Search Results for: Germany

BY KEITH NUTHALL

MASS production of a vaccine to fight the H5N1 bird flu strain in humans could begin within a year, after pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline launched clinical trials in Germany and Belgium.

The company is testing two vaccines: the first would be targeted at fighting a pandemic after an outbreak; the second aimed at advance inoculations.…

BY MARK ROWE

SCIENTISTS and engineers are using nanotechnology to install sensors that will create "self-thinking" carpets offering huge resource savings and safety benefits to companies and householders.

Nanotechnology will implement sensors into carpets so that the carpets recognise where people are, according to Wolfgang Porod, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Nanofabrication Facility in the United States.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN INTERNATIONAL Chamber of Commerce survey has concluded that most developed countries are responding to high oil process by improving energy efficiency. Especially good performers included Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium. The US had also made progress "to a lesser degree".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has cut fines imposed by the European Commission on Germany’s BASF for participating in vitamin cartels, from Euro 296.16 million to Euro 236.84 million, with judges saying Brussels made some errors in calculating the penalty.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has ordered its committees of national officials to stage a "thorough examination" of the official EU definition of vodka, because of a row between member states over its terms. Poland, supported by Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, is resisting a European Commission proposal to allow vodka to continue being sold in the EU using non-traditional ingredients.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has opened a detailed inquiry into a planned acquisition by UK company Ineos of the ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol businesses of BP, at Dormagen, Germany, over concerns that this could harm competition for these chemicals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

COSMETICS products sold through hairdressers and beauty salons may have less trademark protection than those retailed over shop counters following a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling. Judges have upheld on appeal a ruling that concluded that sales of beauty and hygiene products in such specialist locations "enable the relevant public to examine them visually" and as a result, are less likely to confuse similar trademarks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A USEFUL trademark precedent has been set by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has ruled that a three-dimensional sign in the shape of a bottle is not distinctive enough to warrant European Union-wide registration. The application was made by Develey Holding GmbH & Co.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

There were about 41,600 road deaths in the 25 EU countries in 2005, down from around 50,000 in 2001 reports the European Commission. This is progress "but not enough" says Brussels which wants member states to halve the rate to 25,000 by 2010 under the EU’s Road Safety Action Programme.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) competition commissioner has indicated she could push for regulatory reform to improve competition in EU energy markets, in parallel with legal enforcement action using existing rules. Neelie Kroes highlighted "bundling of generation, supply, pipelines, grids, and distribution (as) at the heart of the current EU energy market failure."…