Est-ce que c'est vrai?

The IPKat wonders whether it could possibly be true that, according to reports, France is just about to ratify the London agreement, perhaps even in the next few days. In an interview with Le Monde, the French prime minister Francois Fillon (right: doing some long-awaited signing) said:

"Dans les prochains jours, nous annoncerons une réforme radicale du crédit impôt recherche pour que 100 % des dépenses de recherche soient prises en compte. Parallèlement, on va créer le statut de "jeune entreprise universitaire", fusionner [les agences d'aides aux entreprises] Oseo et A2I, et, enfin, ratifier l'accord de Londres sur les brevets".

It seems almost like a throwaway line, but perhaps that's just the French way. This Kat looks forward to the long-awaited day when applicants will finally be able to get a European patent with decent coverage without the need to spend huge amounts of money on translations.

More French rapprochement here, here and here.