Luxembourg IP Day addresses legislation, video games and clean technologies

The 5th Luxembourg Intellectual Property Day was celebrated at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg-Kirchberg on Thursday with a conference entitled “Intellectual Property: an economic challenge for Luxembourg”. Organised by the Intellectual Property Office in collaboration with Luxinnovation, the Centre de Veille Technologique (CRP Henri Tudor) and Luxembourg for Business, the event attracted an international gathering of experts in the field of Intellectual Property and speakers like Sylvie STROBEL from the European Patent Office, Michel Gyory, lawyer and lecturer at the universities of Liège and Vienna, Roberto d’Erme of the European IPR Helpdesk and Benoit Lory of DG Trade at the European Commission.
Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr Etienne Schneider, opened the various exhibition and information stands and addressed the conference by outlining the economic and political framework in which intellectual property operates in Luxembourg, including the opportunities in this domain in the near future.

Business environment makes Luxembourg IP attractive

In January 2008, Luxembourg introduced a new law, article 50bis ITL, according to which “80% of the net positive income received as consideration for the use of, or the right to use, software copyright, patent, trademark, design or model, is tax exempt.” In order to promote research and development, the law stipulates that companies using their own patents can deduct from their profits the equivalent of 80% of the income they would have had if they had granted a license instead of exploiting their patent themselves. This tax exemption must however be integrated in the taxable income of the company in case the patent application is refused. This new legislation thus enables the reduction of taxation of income generated by intellectual property, by reducing the normal tax rate of circa 30% to circa 6% for such income.

Many international companies have chosen Luxembourg as their European headquarters, including information and technology companies such as RTL, SES, Amazon, eBay, iTunes, PayPal and Skype. These examples show that Luxembourg is a place to create platforms for distribution and collecting rights societies. E-commerce, electronic archiving and any other field could complete this list.


Luxembourg ranks highly

In the Global Innovation Policy Index from March 2012, Luxembourg is placed among the “Upper Tier” countries regarding IPR protection; the World Economic Forum even rates Luxembourg 4th. In IP enforcement, Luxembourg is placed 5th ; in Legal System Integrity Luxembourg is placed best.

For more information on IP in Luxembourg, please visit: www.eco.public.lu/attributions/dg3/d propriete-intellectuelle/index.html

Photo credit: Geoff THOMPSON
 

ECA International have published their 2012 study on the quality of life with Luxembourg ranked third (up one place from 2011) behind joint top spot holders Berne and Copenhagen.

The report analyses the most-liveable cities throughout the world for expatriates, with the results taken from a study of ratings by expatriates, previous classifications and independent studies. The report considers several factors with which to arrive at an estimate of the quality of life in 400 cities worldwide. This study helps HR managers to define the benefits that will offset the difficulties of expatriate adjustment to their new environment.

For comparisons, rankings used in this study include 254 cities worldwide with a European perspective. Indeed, the score takes into account both the origin and destination (of expatriates). The ranking of cities is compiled from a variety of criteria such as climate, health services, housing, utilities, isolation, social life, leisure and infrastructure as well as personal safety, political tensions and the quality of air. Deterioration or improvement in the criteria and the relative movements of cities against each other influence the rankings from one year to another.
 

Source: ECA International
 

The Global Russia Business Meeting (GRBM) took place in Luxembourg from 22nd-23rd April as a Horasis-leadership event under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and co-hosted by Luxembourg for Business. The opening night on Sunday was honoured by the presence of HRH Crown Prince Guillaume and The Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr Etienne Schneider.

The third edition of this event was hosted in Luxembourg under the theme “Globalizing Russian Firms”. The event attracted a 300-strong audience including distinguished participants from the global business community, including a former Prime Minister of Finland and top decision-makers from Russia in the field of banking, finance and telecoms, as well as from the UK, Hong Kong, Cyprus and Israel, all acting as co-chairmen during the event.

In the wake of the Russian presidential elections, the Global Russia Business Meeting presented an excellent opportunity for international business leaders to discuss Russia’s important role as a driving force of the world economy. A large number of global leaders from the spheres of politics and business met in the City of Luxembourg to engage in open and constructive discussions about the opportunities and challenges of the global business community.

The meeting examined the global outlook for 2012 but also more distinctively at the Russian economy in terms of growth strategies, innovation, technology, natural resources, entrepreneurship, social responsibility and the environment.

In recent years, economic ties have been strengthening between Russia and Luxembourg which is a direct result of ongoing joint efforts to nourish the development of economic and financial relations.

Copyright: Mineco/Ruppert
 

The Ministry of Health and the Personalized Medicine Consortium (PMC) of Luxembourg are cordially inviting the general public of Luxembourg to be part of a ground-breaking national health summit on 3rd May 2012.

This Summit is open to all members of the public of Luxembourg. If you wish to attend, please register online now.

http://www.sommetsante.lu/en/

A Luxembourg trade delegation led by Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Etienne Schneider, will visit Lebanon from Monday 4 June to Thursday 7 June 2012.
The multi-sectoral visit will focus on Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The visit of the “Project Lebanon” trade fair, specialised in the construction industry and environmental technology, will include a reception at the Luxembourg National Pavilion on Tuesday 6 June. This will be Luxembourg’s third annual presence at Project Lebanon which attracted 24,000 visitors last year, mainly from the surrounding middle eastern countries. As one of only 12 national pavilions, the Luxembourg pavilion can be viewed as an ideal gateway to access the Lebanese market.

For further information or registration on the Luxembourg Pavilion, please contact Mr André Hansen (andre.hansen@eco.etat.lu) from the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade.

Lebanon today
Lebanon is now experiencing an extended period of peace; it is focused on returning its social and business infrastructure to that of a sophisticated Mediterranean country, based on a free market economy and a business-oriented environment. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented with main growth sectors including finance and tourism. There are no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital movement, bank secrecy is strictly enforced and the government does not restrict foreign investment.
The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and derailed the country's position as a Middle Eastern distribution centre and banking hub. Following the civil war, Lebanon rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. While the unrest in neighbouring Syria slowed economic growth in 2011 to 1.5% after four years of 8% average growth, the Cabinet endorsed in September 2011 a bill that would provide $1.2 billion in funding to improve Lebanon's electricity sector.
The economy is primarily service-based that represents circa 60% of GDP. Major subsectors are commerce, tourism and financial services, with other components including health care and higher education. The Port of Beirut plays an important role in Lebanon’s commercial activities; following WWII, Beirut became the most important Arab port on the Eastern Mediterranean. Work has been completed on the reconstruction of the Duty Free Zone to restore its pre-war capacity and a project for the rehabilitation and expansion of the port is underway. Tourism also plays a strong role in Lebanon’s economy, contributing circa 20% of GDP prior to the outbreak of the conflict; this industry is now being rebuilt, focusing on its strategic geographic location, its mild climate and natural beauty, including as a winter sports destination. Significant private investment is currently being made in the modernisation and expansion of this sector and international hotel chains have returned to Lebanon.

Opportunities for Luxembourg companies
While many delegates are expected to represent the finance sector, other possibilities abound in the energy and construction sectors, as well as consultancy in many of the areas outlined above.

Registration
For any further information or registration, please email Daniel Sahr (daniel.sahr@cc.lu) at the Chambre de Commerce.