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The EPC is an agreement to establish a system in which a single patent (the European Patent) could be obtained and would be legal and enforceable, under the same set of regulations, in all European nations. Today, a party seeking to register a patent must apply to the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany. The application is reviewed and if approved, a patent is awarded. Under the agreement process, the patent eventually becomes an individual patent in each of the EC nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a very important concept in relation to who is responsible for determining the strategic goals and objectives as well as the direction of activity of an organization. In most countries, this would be the board of directors (of course, serving at the discretion of the stockholders). Under codetermination, employees of the organization have the right to assist in the basic strategic decisions affecting the firm. In Germany, codetermination means that an employee of an organization must be placed on that organization's board of directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BIS was founded in 1930 by an agreement signed by representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the bank was to coordinate the activities of the central banks of the most highly industrialized nations. The international monetray fund uses the bank to transfer its funds to other institutions. In addition to the original members, Canada, Japan, and the United States have become associated with the BIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AG stands for Aktiengesellschaft and is the abbreviation for the German corporate form for large enterprises and company groups. The letters AG appear after the name of the corporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]