European Tech Wire - May 18, 2005

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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - May 18, 2005
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Sponsored By:
Popkomm Innovation in Music and Entertainment Awards
http://www.popkommawards.com

o FT: Parliament Calls for Changes to Software Patent Directive
o Report: U.K. Continues to Lead European VC Investment
o M.C. Dean Selects Israel's NICE for Video-Surveillance Project
o Konarka Raises 5.5 Million Euro of Venture-Capital Funding
o Dassault to Acquire U.S.-Based Abaqus for 237 Million Euro
o Vodafone to Slash Roaming Fees for European Customers
> Popkomm Innovation in Music and Entertainment Awards
o Briefly Noted: IDC-Business Software Alliance-Irish Software
Piracy, Gizmondo Europe-Electronic Arts, Blue Sphere Games-Coca-
Cola, BladeLogic-Cable & Wireless
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o FT: Parliament Calls for Changes to Software Patent Directive

Brussels -- According to a report in the Financial Times, the European
Parliament has called for changes to the software patent directive that
would make it harder for many technology companies to register
patents for inventions. Parliament has reportedly enlisted the help of
several IP lawyers to change the directive so that companies are
prevented from patenting pure software. JURI, Parliament's legal
affairs committee, is currently deciding how to amend the directive
before a parliamentary plenary session votes on it in July. The
Financial Times said the proposed changes would put Parliament on a
"collision course" with European technology giants like Nokia, Philips
and Siemens, as well as spark "a fierce battle" with a number of EU
member states that supported a more "industry-friendly" version of the
directive earlier this year
http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2255491B
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o Report: U.K. Continues to Lead European VC Investment

Oxford, England -- According to the latest report by Ernst & Young
LLP and market analysis firm VentureOne, the U.K. continues to be the
main market for European venture capital investment, both in terms of
deals done and amounts invested. The report showed an increase in the
amount invested in the U.K. in the first quarter of 2005, up from £177
million (257 million euro) in the first quarter of 2004 to more than
£186 million (270 million euro) this year. However, the U.K. reported a
sharp decline in the number of deals, with just 62 being completed over
the same period compared with 93 in the first quarter of last year and
77 in the fourth quarter of 2004. Overall, VC investment in Europe
reached more than £598 million (880 million euro) in the first quarter, a
19% year-on-year increase, while deal flow fell to fewer than 200
deals, a 27% decrease compared to the same quarter last year.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?J3E42651B
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o M.C. Dean Selects Israel's NICE for Video-Surveillance Project

Baltimore -- M.C. Dean, a U.S.-based electronic systems integration
firm, announced that it has selected Israel's NICE Systems to provide
its digital video systems as part of a new anti-terrorism project in
Baltimore that will use video surveillance to monitor public areas. The
Baltimore Region Anti-Terrorism CCTV Installation, Operation and
Service project will allow security officials to monitor multiple sites
simultaneously, including such areas as rail lines, government buildings
and cultural institutions. NICE's system is designed to alert security
personnel about potential threats. The moments leading up to an alert
will then be automatically replayed, allowing staff to investigate an
incident and decide what action to take. M.C. Dean is currently
integrating NICE's systems into several other projects in the
Washington DC area, the company said.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050517/175541.html?.v=1
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o Konarka Raises 5.5 Million Euro of Venture-Capital Funding

Lowell, Massachusetts -- Konarka Technologies, a U.S.-based
developer of technology that converts light into electrical energy,
announced that it has raised approximately 5.5 million euro in venture
debt financing from Lighthouse Capital Partners. Konarka said it
planned to use the funds in the U.S. and Europe for research laboratory
expansion, capital equipment and working capital related to the
development of its light-activated power plastic. "The quality of
Konarka's team and the compelling value proposition of its innovative
power plastic have positioned the company to become a leader in
making renewable energy mainstream," said Lighthouse Managing
Director Ned Hazen. "We have a great deal of confidence in the
business Konarka is building and its market potential." In addition to its
headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, Konarka has a European
headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research and development
facilities in Austria and Switzerland.
http://tinyurl.com/cbyks
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o Dassault to Acquire U.S.-Based Abaqus for 237 Million Euro

Providence, Rhode Island -- Abaqus, a U.S.-based provider of
engineering design software, announced that it has agreed to be
acquired for 237 million euro in cash by Dassault Systemes, a France-
based provider of product lifecycle management software and services.
Founded in 1978 and privately held, Abaqus specialises in tools for
advanced finite element analysis. The company had revenue of about
79 million euro last year. Dassault said the acquisition had already
received the unanimous support of Abaqus's owners and management
team and that it expected to close the deal by the end of the third
quarter, pending regulatory approvals -- particularly in the U.S. and
Germany.
http://www.abaqus.com/news/pr_050516.html
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o Vodafone to Slash Roaming Fees for European Customers

London -- Vodafone Group Plc, the largest mobile-phone company in
the world, announced that it plans to slash mobile roaming tariffs in
Europe. The U.K.-based company said users of its new Passport service
would be able to make and receive calls at domestic rates while visiting
other countries. Vodafone also claimed to be the first European
operator to cut roaming fees significantly. A spokesman for the
company denied that Passport was a response to an ongoing European
Commission investigation into "unfair and excessive" roaming prices.
Vodafone customers in Germany, Italy and Spain will be able to use the
service starting June 1; no date has been set for the U.K.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?J3D41291B
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> 2nd Annual Popkomm Innovation in Music and Entertainment
Awards (IMEA)

Popkomm is one of Europe's leading Music & Entertainment - Industry
tradeshows and conferences. IMEA is chaired by Music Futurist Gerd
Leonhard (ThinkAndLink). IMEA's mission is to find, select and
present the best new business ideas, the brightest entrepreneurs and
startups in the music-, media - and entertainment-technology sectors,
worldwide, and provide a new platform for their discovery. Apply now
(it's free)
Contact: http://www.popkommawards.com  or gleonhard@gmail.com

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o Briefly Noted:

(Dublin) A new report by technology research firm IDC shows that
Ireland currently suffers a software piracy rate of 38%, exceeding the
EU regional average of 35% and the U.S. average of 22%. Ireland's
Business Software Alliance (BSA) said IDC's report was proof positive
of the prevalence of software piracy in Ireland. "The encouraging
response from Irish companies indicates their increasing respect for
intellectual property and a more responsible attitude overall," said BSA
Ireland's Julian McMenamin. "However, there still remains the
significant challenge of combating software piracy at all levels."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P2731691B 

(London) Gizmondo Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Florida-based Tiger
Telematics Inc. and developer of the Gizmondo multi-functional
handheld video game console, announced that Electronic Arts (EA)
would publish two of its titles for the device. EA plans to release "EA
Sports FIFA Football 2005" and "SSX 3" for the Gizmondo in the near
future. "Each of these titles represents another step forward for us in
delivering mainstream games content," said Tiger Telematics Chairman
Carl Freer. "These are among the strongest game franchises in the
world, and a co-publishing relationship with EA has been a priority
goal for us from the outset."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050517/uktu005.html 

(Birmingham, England) Blue Sphere Games, a U.K.-based mobile
game developer, announced that it has signed an agreement with Coca-
Cola to produce Coke-branded European mobile content including
games, wallpapers, animations and screensavers. The agreement grants
a two-year exclusive license of the mobile content creation and
distribution rights to Blue Sphere Games. Blue Sphere said its first
portfolio of Coca-Cola content would become available later this
month.
http://www.bluespheregames.com 

(Waltham, Massachusetts) BladeLogic Inc., a privately held, U.S.-
based provider of data-centre automation software, announced that
Cable & Wireless (C&W), a U.K.-based telecommunications services
company, has selected BladeLogic's technology as the automation
platform for all of its data-centres. "With BladeLogic Operations
Manager, (C&W) can take a holistic approach to managing its data-
centres by using one platform to provision, change, configure and
manage all types of servers and applications," said BladeLogic EMEA
Vice President Luca Lazzaron. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
http://www.bladelogic.com/news/news40.html

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> 2nd Annual Popkomm Innovation in Music and Entertainment
Awards (IMEA)

Popkomm is one of Europe's leading Music & Entertainment - Industry
tradeshows and conferences. IMEA is chaired by Music Futurist Gerd
Leonhard (ThinkAndLink). IMEA's mission is to find, select and
present the best new business ideas, the brightest entrepreneurs and
startups in the music-, media - and entertainment-technology sectors,
worldwide, and provide a new platform for their discovery. Apply now
(it's free)
Contact: http://www.popkommawards.com  or gleonhard@gmail.com
_____________________________________________

> IDEAlliance's XTech 2005 and The Gilbane Conference on Content
Mgmt.

Slated for 24-27 May in Amsterdam, XTech 2005 is the premier
European conference for developers and managers working with XML
and Web technologies, bringing together the worlds of web
development, open source, semantic web and open standards. The
Gilbane Conference is for IT managers, system architects, technical
business and project managers. Topics include: enterprise and web
content management, knowledge management, collaboration, enterprise
search, and document management. For more info visit
http://www.xtech.org  or http://www.lighthouseseminars.com
_____________________________________________

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