Russia Calls on British Entrepreneurs to Invest in Innovational Technologies

According to the statement made today at the Russia Open to the World conference in London by Ilya Klebanov, Russia's Minister of Science, Industry, and Technologies, Russia is interested in increased British investments in innovational technologies. The minister noted that, at this time, Russia used every possibility to support the so-called breakthrough trends in science and technology development. The government, he said had planned appropriate measures, some already taken. For instance, the necessary legislative basis is being developed. A draft Patent Law has been introduced in the State Duma. It provides for the protection of authors' rights as concerns inventions, including secret ones. Other pertinent drafted laws include 'On Trademarks, Service Marks, and Marks of Origin of Goods', 'On the Legal Protection of the Topologies of Integrated Electronic Circuits', 'On the Legal Protection of Software Development Rights', and 'On the Rights of Authorship and Other Pertinent Rights'.

The minister also said that Russia's government was planning the state protection of small technology-related companies, such as innovational centres, technological parks, business incubators, etc. He continued to say that the government was concerned about creating cadre potential for the innovational industries. He mentioned that, by this time, 11 innovational projects important to the state had been selected. These concern instrumentation, micro-technologies, high-efficiency energy sources, and biotechnologies. A contest to select the performers of these projects is being prepared. However, the minister said, the projects will only be supported, if foreign investors get involved in them.