Bonum Certa Men Certa

European Commission Betrays the European Public With Stance on OOXML and Unitary Patent

Continuation of this post

Side view of Koekelberg's basilica



Summary: New examples of the Commission serving as guardian of corporations, not the public

EARLIER this year we demonstrated that the European Commission had lost its way [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Linking to this whitepaper, the FFII's president writes that "The Commission has apparently sacrificed its function as the guardian of the principles, values and policies of the EU..."



André Rebentisch from the FFII shows that the "EU Commission explains how they slapped their citizens in the face". It's said in relation to OOXML:



Document Exchange – EU Commission explains how they slapped their citizens in the face



[...]

It seems to me the Commission had good reasons to keep this offensive document confidential for so long. Many persons I know are simply outraged when they think back at the OOXML standardization process.


As the FFII's folks point out in the NO-OOXML Web site: "The preferred document exchange among European Institutions is OOXML", this is the summary of an awful document produced by the "Inter-Institutional Committee for Informatics" of the European Institutions. Basically the document says that European bureaucrats use Microsoft Office everywhere on their desktop, and this is not gonna change."

It's the same in the UK pretty much. "The Great Betrayal of 2012" calls it Glyn Moody, with others noticing that the BSA, a Microsoft front group, "tears UK policy to shreds":

Cabinet Office scrapped its open standards policy before opening it to consultation last month, opening the way for a major policy U-turn.

It issued a procurement policy edict on 30 November that erased a standards policy that had been in place since 31 January. It was revoked after a period of lobbying by powerful companies lined against its open standards policy that included Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance.


Who is left then to stand up for the public? "Polititcians are gonna change the EU treaties once again without referendums. It is really time for a change in politics," wrote the FFII's president. But it gets worse. It's not just about OOXML. This extends to patent policy to a degree. Pierre Delsaux of the Commission takes a troubling stance which jumps in line with patent lawyers. "Italy, which now has a new government led by Mario Monti, is considering joining the system, said Delsaux" (according to this report).

Regarding this article, the "tensions between EU Member States," claims Gérald Sédrati-Dinet, "unitary patent could be dead before being born" and also:

Spain is not changing its opinion on #upat afaik


The FFII asks: "Would #Almunia prolong EUnuch rules for #patent trolls?" This one official page gives a grim outlook.

Mind the article "It’s now or never for EU patent reform - Commission" because it says that:

It’s now or never for EU patent reform - Commission



If EU member states ever want to get a deal on the patent reform package they need to put their negotiating cards on the table, a senior Commission official said today


Does the Commission think it is really helping by supporting it. Some members of it tried rushing everything and amid delays the patent lawyers became more passionate about batting for this mess and one lawyers' site said: "As discussions over patent and trade reforms in Europe reach a critical stage, the departure of key staff could cause more delays"

There is no reason to rush into this thing and there is no reason to ever pass it until the patent systems in other continents become more sane, Over in the US media companies like CBS are being sued by patent trolls, which gives hope for reform there (the media controls public perception). To quote Masnick:

Of course, while media companies aren't quite as used to dealing with patent lawsuits, and also don't have patent portfolios of their own should they be sued by practicing entities, the one thing they do have is the ability to sway public opinion. It will be interesting to see, as this keeps up, if it backfires on the trolling firms by simply calling more and more attention to some of their practices.


The unitary patent can extend the reach of patent trolls and cause enormous damage to the European economy, The Commission should strongly oppose it, especially Commissioner Barnier, whose role we will write about separately. We we mentioned him not so long ago, as well as here, here, here, here and here.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
 
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025