EPO and the so-called 'Administrative Council' are not independent and they have basically eliminated oversight and now protect one another. Then there is the so-called investigation unit, which simply retaliates against anyone who does not toe the line of EPO management, as we saw several times last month. "There is a lot going on at the moment," told us someone from the EPO. "We are almost waiting for the next collegue to be suspended and escorted from the premises. This is starting to become worrying not only for persons working at the EPO but also for everybody and every company depending on good EPO services. In particular the patenting of software is a disputed issue also amongst the examiners."