Day: 24 November 2016

On the sidelines of the second meeting of the European Patent Office online users’ days, being held in Monaco from November 24 to 25, the Principality, represented by Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, and the European Patent Organisation, represented by the President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, have signed a working agreement that will bring the two sides closer.
Users of the patent system will be able to request, on the filing of a national patent application, a research report from the European Patent Office and a written opinion on patentability, the whole of which is indispensable for knowing the legal value of an invention.
This signature clearly shows the will of the Prince’s Government not only to support companies in their policy of growth and innovation, through the provision of a powerful new legal tool, but also to continue the process of modernising its national office for industrial property law initiated in 2010.
It’s also an opportunity to highlight the close relations between the European Patent Office and the Principality of Monaco, which have steadily increased in recent years with the first official visit by its President in September 2013, and that of its Senior Director for European and International Cooperation, François-Régis Hannart, in November 2015, on the occasion of which a bilateral cooperation plan was signed to develop the activities of the national office in Monaco.

A one-day strike on Italian railways will have a significant knock-on effect on the local TER service to Monaco Monte-Carlo from points east during Friday, November 25, French train operator SNCF has warned.
Many trains travelling through Monaco from Nice will terminate at Menton Garavan, just short of the border, or at Rocquebrune Cap Martin, before travelling back through Monaco. Traffic will be affected between 6:14 am and 5:31 pm. The Italian strike will therefore have serious implications for daily commuters trying to come to the Principality from Ventimiglia and beyond.

Monegasque Marc Mandel, 44, has been convicted of the murder of 39-year-old Pierre Torregrossa, the father of a seven-year-old boy, after an investigation lasting more than five years. The killing took place on October 7, 2011, in Roquebrune, as Mr Torregossa came to collect his child for a weekend visit.
The court in Nice heard that Marc Mandel shot and killed Mr Torregossa with a hunting rifle loaded with buckshot. Sophie, the mother of the child, was living with Mr Mandel at the time of the murder.
An intriguing aspect of the case is that since the killing, Mandel has spent only four months in detention, a fact attributed during the trial to his friendship with a number of local police officials and possible connections with local freemasons, an allegation that was neither proven nor dismissed after eight days of debate. Video footage was not seen by investigating officers, the court heard. Advocate General Fabrice Karcenty said the police dossier had astonished him, and he had gone from one surprise to another.
The court was told that leading up the killing the couple had prevented the natural father from exercising his right of access.
The jury were convinced that Marc Mandel, described in court as an automotive expert who worked in a business established by his father, deliberately killed Pierre Torregrossa, and despite a call from the prosecutor for him to spend 20 years in jail, he was sentenced to serve 12 years for the killing of a father who was described by friends and family as “jovial” and “loving”.

The presidents of Monaco’s humanitarian associations have met the classes of CM1 (grade 8) over two days to mark the anniversary of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November, 20 1989.
Under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert, the Principality mobilises each year to celebrate the occasion. Local partners of the Day of the Rights of the Child, who presented their missions of aid and solidarity for the children of the world whose fundamental rights are not respected include Action Innocence, Amade Monaco, Casa Do Menor, Child Care Monaco, Children & Future, Digital Aid, Children of Franckie, Interactions & Solidarity, Mission Enfance, Support Volunteering, and Walking For Kids.