02.09.16

Gemini version available ♊︎

Even the Legal Community is Upset at Benoît Battistelli for the Damage He Did to the EPO

Posted in Europe, Patents at 9:51 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

EPO staff, patent lawyers, judges and so on try to clean up the mess created by Benoît Battistelli

Man and dog

Summary: A recent article from lawyers’ media (in German) speaks of the great damage (or mess) left by its current president, who has become somewhat of a laughing stock and growingly synonymous with farcical trials even in the circles of stakeholders, not just his own staff

DAYS ago we wrote about German media's reluctance to truly challenge the EPO, calling for cessation of its abuses. One site that typically provided good German coverage on these matters was Juve, which unlike mainstream German media (Juve is more of a niche) actually challenged the EPO’s abuses against judges. It’s good that these issues are increasingly being covered by German media, even if the media targets only a particular (and relatively small) audience. As Juve puts it: “Every year German Commercial Law Firms provides you with a comprehensive overview of commercial law firms in Germany.” This is a site for lawyers.

A reader has translated for us a recent article (link to original: “Ist der Ruf erst ruiniert”). Here it is with minor highlighting:

With his reputation in ruins, Battistelli now has nothing to lose

Mathieu Klos on the reign of EPO President Benoît Battistelli

Benoît Battistelli floats above the clouds, high in the glorious Bavarian sky. The President resides in a luxury apartment in the top floor of the European Patent Office in Munich, and his position is now more secure than ever. As recently as July [2014], the Administrative Council confirmed his appointment early, and then bolstered his position in December by backing him in imposing a house ban on a judge.

In a comparable situation at national level, the embattled Frenchman’s position would scarcely be tenable. His disciplinary measures were ill-timed, and he was already obliged to defend himself against accusations of exceeding his authority in his dealings with the EPO Boards of Appeal. The fact that the latter can hardly be regarded as impartial courts of law is something which only became apparent to those involved as a result of the spectacular decision R19/12.

So, the member states which make up the Administrative Council would be well advised to start a long-overdue structural reform and finally bring Battistelli under control. The damage to the image of this once exemplary Institution could hardly be worse. The European patent community is worried about the professional quality and independence of the judges. Even the Boards of Appeal are resisting Battistelli’s policies. The discord between the President and large sections of the EPO’s workforce has manifested itself in the huge strikes which took place before Christmas.

Battistelli’s opponents within the EPO refer to the Frenchman as the Sun King. However, this comparison with the absolutist monarch falls short of the mark. After all, Battistelli’s aggressive efficiency drive is delivering what many want: massive power for the national patent offices. And the real Sun King, Louis XIV, proved very durable indeed; he reigned for a record 72 years – a record which is still unbroken.

It’s hard to imagine Benoît Battistelli surviving in this job until his term’s end. Some of our sources seriously doubt he’ll even survive this year alone. The longer he remains in power, the greater (and possibly irreparable) damage he will cause. The EPO is rapidly becoming Europe’s shame, despite the fact that it currently employs some of Europe’s brightest people. Our sources indicate there’s a big exodus of these people right now, as they wave goodbye to the EPO along with the high salary (hence the many job openings that are being advertised by the HR and PR teams nowadays). When the EPO loses the talent the whole of Europe is guaranteed to suffer from bogus patents (like in the US where there is no quality control, not anymore).

“Intellectual property is the next software.”

Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft patent troll

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Links 23/03/2023: Linux 6.2.8 and XWayland 23.1.0

    Links for the day



  2. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 22, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, March 22, 2023



  3. Apple 'Porn' Filter

    Guest post by Ryan Farmer: Apple and US State Governments Developing System to Require People to Report Themselves for Watching Porn.



  4. 3.5 Years Later Gemini Protocol and Geminispace Are Still 100% Community-Controlled

    Community-centric alternatives to the World Wide Web have gained traction; one of them, Gemini Protocol, continues to grow in 2023 and we're pleased to report progress and expansion



  5. Windows Falls to 16% Market Share in India (It was 97% in 2009), Microsoft Layoffs Reach India Too

    This month’s picture from the world’s most populous nation does not look good for Microsoft (it looks good for GNU/Linux); anonymous rumour mills online say that Microsoft isn’t moving to India but is actually firing staff based in India, so it’s a case of shrinking, not offshoring. When even low-paid (much lower salaries) staff is discarded it means things are very gloomy.



  6. Links 22/03/2023: GNOME 44 “Kuala Lumpur”

    Links for the day



  7. Microsoft Has Also Infiltrated the OSI's Board of Directors After Rigged Elections

    Weeks ago we warned that this would happen and for the third or fourth time in 2 years the OSI’s election process broke down; today the Open Source Initiative (OSI) writes: “The polls just closed, the results are in. Congratulations to the returning directors Aeva Black…” (Microsoft employee)



  8. Links 22/03/2023: Official Thunderbird Podcast Starts

    Links for the day



  9. IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 21, 2023

    IRC logs for Tuesday, March 21, 2023



  10. Many More Microsoft Layoffs Later Today

    Yesterday we shared rumours about Microsoft layoffs being planned for later today (there were 3 waves of layoffs so far this year). There are several more people here who say the same. How much noise will Microsoft make in the “media” in order to distract? Will the chaffbot "ChatGPT" help create enough chaff?



  11. Links 21/03/2023: JDK 20 and GNOME 43.5

    Links for the day



  12. Germany's Lobbyists-Infested Government Sponsors the War on Ukraine via the European Patent Office (EPO)

    The chief UPC ‘judge’ is basically seeking to break the law (and violate constitutions, conventions etc.) to start a kangaroo court while dodging real courts, just like Vladimir Putin does



  13. [Meme] The Meme That Team UPC (the Collusion to Break the European Laws, for Profit) Threats to Sue Us For

    António Campinos and Team UPC are intimidating people who simply point out that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is illegal and Klaus Grabinksi, shown above, strives to head a de facto kangaroo court in violation of constitutions and conventions (the UK does not and cannot ratify; Ireland hasn’t even held a referendum on the matter)



  14. Microsoft is Sacking People Every Month This Year, Even Managers (While Sponsored Media Produces Endless Chatbot Chaff)

    Lots of Microsoft layoffs lately and so-called ‘journalists’ aren’t reporting these; they’re too busy running sponsored puff pieces for Microsoft, usually fluff along the “hey hi” (AI) theme



  15. 3 Months Late Sirius 'Open Source' Finally Deletes Us From the Fraudulent 'Meet the Team' Page (But Still Lists Many People Who Left Years Ago!)

    Amid fraud investigations the management of Sirius ‘Open Source’ finally removed our names from its “Meet the Team” page (months late); but it left in the page about half a dozen people who left the company years ago, so it’s just lying to its clients about the current situation



  16. Amid Fraud at Sirius 'Open Source' CEO Deletes His Recent (This Month) Past With the Company

    Not only did the Sirius ‘Open Source’ CEO purge all mentions of Sirius from his Microsoft LinkedIn account; he’s racing against the clock as crimes quickly become a legal liability



  17. Web Survey Shows Microsoft Falling Below 15% Market Share in Africa, Only One Minuscule African Nation Has Windows Majority

    A Web survey that measured Microsoft Windows at 97% in Africa (back in 2010) says that Windows has become rather small and insignificant; the Microsoft-sponsored mainstream media seems to be ignoring this completely, quite likely by intention...



  18. Rumours of More Microsoft Layoffs Tomorrow (Including Managers!), Probably Azure Again (Many Azure Layoffs Every Year Since 2020)

    Amazon is laying off AWS staff and Microsoft has been laying off Azure staff for 3 years already, including this year, so it seems like the “clown computing” bubble is finally bursting



  19. [Meme] EPO's Management Brainstorm

    The story behind a misleading slogan told above



  20. The Photo Ops Festival of the Funky President António Campinos and Revolt From the Patent Examiners Whom He Perpetually Oppresses

    European Patents are being granted for no reason other than application and renewal fees, awarding European monopolies to companies that aren't even European (only about a third are actually European); staff of the EPO is fed up as it regards or views all this as an extreme departure from the EPO's mission (and it's also outright illegal)



  21. Links 21/03/2023: Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  22. Back Doors Proponent Microsoft Infiltrates Panels That Write the Security Regulations, Press Fails to Point Out the Obvious

    Cult tactics and classic entryism serve Microsoft again, stacking the panels and basically writing policy (CISA). As an associate explained it, citing this new example, Stanford “neglects to point out the obvious fact that Microsoft is writing its own regulations.”



  23. IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 20, 2023

    IRC logs for Monday, March 20, 2023



  24. Links 20/03/2023: Curl 8.0.0/1 and CloudStack 4.18.0.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  25. Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings): Three Weeks to Merely Start Investigating Pension Fraud (and Only After Repeated Reminders From the Fraud's Victims)

    As the phonecall above hopefully shows (or further elucidates), Standard Life leaves customers in a Kafkaesque situation, bouncing them from one person to another person without actually progressing on a fraud investigation



  26. Standard Life Paper Mills in Edinburgh

    Standard Life is issuing official-looking financial papers for companies that then use that paperwork to embezzle staff



  27. Pension Fraud Investigation Not a High Priority in Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings)

    The 'Open Source' company where I worked for nearly 12 years embezzled its staff; despite knowing that employees were subjected to fraud in Standard Life's name, it doesn't seem like Standard Life has bothered to investigate (it has been a fortnight already; no progress is reported by management at Standard Life)



  28. Links 20/03/2023: Tails 5.11 and EasyOS 5.1.1

    Links for the day



  29. Links 20/03/2023: Amazon Linux 2023 and Linux Kernel 6.3 RC3

    Links for the day



  30. IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 19, 2023

    IRC logs for Sunday, March 19, 2023


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts