05.29.15

Propaganda Mode for UPC Agreement Whilst EPO Increasingly Grants Patents on Software

Posted in Europe, Patents at 6:52 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

“They [EPO examiners] claim that the organisation is decentralising and focusing on granting as many patents as possible to gain financially from fees generated.” —Expatica, European Patent Office staff on strike

Summary: In order to make the Unitary Patent a reality (towards a ‘no place to hide’ patent approach) misleading claims are being made

THE EPO is getting away with a lot of misdeeds and corruption, never mind a globalisation effort that removes Europe’s sovereignty in favour of multinational corporations.

There has been some opposition to the UPC Agreement from several large European member states, such as Spain and Italy. Lawyers’ sites are seemingly happy that Italy is giving up after initial opposition about four years ago and it sure looks like UPC is only a matter of time now.

The UPC takes us a step closer to what we call "Global Patent System", as explained here before. This, in due course, may mean software patents in Europe. The UPC Web site rejects that claim by stating:

No, the UPC Agreement doesn’t touch upon the patentability criteria. This will also in the future be governed by the European Patent Convention. According to Article 52 (c) of the EPC software as such are not patentable.

The unitary character of the UPC will make it easier to revoke a patent on software if such a patent is granted by mistake and there will be no need for parallel litigation. A third party will not have to wait for the outcome of opposition procedures at the EPO before bringing a revocation action before the UPC.

That is nonsense because it works the other way around, too. If a software patent is granted or defended, then it becomes a weapon in the whole of Europe. We already know that the EPO is increasingly open to software patents, predating Benoît Battistelli and going all the way back to Alison Brimelow, as we explained at the time (around 2009).

The UPC Web site continues to discredit Spain’s opposition to the UPC. They’ll just say anything to pass the UPC, even if it’s a half-truth and borderline lie. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

Links 18/1/2020: Mir 1.7 and GNU Guile 3.0.0

Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 16, 2020

IRC logs for Thursday, January 16, 2020
Links 16/1/2020: Mozilla Layoffs, PinePhone Braveheart Shipping, KDE Plasma 5.18 LTS Reaches Beta

Links for the day
Microsoft is a Market Leader in Lying and Corruption

Microsoft is working hard to describe itself as the exact opposite of what it is and what it has been; ‘Internet rot’ helps a lot with this agenda, not to mention control of the media (the narrative)
The European Patent Organisation Continues to 'Piss All Over' Separation of Powers

The EPO continues to scatter invalid patents (IPs) that are European Patents (EPs) all over Europe and nobody can stop this, not even the judges of the EPO because they lack independence (by their very own admission)
Zealots of Team UPC (Patent Litigation) Now Attacking the Courts and the Judges, Removing Their Mask on the Face of Things...

The tactics of Team UPC aren't changing, only the shamelessness associated with these tactics is changing (because it looks like the end of days to them)
Microsoft Now Uses or Leverages Software Freedom Against Free Software

A reader's explanation of what Microsoft is trying to accomplish with its so-called 'embrace' and what steps will come next (how they manifest themselves)
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 15, 2020

IRC logs for Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Links 15/1/2020: CentOS Linux 8.1, Oracle VirtualBox 6.1.2 and GNU Sed 4.8

Links for the day
OSI Board at Microsoft: This is How Institutions Die or Completely Lose Their Purpose/Direction

The photo (or meeting) may mark the turning point of the Openwashing as-a-Standard Initiative (OSI), which less than a year earlier took a bucket of money from Microsoft
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 14, 2020

IRC logs for Tuesday, January 14, 2020
When Microsoft's Actions Speak for Themselves (About Back Door Access)

Unwittingly, people are being reminded of the 'special relationship' between Microsoft and the US Army (or government); The back doors or bug doors are still there, even 7 years after Edward Snowden's NSA leaks
Why You -- Yes, You Too -- Should Consider Migrating to GNU/Linux

The window is closing (and Windows/Vista 7 closing down); the chance to use machines that the users actually control is still there
Can We Please Stop Lying for Microsoft in the Mainstream Media?

Dishonesty for short-term financial gain (e.g. advertising money) will be a big loss in the long run. There’s a reason why so many news sites perish and Datamation (where I wrote more than a decade ago) now throws away remnants of reputation by spreading a big lie from Microsoft.
It's Only Factual and Truthful to Point Out That About Half of the EPO's Management Committee Are From the President's Nation (and Many Are Underqualified Friends of His)

The patent-granting extravaganza of what a reader and contributor of ours likes to call "Club Med" will result in great pain (not just for the Office but for Europe as a whole); pointing out who's to blame (the culprits) is an exercise in practicality
Stranger Than Fiction: Team UPC's Mental Condition

Team UPC's delusions continue to unmask UPC proponents (in 2020) as totally and entirely detached from reality
Links 14/1/2020: IBM Joins LOT Network; X.Org Server 1.20.7, Tails 4.2.2 and Zanshin 0.5.71 Released

Links for the day
Vista 7 is Dead, Long Live GNU/Linux

A reminder of Microsoft’s universal “PC tax” ambitions — evidence that the company was never interested in ‘playing nice’ with anybody
Links 14/1/2020: Git v2.25.0 and End of Vista 7

Links for the day
Systematic Abandonment of the Independence of Judiciary at the EPO (or Collective Amnesia)

The ‘constitution’ or the convention upon which the EPO is based (known as EPC) is routinely violated and nobody seems to care anymore; the EPO governs itself and conducts itself without as much as a fundamental legal text
They Always Say They Love Linux (and 'the Children')

Microsoft says it “loves Linux” and the Gates Foundation insists it “loves children” but the real underlying motivations have more to do with monopoly (Windows, Monsanto etc.) and nothing to do with “Linux” or “children” or whatever
The Media's Obligation is Not to Repeat the Lies of EPO Management, But Money Changes Things

The ridiculous lies about prospects of the Unified Patent Court are now spreading to EPO-friendly publishers — few powerful people to whom truth isn’t valued as much as the customers (their subscribers and sponsors are law firms)
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 13, 2020

IRC logs for Monday, January 13, 2020
The FSF and GNU Need a Better Savannah to Attract GitHub Refugees

Thomas Grzybowski's explanation of why GitHub poses a risk to software freedom and what can be done about it
Links 13/1/2020: Linux Lite 4.8, Linux 5.5 RC6, Corebird Continues as ‘Cawbird’

Links for the day
GNU is Not Linux and Not UNIX, Either

When GNU started it needed to clarify that it wasn't UNIX but a UNIX-like replacement for it; now it needs to argue, sometimes in vain, that calling GNU with Linux just "Linux" is factually wrong
Mansion of Pedophilia – Part VII: Guilty Verdict in Case of Pedophilia (Staff at the Mansion of Bill Gates), But Where Was the Mainstream Media?

We take our first glimpse at court documents and a preliminary look (overview) of what the case in question entailed, with updates on the record for almost 5 years
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 12, 2020

IRC logs for Sunday, January 12, 2020
Open Letter to Richard Stallman About the Free Software Movement

New letter to the founder of GNU and the FSF; the authors "wish to have it published as an open letter as well."
Links 12/1/2020: End of Windows 7, LibreOffice 6.4 RC2 and Sparky 5.10

Links for the day