view into how legal tech, business of law, in-house and regulatory environments are intersecting worldwide
Already a subscriber? Sign In Now
Trending Stories
Baker McKenzie Taking 'Longer than Usual' to Pay Back Capital Loans, Former Partners Say
Global Briefing
A weekly, curated selection of our international content from around the globe, across the business of law, in-house, regulatory, technology and more, with expert insights from our senior editors.
Recommended Stories
Freshfields Promotes 21 Lawyers to Partnership
The firm has maintained a focus on transactional departments, despite the recent drop in activity.
Reed Smith Takes Hogan Lovells France Debt Capital Markets Head
The new arrival is the second partner hire for Reed Smith in April already.
Cuatrecasas Completes Latin America Expansion With Chile Office Opening
The Spanish firm decided to launch a Santiago office prior to the global spread of COVID-19.
More from ALM
Solicitor Private Client
We are working in unusual circumstances and we appreciate that this is an unsettling time for all employees and employers. We have always be...Apply Now ›
NQ+ Solicitor Commercial Litigation
United Kingdom
We are working in unusual circumstances and we appreciate that this is an unsettling time for all employees and employers. We have always be...Apply Now ›
Insolvency and Commercial Restructuring Solicitor
We are working in unusual circumstances and we appreciate that this is an unsettling time for all employees and employers. We have always be...Apply Now ›
How Penningtons Manches Cooper Took Control of their eDiscovery Process to Reduce Costs & Time
From Lighthouse
Discover how a leading UK and international law firm accelerated their ediscovery workflow and created a more efficient and cost effective process.
2020 Corporate Ediscovery Buyer Guide
From Everlaw
Ediscovery solutions are critical investments. Enhance your vendor evaluations with this guide and probing questionnaire to help your legal team pinpoint a trusted partner, not just a flashy solution.
How to Critically Evaluate Ediscovery Vendors: 5 Hard questions to Ask
From Everlaw
Learn the five hard questions you should ask ediscovery software vendors that look beyond feature comparison, and dive deeper into the value provided to help your company find the best fit.
From Data to Decisions
Dynamically explore and compare data on law firms, companies, individual lawyers, and industry trends.
Exclusive Depth and Reach.
Legal Compass includes access to our exclusive industry reports, combining the unmatched expertise of our analyst team with ALM's deep bench of proprietary information to provide insights that can't be found anywhere else.
Big Pictures and Fine Details
Legal Compass delivers you the full scope of information, from the rankings of the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 to intricate details and comparisons of firms' financials, staffing, clients, news and events.
Global Independent Law Firms Forum 2020
July 06, 2020 - July 07, 2020
Annual conference bringing together the leaders of independent law firms from around the world, from 40+ jurisdictions.
African Legal Awards 2020
September 04, 2020
The African Legal Awards recognise exceptional achievement within Africa s legal community during a period of rapid change.
The Asia Legal Awards 2020
September 08, 2020
Hong Kong
Where the region's top lawyers, law firms and in-house teams will gather to celebrate their most stellar achievements of the year.
A Sector-by-Sector Look at How the Legal Industry Recovers from the Pandemic
Webcast Date : Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | Every sector of the legal industry is feeling the effects COVID-19 has had on the economy and our ability to operate as we once did.
The NLJ 500: The National Law Journal's Annual Report on the Nation's Largest 500 Firms
Sponsored By : AbacusNext |
Webcast Date : Thursday, June 25, 2020 | Join ALM's upcoming webcast as The National Law Journal ranks the nation's largest 500 law firms with charts and insight on shifts over the past year.
Act 2: Best Practices For B2B Marketers To Succeed As The Economy Opens
Brought to you by: ALM Media |
Webcast Date - Thursday, June 11: Find out how leading B2B marketers in the legal, financial, insurance, and commercial real estate markets have achieved results over the past three months.
Law.com International Newsletters & Briefings
Sign Up Today and Never Miss Another Story.
Sign up for an unlimited number of complementary newsletters, alerts, and International Briefings. Get the timely legal news and critical analysis you cannot afford to miss. Tailored just for you. In your inbox. Every day.
About Us / Contact Us / Site Map / Advertise With Us/ Customer Service / Terms of Service/ FAQ / Privacy Policy
Law Topics
Law Firms
Copyright © 2020 American Lawyer Media International, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


text:
"Frosty the Scoreman" Christmas iPhone CasePrevious Product Next Product
High Quality clear TPU Rubber transparent phone case.
• This case provides the ultimate protection without adding lots of bulk to your iPhone
• Ultra-sleek contemporary look
• High quality UV Printing Technology for long lasting quality
• Protects your phone from drops and dust
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the 'Complete Orders' link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.


text:
Skip to content
Pommie Sheila
The musings and escapades of an emigre down under
Happy Christmas!
A Koala in the Mist of Sadness
Manningtree Station
Hurrah for The Dung Beetle!
There's a Novelty in Normality and Buns in the Oven
There's a Turkey in the Toilet!
All Change!
A Sobering Weekend and Who's on for a Chukka?
A Message for Insects and Other Creatures
Yabbies for Tea
A Family Tragedy
37 Rolls of Parcel Tape
How Much Can a Koala Bear?
A Koala in the Mist of Sadness
Tag: Countryside
Hurrah for The Dung Beetle!
February 24, 2019


text:
A Disneyland outdoor vending cast member was arrested in connection with an explosion involving dry ice at the Anaheim theme park that led to an evacuation and bomb squad investigation.
The explosion, possibly caused by dry ice in a water bottle, led to an evacuation Tuesday afternoon of the park's Toontown area.
Police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Christian Barnes of Long Beach. He was booked on suspicion of possessing a destructive device, according to Anaheim police.
The suspect indicated the explosion was "an isolated incident with unanticipated impacts," according to a police news release, which stated Barnes was cooperating.
Barnes, who was arrested while at work on Tuesday night, is being held on $1 million bail. He is pictured below in a photo from Facebook that was verified by Barnes' brother.
Local news from across Southern California
Raymond Barnes Sr., the suspect's father, told NBC4 that his son has never been in trouble and has no criminal record, adding "you couldn't have a better kid."
"It's just a little ice - hot ice. They're making a big deal out of nothing," Raymond Barnes said. "I'm sure when the smoke clears, they'll see he's just like any other person that just made a little mistake."
Christian Barnes' brother said the suspect had worked as a food vendor at Disneyland for about a year.
Police said the circumstances were "unfortunate" and are glad no one was injured in the small explosion.
"However, this is a crime and we're investigating it as a crime," Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said. "We will continue the investigation and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."
Disneyland issued a one-sentence statement.
"We take matters like this very seriously and are working closely with local authorities," said Suzi Brown, director of media relations and external communications for Disneyland Resort.
Visitors at the park described the explosion as sounding like a gun shot and "loud boom." Disneyland employees then escorted visitors from the area.
"When officers arrived, they were directed to a trash can and found remnants of a water bottle, which is indicative of a dry ice explosion," the Anaheim Police Department said in a press release Tuesday that included Barnes' booking photo, shown below. "They also found there were no injuries or damage as a result and the rest of the resort remained in full operation."
Toontown reopened late Tuesday.
More Local Stories:
- "Major" Gas Leak Prompts Evacuations in Newbury Park
- Magnitude-4.6 Quake Shakes SoCal Coast
- Drivers See Adolf Hitler in Teapot Billboard
- Bill Would Expand Who Can Perform Abortions in Calif.
NBC4's Angie Crouch and Melissa Pamer contributed to this article.


text:
You know the person who cuts your hair and the barista at your coffee shop, but how well do you know your retirement plan? It's important to get acquainted with
You know the person who cuts your hair and the barista at your coffee shop, but how well do you know your retirement plan?
It's important to get acquainted with your 401(k) " or whatever retirement savings account your employer offers " because this may be one of the most significant relationships in your lifetime. That's because Social Security likely won't pay enough to cover your retirement expenses, so you'll need to save on your own. A 401(k) offers tax breaks, and many employers throw in a bit extra by matching some portion of what an employee contributes. Can you say the same for your hairdresser?
Employers aren't required to offer retirement plans to employees, but if you have one, here's what you need to know:Your employer's role
There are no rules about what investments should be included in retirement plans, but companies have the responsibility 'to exercise the judgment that a prudent investor would use in investing for his or her own retirement,' according to the IRS. The investment choices offered, fees and amount (if any) of matching employer contributions will vary.
Expect to get information from your employer about:Eligibility requirements, including minimum age to participate, how long you must work before you can participate and when you're eligible to receive employer contributions.The name of the provider administering the 401(k) plan and how to set up an account (including designating beneficiaries).How to have contributions automatically taken from your paycheck.Whether you can roll over or transfer money from previous retirement plans.
Employers generally don't offer advice but instead steer employees with questions to the plan provider.Your role
You'll make two primary decisions about your 401(k): How much to contribute and how to invest that money within your 401(k).
Contributions: Decide how much money you can set aside. Experts recommend saving up to 15% of your gross income for retirement and other goals. For 2018, you can contribute up to $18,500 to a 401(k) if you're under the age of 50, or $24,500 if you're 50 or older. Those amounts will increase by $500 in 2019.
Investments: This is where things get more interesting or challenging, depending on your perspective. But don't give up, because investing is the key to achieving your retirement goal.
The following types of mutual funds, which pool money from many investors and invest in a basket of assets, are most commonly found in retirement plans:Stock funds: You'll generally be able to choose from companies of different sizes (large-, mid- and small-cap stocks) and from different geographic regions (U.S. and international).Bond funds: Options range from funds that represent the entire bond market to region-specific ones.Alternative assets or real estate: These may be included to add diversification to your portfolio.Target-date retirement funds: These are designed with a mix of investments that changes over time depending on when you plan to retire.
Diversification is the goal " pick a mix of investments to make sure your results don't depend too much on one type of asset. If you choose a target-date retirement fund, that work's been done for you, but make sure that fund is the right fit for you.
Also, check the net expense ratios for the available investments; these fees, expressed as a percentage of your investment, cut into your long-term returns. Find the information on your plan provider's website or in the prospectus for each fund. For comparison's sake, in 2017 the asset-weighted average expense ratio was 0.59% for equity mutual funds, 0.48% for bond mutual funds and 0.44% for target-date mutual funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.Maximize your benefits
Retirement plans aren't just a place to save money. Plan providers now offer educational tools to make you a smarter saver. Don't overlook these features.
Fidelity Investments, the largest 401(k) provider, offers options to set retirement goals, calculators, educational resources, workshops, videos and tips for preparing for various life events.
Many questions you have about finances can be answered by your plan provider. The more time you spend getting to know your 401(k), the more informed you'll be about your retirement goal and how to craft a strategy to get there.
More From NerdWalletDon't Be Your Own Worst Enemy When Investing Stock Market Outlook: The Year That's Testing Investors Free Investments Can Come at a Cost
Anna-Louise Jackson is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: email@example.com. Twitter: @aljax7.
The article Get to Know Your 401(k) Plan originally appeared on NerdWallet.


text:
Long time fan here who somehow missed the announcement and on sale date for the Boston shows. I'm looking for two tickets to each show but will take whatever you have. I've been at the majority of FTHC shows starting with his first MA show in Lowell, his first headline show at the Middle East, his first arena show in February and most of the others inbetween. Hopefully someone has some and we can work out a deal!
WANTED Boston City Winery Any and All
A place to freely and fairly exchange tickets for upcoming shows
Moderators: marowak, Blonde, skhmmxi
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
While "Generation Kill" was unwatchably dull and meandering (even the inclusion of Alexander Skarsgard couldn't keep us tuning in), ask just about anyone to name the best shows ever to air on television and chances are they'll mention David Simon's series "The Wire."
His latest effort, "Treme," about New Orleans residents rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and named after one of the city's oldest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods, has been given an April 11 premiere date. The first season's ten-episodes will be kicked off by the 80-minute pilot.
Former "Wire" cast members Wendell Pierce (aka Detective Bunk Moreland) and Clarke Peters (aka Detective Lester Freamon) head an ensemble which also features Steve Zahn, Oscar-nominee Melissa Leo and Khandi Alexander, who previously worked with Simon on "The Corner."
U.S. & World
While everything about this show screams "DVR Season Pass," we're most intrigued and excited to see Zahn in a rare dramatic turn as the oft pigeon-holed funny man plays a dancer, DJ and band member with anger management issues.
No word yet if Isiah Whitlock Jr. and his outstanding pronunciation of everyone's favorite curse word for excrement will crop up, but here's hoping.


text:
Jurriaan Maessen
Feb 6, 2013
A Chinese official from Wenzhou, China, crushed a 13-month old baby-boy to death by driving over him after the parents refused to pay a fine for violating China's one-child policy.
According to AFP, a state official working to enforce China's one-child policy drove over a 13-month old baby-boy, resulting in the infant's death.
A news item issued by PhuketNews relates that the official had an argument with the parents as, presumably, they "violated" the one-child policy by refusing to pay a fine. The reports goes on to say that the parents acted "agitated" in response to the official's request.
The spokesman stated that the parents of the murdered baby were "agitated" as a result of the disagreement with the one-child policy enforcer, after which the official in question drove his car over the baby. PhuketNews however reports that Wenzhou authorities were quick to label the murder as an unfortunate accident:
"After starting the car to bring the family to the office to discuss the matter, the official discovered the child had been crushed underneath the car."
Tragically the baby died soon as a result of his wounds shortly after he was rushed to the hospital: yet another victim of China's draconian one-child policy. The Global Post goes into more detail in regards to the fine mentioned in the AFP report:
"Under China's population controls, instituted more than 30 years ago, couples who have more than one child must pay a "social upbringing" fine, while in some cases mothers have been forced to undergo abortions."
The Global Post article also brings into memory that China's population control policies have been increasingly subject to criticism, both from outside China and within.
"There was widespread outrage last year after a woman who had been forced to abort seven months into her pregnancy was pictured with the bloody foetus."
On March 29, 2012, Paul Joseph Watson brought attention to the brutal face of China's one-child policy, describing how a 9-month old baby was forcibly aborted, after which it was thrown in a bucket. Watson writes:
"Because the parents of the baby already had a child, they were hunted down and forced to comply with China's draconian one child policy.
The mother was injected with a poison that induced an abortion, but after the baby was "pulled out inhumanly like a piece of meat," it was still alive and began to cry before doctors slung the defenseless child into a bucket and left it to die."
Although some may try to comfort themselves by imagining these one-child ideas are limited to China, the fact is these ideas and policies are widely held and promulgated by politicians and scientists all over the world. In 2010, Business Insider featured a post by geography professor Gary L. Peters under the headerPopulation Growth Is Still The Biggest Problem Facing Humanity
After channeling armchair-eugenicist Alan Weisman, who stated: "The intelligent solution (to the problem of population growth) would require the courage and the wisdom to put our knowledge to the test. It would henceforth limit every human female on Earth capable of bearing children to one", the professor added:
"Started now, such a policy would reduce Earth's population down to around 1.6 billion by 2100, about the same as the world population in 1900. Had we kept Earth's population at that level we would not be having this conversation."
Who is the "we" Peters mentions that would be assigned to keep the earth's population at any level? As John P. Holdren, Obama's science czar, wrote in his monstrosity Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment:
"(…) a Planetary Regime- sort of an international superagency for population, resources, and environment. (…). The Planetary Regime might be given responsibility for determining the optimum population for the world and for each region for arbitrating various countries' shares within their regional limits. Control of population size might remain the responsibility of each government, but the Regime would have some power to enforce the agreed limits."
Such an agency exists. It is called the United Nations. After all, only a global government with a system-wide, coordinated eugenics-agenda would have the power necessary to impose such laws upon all the peoples of the world. There's no other way to make it so.
"We can no longer wait for increasing wealth to bring down fertility in remaining high fertility nations; we need policies and incentives to stop growth now", Peters stated in his article.
"Population growth on earth must cease", Peters argues again. Citing eugenics-front-man Paul Ehrlich and his equation of death (I = PAT), he attempts to disarm critics of the overpopulation mantra with this spell:
"(…) I represents our impact on the Earth, P equals population, A equals affluence (hence consumption), and T stands for technology."
Let's not forget it's not just professors that advocate global one child policies. CNN founder Ted Turner, who has openly stated the earth would be better off when 95% of the human population would vanish, has also professed his admiration for the Chinese (read: UN) policies. In 2010 the Globe and Mail quoted Turner as saying:
"the environmental stress on the Earth requires radical solutions, suggesting countries should follow China's lead in instituting a one-child policy to reduce global population over time. He added that fertility rights could be sold so that poor people could profit from their decision not to reproduce."
This echoes the views of Jeffrey Sachs, Ban Ki-moon's "sustainability" advisor. In June of 2011, US congressman Chris Smith rightly announced that the UN and China are working hand-in-hand to export China's one-child policy to Africa. Sachs told AFP newswire in May of that year he "worries" about Africa's "ballooning population". Sachs:
"I am really scared about population explosion in Nigeria. It is not healthy. Nigeria should work towards attaining a maximum of three children per family."
As I reported some time ago, UN strongman Maurice Strong told an audience of environmentalists at a side-event to the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that China is the model-state for the rest of the world to emulate in regards to environmental matters.
"What China does matters to the world", Strong said, "and what China is doing is actually a tremendous source of encouragement."
Strong went on to say that "sustainable development" has become a "people's movement guided by the people's government."
Strong is a long-time advocate of the sort of draconian population policis that China has forced upon its people. As far back as the early 1970s, Strong hesitatingly admitted to the BBC that such a thing as a license to have a child is the kind of system he would see implemented globally:
Besides these UN hotshots calling for a global one-child policy, low-grade actors from Holluywood have joined the dehumanizing choir. For example, Baywatch "star" Alexandra Paul recently spoke at a TEDX conference, calling not only for a total rewiring of human biology "to recognize the benefits of a one-child family", but also for the global human population to be brought down to two billion- a 75% reduction compared to current levels.
Paul, who starred in over 70 films and television shows, explicitely states that the entire modern-day culture should serve to convince people to "rewire biology" so that the natural urge to procreate will be changed into a rational, "eco-friendly" one, aspiring to just one child per family.
"Will it (world population) stop growing because of famine, disease, or war over resources- or will it stop growing because people choose to have smaller families- and by smaller families I mean one-child families."
Although Paul stresses that "forcing people to have fewer children does not work", she does emphasize that modern culture should be moulded in such a way as to convince people that we have to "change and rewire our biology and our culture to recognize the benefits of a one-child family."
"As a culture we need to emphasize the benefits of having a one-child family so people will choose to have fewer kids.", she stated.
The Baywatch-"star" explains why she has chosen to not have kids:
"(kids) might be wonderful, but they're also wasteful."
Quoting UN population projections, she advocates a fairly massive reduction in human numbers compared to current levels:
"The number of humans on earth needs to go down. And I believe it needs to go down to two billion.", she said.
She closed her anti-human speech by calling on her listening audience to take her words to heart and quit reproducing after the first child:
"Let's be part of the solution, and choose from now on to bring forth no more than one child ourselves."
It's this kind of dangerous thinking that ultimately leads to brutal policies that are designed to target the most vulnerable.
Jurriaan Maessen is the writer and editor at ExplosiveReports.Com
Fight against the globalists with one of nature's greatest essentials. Survival Shield X-2 is now back in stock at 60% off!


text:
Saw Star Trek last night. I enjoyed the movie. In its honour, here are some fun Star Trek links:
Tons of candid Trek photos from the original series. Awesome stuff with Shatner & Nimoy posing with their cars, Spock laughing with his mouth open in full costume, etc.
Full post with lots of links to noteworthy candids at Metafilter.
This man's wife left him and to compensate, he spent thousands turning his apartment into a Starship. Ummm…. awesome.
A few things I was thinking about after seeing le movie:
(I suppose you could say there are very very mild spoilers ahead)
Loved all the lens flares. Here's a post Kottke put up a few weeks ago about Abrams' use of lens flaring.
Luuurved Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto as Uhura & Spock. Great casting overall. Zoe Saldana is super-compelling.
The midwife who birthed Kirk had hella creepy funhouse mirror eyes- cool/scary.
It's so lame that of the main cast of Trek, so far in the future, there were only 2 beige people and 1 woman. Come on. I mean I know it was groundbreaking in the 1960s and all, but hell.
Why do all aliens have the same haircut as all other aliens of their race?
Not really enough aliens in this movie, actually. I could have used more aliens.
Winona Ryder is officially a hot mom now, I guess.
Ebert complains that this movie is a fun action romp– but… that Trek has a responsibility, or at least a precedent, of tackling philosophical concerns, which doesn't really happen in the movie. I think that's a fair critique. But then again he also makes some weird opaque comment about how Zoe Saldana is "unsuited to her costume", and that's such bunk I will totally kick him.
And finally, hey, science fiction, why are all alien ships so uncomfortable? Don't aliens like being warm and having enough light to see by? The Enterprise bridge is comfy and bright like it was made by Ikea, but the Romulans seem to live in the rafters of my creepiest neighbours' garage. Why are their ships always a series of scary, slippery bridges spanning endless abysses? Who the hell designs for these people? Do I have to go to Romulus and hold a seminar about the value of laminate flooring? Because I'll do it.


text:
Azzhole Of The Week: Jerk Makes Litle Brother Freak Out WHen He Tells Him "John Cena" Is A Bad Guy!
skip to 1:40
Posted by http://www.facebook.com/thataintordinarybruh
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
This is Red Urban.
This is our craft.
Below you'll find a smattering of our favourite work. Click an
image to see the full project. Pretty straightforward, right?
There's A Big Mac For That
How do you bring the swagger back to Big Mac in America? In partnership with our sister agency We Are Unlimited, Red Urban led the creative development to introduce three new sizes of the world's most famous burger with a super-integrated, highly targeted campaign. It proved that no matter what the moment, There's a Big Mac for That.
Subaru Dark Sky
A star-filled sky is one of nature's most beautiful sights. But because of urban light pollution, an estimated 85% of Canadians can't see more than a few of the brightest stars. Using the Subaru Outback – a vehicle known for its adventurous nature – to encourage people to drive out to see a beautiful star-filled sky seemed like the perfect fit.
Never Sit Still
In an industry known for celebrity spokesmen and endorsements from 'real people, not actors", we wanted our spokesman to stand out. To do that, we searched high and low for a spokesman who was neither a celebrity, an actor, nor a real person. And when we found him, we knew we were in for a ride.
HBC Country of Adventurers
When you're tasked with telling the epic stories of epic HBC adventurers in the epic Canadian landscape, you'd better make some pretty epic work. We paired the historic explorers of the HBC with relevant modern-day counterparts to tell the compelling – and uniquely Canadian - stories of our Country of Adventurers.
2016 Forester
How do you talk about the agility and fun-to-drive capabilities of the Subaru Forester in an emotional and memorable way? You get an injured sheepdog who knows all his sheep are escaping and he wants to round them up, but he can't, so his master lets him herd sheep from the back seat of the Forester, that's how.
Once More
It's not every day you come across a 1955 Beetle that has driven around the world 3 times, through several owners, and is still driving today. But when you do, you better make an interactive documentary about it. Actually maybe you shouldn't, because we already did, and it's called Once More, The Story of VIN 903847.
The Beetle 3-track
When you think of the Beetle, you think of three-in-one interactive music videos, right? No? Well, now you will.
Alexander Keith's Hop Series
If a beer company ever asks you to help them launch a series of delicious beers, each focused on a different kind of hop, don't show them anything that looks like this. We already did it with Labatt, and we'll totally know you're copying us.
GLI Art Heist
First we painted with the Jetta GLI, itself. Then we turned long exposure photos from the TV spot into limited edition prints, and hung them as wild postings across Canada for people to steal. We also used social media to send clues of the remaining prints' wherabouts. Judging by how fast they disappeared, it's clear that people still appreciate fine art.
Fortnight Lingerie
To put tiny Fortnight on the map, we created an idea that was not only sexy, but life-saving. We called it Super Sexy CPR.
How do you spice up an everyday brand that's bringing fashion to the forefront? Combine style and life to create a beautifully relatable fashion-focused campaign.
In 0-100 tests between supercars and the BRZ, supercars win. But for about a million dollars less, the BRZ still delivers gorgeous looks, amazing performance, and plenty of unwanted small talk from strangers. So even if you don't live like the 1%, the BRZ lets you drive like them.


text:
Kate Gosselin, still stinging from her recent split with her hubby, said she fears she will be alone forever.
The reality TV mom and soon-to-be divorcee who is struggling with a bitter divorce battle said she is mulling remarrying but for the foreseeable future is simply trying to adjust to single life.
"I struggle because I really don't want to be married," Kate revealed during a special episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" last night. "Can you blame me? But I don't want to be alone. We shall see. Maybe when I'm 73 1/2."
U.S. & World
"I would love not to be alone ... But nobody's going to buy into my mess so I probably will be. But it's OK, I'll just be working hard anyway"
In the one-hour TLC special, Kate joked about her hair, her future as a television star and whether her divorce from estranged husband Jon Gosselin is hurting their eight children.
"They're not suffering form this," Kate said. "They're kids 99 percent of the time. ... I'm raising kids who are going to scrutinize people inside and out."
The reality TV mom said she hopes that -- despite her ex's attempts to halt filming of their eight kids -- she will be able to continue to play a role on the small screen.
"I've discovered that I've done enough years of TV that it's a normal, natural place for me to be," Kate said. "I'd love to be in a movie at some point. I would love to be the voice of a cartoon character in a movie for my kids. I think that would be fun."
Hours before the special aired, Kate was the target of attacks from Jon's attorney, who called her "the old lady who lived in a shoe" and said she wasn't complying with a court order that demanded she refund money to the couple's joint bank account.
Attorneys for the pair squared off in a Pennsylvania courtroom yesterday over questions surrounding unauthorized withdrawals from their joint bank account.
"Jon Gosselin has met all of the obligations he was required to make," Jon's attorney, Mark Heller, said on Monday. "The obligations that Kate Gosselin has were not fulfilled. Maybe that explains why she didn't appear in court today."
Kate, who was in California for a women's leadership conference at the time of the hearing, had met the requirements set forth by the judge, her attorney said.
"Ms. Gosselin, who was directed by the court to provide an accounting by today's date, did in fact provide a full and complete accounting of funds prior to today," her attorney said in a statement.


text:
Dad has been gone since 1977, Mom since 1999, I thought I took all "my stuff" when I got married, over 50 years ago. Yet, from time to time, one of my brothers (four younger ones - spread over 16 years) will hand me a box or envelope or sack and say: "I think this may be yours!"
Plaster of Paris car molds. Such is the case with these two rubber molds from the late 1940s or early 1950s (I was going to say "old" - but that goes without saying!).
One is a pickup, and one is a sedan - Fords, as I recall. Dad always drove Chevys, but my toys that I made were Fords... that was ok! I made a few... but, you needed to have the "axel" - a special thick little wire with knobs on each end, that fit in the mold, and, of course, the little rubber wheels that fit on the axels, after you extracted the plaster of paris car/truck out of the mold, with the "axel" imbedded in the plaster. I know I still have a little car somewhere, in a box. Had a "pickup" for a long time... but think it "got left somewhere!"
Families are Forever! ;-)


text:
South Hill, Virginia › Page 62
You are here:
- Project Blue Book, 1947-1969
- 1967
- April
- South Hill, Virginia
- Page 62
Premium Document, click to see more Previous Next
Member Contributions for South Hill, Virginia › Page 62 - Fold3.com
Make the information on this image better by adding what you know.
- Annotations
- Comments
- Stories about this image
- Learn more »
About this image
About this Publication TitleProject Blue Book - UFO Investigations
From Alaska to Arizona, from Florida to Labrador, UFO sightings were reported from within North America and even around the world. They are documented in these files. Very few photographs are included in these records. Instead these are text descriptions of encounters or sightings during the years 1947 to 1969. Names of people involved in the sightings are excluded. They are arranged chronologically, then by location.
Popular Titles
WWII "Old Man's Draft" Registration Cards Free
Revolutionary War Pensions Free
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Free
War of 1812 Pension Files Free Updated
Brady Civil War Photos Free
Missing Air Crew Reports, WWII Free
Civil War "Widows' Pensions" Free
WWII US Air Force Photos Free
Civil War Pensions Index Free
Revolutionary War Service Records Free


text:
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) North Carolina sophomore guard P.J. Hairston is doubtful for Saturday's game against Virginia Tech after suffering a concussion at Boston College.
Hairston was hurt Tuesday night when he collided with teammate Dexter Strickland on the defensive end during the first half of an 82-70 win. He didn't play again and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher before returning to the bench and wearing a towel over his head.
The school said Wednesday that Hairston returned home with the team and is improving. He is a gametime decision, though trainer Chris Hirth said in a statement that Hairston is ``unlikely'' to play.
Hairston is the team's third-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game. He had made four 3-pointers against BC before his injury.


text:
Drag and drop tags onto any content on your site. A super simple interface lets you create a text tag and drag and drop it into anything on your site at all from Photo's to articles to users!
The tagger comes with its own installer, full documentation and working examples. Not to mention 4 ready to go themes and 6 animation types for when you create a keyword or tag some content.
Super easy to customize! The scripts have been chopped into basic functions o you can add , edit and customize to your hearts content.
Fully Ajax Drive and Database Driven The software make use of jQuery drag and drop and Ajax functionality that work directly with your current databases. So everything is done on the fly and in the background!


text:
Railroad Museum
5 p.m. C.C. Bluegrass Ensemble
6 p.m. Giants Dance
7 p.m. Duke City Swampcoolers
Durango Arts Center
6 p.m. Mashville Brigade
7 p.m. Wild Mountin
8 p.m. Loose Cannon
9 p.m. Bluegrass Patriots
Henry Strater Theatre
7 p.m. Bluegrass Patriots
8 p.m. Waiting on Trial
9 p.m. Mashville Brigade
Henry Strater Theatre
10 a.m. Freight Hoppers
11 a.m. Mashville Brigade
Noon Mountain Holler
1 p.m. Salt Lick Scramblers
2 p.m. Loose Cannon
3 p.m. Bluegrass Patriots
4 p.m. Bar D Wranglers
5 p.m. Sierra Hull & Highway 111
7-10 p.m. Superjam
Durango Arts Center
10 a.m. Loose Cannon
11 a.m. Sierra Hull & Higway 111
Noon Bluegrass Patriots
1 p.m. Whistle Stop
2 p.m. The Knockabouts
3 p.m. Mountain Holler
4 p.m. Rock and Rye
5 p.m. Avery County
7-10 p.m. Celtdown
Wild Horse Saloon
11 a.m . Old North State
Noon The Scrugglers
1 p.m. Waiting on Trial
2 p.m. Avery County
3 p.m. Squash Blossom Boys
4 p.m. Duke City Swampcoolers
5 p.m. Mashville Brigade
Workshops (Centennial Room, Strater Hotel)
10 a.m. Kids Jam with Sue Coulter
11 a.m. Bass with Jessica Smith and Jimmy Largent
Noon Fiddle with Red Greer and Matt Palmer
1 p.m. Banjo with Terry Baucom and Jeff Scroggins
2 p.m. Guitar with Clay Hess and Darrell Webb
Henry Strater Theatre
10 a.m. Colorado College Bluegrass Ensemble
11 a.m. Sierra Hull & Highway 111
Noon Duke City Swampcoolers
1 p.m. Wild Mountain
2 p.m. Blue Moon Ramblers
3 p.m. Avery County
4 p.m. Freight Hoppers
Durango Arts Center
10 a.m. A-Men (gospel)
11 a.m. Mountain Holler (gospel)
Noon Avery County (gospel)
1 p.m. San Juan String Band
2 p.m. Freight Hoppers
3 p.m. Squash Blossom Boys
4 p.m. Sierra Hull & Highway 111
Workshops (Centennial Room, Strater Hotel)
10 a.m. Banjo & Fiddle with Frank Lee and David Bass
1 p.m. Mandolin with Sierra Hull and Robin Davis
Durango Bluegrass Meltdown Schedule
(Ticket information and artist bios are available at www.durangomeltdown.org)


text:
Ever since her childhood, Inna (in everyday life known as Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu), knew what her future profession would be. When she was eight, she enlisted on the vocal skill courses. After finishing school she had decided to make a little detour on her road to fame and has got a degree in economics at Constanta Political Science College. It was only then that she attended the Play & Win recording studio.
Romanian dance music diva's official career began at the end of 2007, immediately after signing the contract with the studio recording, however Inna's first single titled «Hot» was released only a year later. The debut LP brought her popularity not only in her native country, but also in the neighboring countries - apart from Romania, the song gradually gained momentum in the dance charts of Spain, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, as well as in the Middle East. Her eponymous album which had finally made her an acclaimed performer on the European scene, followed a year later. It took the first line in the UK dance chart together with top numbers in other charts. Besides the title song, the album contained such singles as «Love», «Déjà Vu» and exceptionally successful «Amazing». While they all thundered in the dance clubs around the Europe, Inna managed to get a scattering of awards from the Romanian MTV Awards for the best album. Over the next two years, the singer focused on strengthening her positions: she toured Europe, reworked already existing songs and recorded new material. In 2009, in her native Romania, Inna was awarded the title of 'the women of the year' among young talents. Today she can be considered the most famous Romanian singer of all time.
Two of her new singles titled «10 Minutes» and «Sun is Up» respectively, saw the light in 2010. «10 Minutes» reinforced the already existing great love for this singer in France, and song «Sun is Up» was named the best dance track in Europe. At this point, Inna had already begun to conquer the United States, providing her opponents and rivals with the healthy Balkan competition.
In 2011 she released her second album titled «I am the Club Rocker», which, along with brand new songs included the already known among the singer's fans track «Sun is Up». The album contained another two popular singles: «Un Momento» and «Club Rocker» which we mentioned earlier. It is recognized as one of the best dance albums in the history of Romania by the music critics. Inna believes that her new songs characterize herself the best way possible. She marked their release with extensive tours around Europe and later Mexico, where «I am the Club Rocker» received a head start, immediately breaking into the top ten. Well-known music video director Alex Herron worked on the video for the song «Club Rocker» as he has already collaborated with the singer during the filming of her previous music video for «Sun is Up».


text:
2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara Long-Term Report: 3 of 4
Improving Miles (And Smiles) Per Gallon
It's been nearly a year since we took possession of our '09 Grand Vitara, and its life with us has been anything but routine. We've driven it across desert dry washes, on old Mojave mining roads, and in Sierra snowbanks. We've used it to commute, to vacation, to work, and to wheel. It's been busy nearly every weekend as a family hauler and getaway machine.
The 230hp 3.2L V-6 still continues to run strong, and while the five-speed automatic can be a bit loud-and a tad slow at times to drop a gear on inclines-powertrain performance overall continues to impress us. The four-wheel independent suspension makes the Grand Vitara a blast to drive on canyon twisties, though its low ground clearance and limited suspension travel make it susceptible to bottoming out at too-fun speeds in the dirt. Skidplating, please? (On the subject, we'd love to see Suzuki offer some kind of limited-production version of the Grand Vitara like the ARB/Old Man Emu-prepped model we spied at Overland Expo last month. Think "Zuki Raptor," and you'll get our drift.)
We've even gradually gotten more comfortable with the few features we're not the fondest of, such as the toggle-through vehicle info menu on the instrument panel (which our art director figured out how to re-program from French into English, after editors failed dismally) and the jumble of stereo and HVAC controls on the Vitara's small and cluttered center stack.
As it comes closer to ending its working life with us, the Grand Vitara has seen use primarily as a highway commuter, and as a result, our mileage has continued to improve. We finally cracked the 20mpg barrier during the recent test period, with a test-best 26mpg Interstate drive through the San Joaquin Valley, which puts our overall mpg just about smack in the middle of the Grand Vitara's 24/18 EPA mileage rating. We'd still love to see if Suzuki engineers can figure out a way to fit a slightly bigger fuel tank into the next version, though we're obviously stopping for fuel less often as mileage has improved.
Reliability has been outstanding with our tester, too; with the exception of a few minor squeaks and rattles that mostly occur over rough road surfaces (worn bushings? a bit of shock fade?), our time with the GV has been a hassle-free experience. There have been no NHTSA recalls issued for this rig to date, and only five minor Suzuki tech service bulletins, so we'd have to conclude that Suzuki got it right the first time for the latest incarnation of this vehicle, and its overall build integrity would seems to be very good. We'll be back in a couple of months with a final wrap-up.
Report: 3 of 4
- Previous reports: Dec. '09, July '10
- Base price: $23,699
- Price as tested: $25,199
- Four-wheel-drive system: Electronic full-time, two-speed transfer case
Long-Term Numbers
- Miles to date: 13,012
- Miles since last report: 3,237
- Average mpg (this report): 20.39
- Test best tank (mpg): 26.13
- Test worst tank (mpg): 16.56
- This period: None
- Problem areas: None
What's Hot, What's Not
Hot: Decent mileage, reliability, good tires, a lot of truck for the buck
Not: Cluttered center stack, needs skidplating, not many interior storage compartments
Logbook Quotes
- "Good tires can compensate for a lot of other deficiencies"
- "Nothin' fancy about these seats, but surprisingly comfortable for long drives"
- "Hill Descent works bitchin', but still needs a limited-slip in back"
- "Lots of fun driving the two-lane twisties from Hollister to Coalinga"


text:
Courts & Jury Duty Toolbox
Enter your address and MyLouisville will find nearby city services in the following categories…
- Solid Waste Services
- Emergency Services
- Political Info
- General Location Info
Find your garbage, recycling, yard waste and large-item set-out dates. Sign up for large-item set out and street sweeping reminders by email and text!
The new Metro311 Reporting System and our new 311 mobile app is live!
Report Something to Us!
Residential Services & Locations LOJIC Mapping Hub Voting Locations Crime Snow Routes Map Waze Traffic Updates & Road Closures Map Property Maintenance Neighborhoods, Municipalities, and Districts Current Air Quality Metro Council Maps Interesting Story Maps Redlining Louisville Map One Bright City Initiative
Business Property Locator Construction Permits ABC Licenses & More Zoning Districts Geographic Info Systems Maps Property Values Environment & Property
Popular PagesMetro Corrections inmate search
Contact Metro Government
Download the new 311 mobile app
Adopt a pet
Parking downtown
Report an issue
Search our website by keyword
Work for Metro Government
Report or search lost and found animals
Revenue Commission / Tax forms
Junk setout notifications by email/text
Child support information
Junk and bulk trash disposal
Popular ToolsDownload the 311 mobile app and report something to us
Order garbage & recycling carts/bins
Get an accident report
Report a property maintenance issue
Get a permit, license or application
Pay a parking ticket online
City planning and zoning
Pay your water/sewer bill
Pay your electric/gas bill
Bid on surplus items
Get a special events permit
Pay occupational taxes
Pay monthly parking


text:
Loaf pan breads work beautifully with our method– giveaway of baking equipment from Red Star Yeast (GIVEAWAY CLOSED, see winners on 10/12 post)
People think of artisan-style loaves as being free-form, but our method also works beautifully in loaf pans, as you can see above (read on for instructions on how to make the cinnamon-raisin bread in Zoe's picture). We love crusty free-form artisan loaves, but nothing says "comfort food" and kicks off the fall baking season like a luscious traditional loaf like this one.
Our friends at Red Star Yeast have offered to provide some great prize packages for a giveaway— perfect for creating loaf-pan breads. Red Star also shot a video of Zoe and me demonstrating the basic method from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day…
We first met the Red Star people in Milwaukee, while on book tour for Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day— that's where the company has its headquarters. Red Star had found out through the bread grapevine (!) that we use their product. Both of us have used it for years– it gives consistent, excellent results, and it's the best value in the grocery store. This fall, you'll find bottles of Red Star yeast in the supermarket, with our pictures tied to them, in addition to a 75 cents-off coupon, and recipe links:
OK, here's what's in our Red-Star giveaway package, which will be awarded to six lucky entrants picked by random drawing next week. You must enter by commenting HERE, on this post (one comment only), US entries only. Don't try to enter on the contest rules page, we won't see that for the drawing (click here to view contest rules): (more…)


text:
I'm almost positive I know WHO played, but I want to know WHAT horn he played. I'm about 99% sure this is Tommy Johnson, and I'm trying to figure out how he's cutting so well! He sounded absolutely mind blowing! This is my favorite album with full orchestra. I really wish he was still living. Would love to met him, had a lesson with him, and picked his brain. The album I'm referring to is the Zubin Mehta recording entitled: The Great American Orchestras: Los Angeles philharmonic. If this WASN'T Johnson please correct me!
Thanks in advance,


text:
HUB Parking Technology is a leading specialist in parking solutions. Our business thrives through providing better parking solutions.
Software & mobile
About Us
For students, parking is a side effect they want to be involved the least. Provide them with most convenient contactless or hands-free access solution, for straightforward, fast and easy access to parking.