February 22

In 1630, popcorn was introduced to the English colonists by an Indian named Quadequina who brought it in deerskin bags as his contribution at their first Thanksgiving dinner.

In 1946, Dr Selman Abraham Waksman announced his discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin, the first specific antibiotic effective against tuberculosis. For this work, he was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize. Dr. Waksman was born in Ukraine.

News

10.10.2011 - EPO and European Commission renew commitment to cost-efficient European patents
The President of the EPO, Benoît Battistelli, met with European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, Michel Barnier, at the EPO headquarters in Munich today to discuss the planned introduction of a unitary patent aimed at improving the European patent system to better serve the needs of European industry. They also discussed the progress of the automatic translation system for patents, which is currently being developed in the EPO.

The visit by the EU delegation also included two Members of the European Parliament, Eva Lichtenberger and Cecilia Wikström.

"The creation of a unitary patent and a centralised, specialised European patent court is a decisive step forward to securing Europe's position in the global race for innovation," said EPO President Battistelli. "Creating a simpler and more accessible patent system will enable European businesses to operate on a par with firms in competing markets such as the US and Japan, which already enjoy unitary patent protection covering their territory and operate in a single language, under a single court jurisdiction," he said.

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