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29.06.07 Lord Justice Laws supports Protimos
"In places where there is much poverty and deprivation the benefits of law may seem, I suppose, to be the Cinderella of social needs. There are more basic things that have to be provided. The foundation of Protimos is therefore all the more imaginative, for its founders have seen and acted on a great truth which may not strike people of goodwill with the immediacy of other more obvious imperatives: it is that access to justice is as critical for marginalised communities – to protect them, as the Protimos Business Plan says, from the unjust exploitation of their natural and cultural heritage – as it is for the members of any community.
"Protimos describes itself as an organisation of lawyers whose aim is “to work in partnership with indigenous communities to enable them to use the law as an effective means by which they can protect, defend or assert their legitimate rights”. This is not merely a benign purpose. It is an expression of what makes law necessary: the only surety against arbitrary exploitation of the weak by the powerful.
"I would therefore like to commend Protimos. They have begun a lawyers’ initiative to provide a structure. It is called “Protimos 500”. It has individual membership, and membership for partnerships and chambers. I hope the membership grows steadily, and its aims prosper. They certainly deserve to do so."
-- The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Laws, 29 June 2007
03.05.07 ETC succeeds against Monsanto in the European Patent Court
The European Patent Office revoked Monsanto’s species-wide patent on all genetically modified soybeans, (EP0301749) – a patent unprecedented in its broad scope.
ETC Group, an international civil society organization based in Canada, won its 13-year legal challenge against Monsanto’s species-wide soybean patent when an EPO appeal board ruled that the patent was not new or sufficient (i.e., the invention claimed was not sufficiently described for a skilled person to repeat it).
See http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?pub_id=619 for full details, please note that the final wording of the ruling by the EPO appeals board will not be released for several weeks.
28.04.07 Film Benefit a success
Protimos’ film ‘tour’ of the UK got off to a great start at The Barn at Cumnor House School on 28th March. The short film of Protimos’ work, produced by Glynis Barber, was extremely well received, and all who attended had an informative and stimulating evening.
With thanks to Cumnor House School for the loan of their venue, The Griffin Inn for the delicious wine, and Richard and Ruth Tillard for their help with the catering.