Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Maximalism is Destroying the European Patent Office (Just a Paperwork Assembly Line), Exile of Boards Ensures No Turnaround

...And the Administrative Council allows this to happen, knowing darn well the consequences

"Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." ~Martin Luther King, Jr., 16 April 1963

LANDBRUG photo



Summary: The EPO is racing to the bottom of patent quality and the last resort, the Boards of Appeal, are being destroyed by Battistelli, who attempts to make this destruction appear like "improved independence" while the Administrative Council, led by Battistelli's Pet Chinchilla, condones these outrageous moves or simply abstains rather than object (ruinous passivity)

THE EPO keeps following the footsteps of the old USPTO -- the patent office in which there was only one goal: maximalise profit (for the Office). The inherent problem with this misguided strategy is that it's short-term (and thus quite likely short-lived), as applicants sooner or later realise that their patents are being devalued and that the newer patents are not even worth pursuing. Too much of everything or too much of anything has a stigma or proverbs associated with it in many languages/cultures.



Watch this latest nonsensical piece of patent maximalism seeded by the EPO and EUIPO for cheap PR. The EPO is so proud that someone reprinted these lies -- lies that even Managing IP refused to accept several years ago. Deloitte has also just released similar propaganda in the form of a press release. These people view the whole world in terms of patents (or so-called "Intellectual Property", which also includes trademarks and other laws). "Industries that use IPR intensively have a huge impact on the economy, study shows. Here are the key findings," the EPO wrote this week, repeating some of this whole nonsense. They try to take credit for every single segment of the science and technology world!

"Too much of everything or too much of anything has a stigma or proverbs associated with it in many languages/cultures."In reality, the EPO needs the appeal boards and it needs outside (independent) auditors of patent quality. Sadly, Battistelli is allowed by his Pet Chinchillas at the Council to just demolish these boards, little by little, step by step. The EPO under Battistelli already rejects the law and doesn't give a damn about what the European Parliament says, so much so that, as Benjamin Henrion put it today: "EPO software patent guidelines have been updated, they keep using the term "computer-implemented inventions" https://is.gd/U8GQmj" (this is a new publication from a British site).

Yet again, as a matter of fact, the EPO is pushing software patents that are against the EPC and the Parliament's determination. This is happening every week these days, i.e. a lot more frequently than before. We have campaigned on this subject for a very long time (I have personally done so longer than this site's existence) and this week comes yet another lie from the EPO (namely that people need no special software to apply for a patent, clearly a fallacy). Also this week we see the EPO using EPOPIC as yet another opportunity to distract from abuses, retweeting stuff like [1, 2].

"Why is the media no longer covering internal EPO affairs?"How many people are even aware of what goes on inside the EPO? As one insider put it (illustrating it visually too): "This is how it feels like walking through the EPO corridors in 2016" (see the image and the responses there). Why is the media no longer covering internal EPO affairs? Have intimidation tactics worked? Why do insiders need to submit anonymous comments in some thread from almost 5 months ago? One such comment says: "The EPO is for sure a magic place with its 365 day/year Halloween, leave-no-trace social conferences and its alien AC support forces. Happy Halloween!"

"As a side effect, more of the EPO money is leeched towards Germany," another person wrote about the relocation of the boards to Haar:

Re. Art. 36 EPC (weighing of votes): Germany did not vote no in the Budget and Finance Committee... I assume, Munich is happy that another building is now in use, thus earning taxes. As a side effect, more of the EPO money is leeched towards Germany.

Without the German vote, the weighing will be very close against the mass of smaller countries coming to the Administrative Council meeting in December (meeting 150! time for a fancy dinner!).


Here is a very detailed comment about what happened in the meeting behind closed doors:

Yes the German delegation seems to be playing a double game here. During the June assembly they did not make any criticism of the planned move.

The only delegations that criticised or questioned the proposal were as follows.

Switzerland "The boards' location falls within the EPO President's powers. In the redesigned framework, the BOA President would also play a role, by drawing up their budget. Only via the budget can the Council exercise direct influence. So this is not a formal request either; we are merely pointing out that in our opinion the boards' location has no bearing on their independence. The Swiss delegation is therefore not prepared to agree to any spending on relocating the boards, and suggests leaving them where they are."

Ireland "Relocation: Ireland believes that a separate location for the boards of appeal is neither justified nor required. Users have already expressed the view that the boards are considered to be independent from the rest of the Office and the fact that the boards are physically located in the Isar building does not impinge on their independence. It seems that even a relocation within Munich would give rise to unnecessary expense and my delegation cannot see that the expenditure associated with such a move could be justified."

Austria "As far as relocating the boards was concerned, those most immediately affected, i.e.BOA members and users, would have to agree. And the cost – even in the Munich area – would also have to be taken into account."

Netherlands There was no point relocating the boards, as proposed in Section C of CA/43/16; this would merely waste money.

Slovakia "The Office's relocation proposal was certainly better than the original one, but even such a move should still be presented to the Budget and Finance Committee for opinion, because it would cost a lot of money."

Czech Republic "Lastly, on the relocation issue it agreed with earlier speakers. This was more an internal management issue, and should be uncoupled from the independence question. But if the majority was in favour of a move, it would oppose it."

Bulgaria "Relocation did not seem essential, and the costs involved should be looked into."

Denmark "Lastly, it was certainly not convinced that relocating the boards – whether in Munich or the vicinity – would make them look more independent."


As we predicted years ago, the EPO is rapidly losing top talent and is becoming a paperwork pipeline (look at the recruitment standards), without much/any science in the mix. See these two new articles [1, 2] that show us in what ways the EPO is 'evolving'. Brain drain continues, but the priority now seems to be more paperwork. Nicely done? Painful, covert way to kill any joy and pride associated with a job at the EPO?

Unless something is done to undo the coup, the EPO will end up like the chinchilla shown at the top, dissected and skinned for whatever profit may be in it.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Apple is the Company of Dictators and Worse
Apple is just another greedy corporation in search of sweatshops and even pedophiles (especially the high-profile ones)
Counting Unhatched Eggs Is Not Counting Chickens
Everything here will persist as normal
The "Infinite Bread"
The biblical story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 has software parallels
In Many Cases and in Many Different Ways, Technology Became Less Durable and Less Reliable Over Time
The "modern" things are more complex. And complexity is a foe or reliability and repair-ability.
Microsoft's LinkedIn is Losing Money, Traffic, and Hope; Now It Wants to Sell Its Users' Lifeblood (and Data)
Let this be a reminder of what social control media really is about
Microsoft Lunduke: Freedom of Speech Means Spreading What I Have to Say and Banning People I Disagree With
4Chan is one he aims for and he is siccing 4Chan trolls at people he doesn't like
Richard Stallman Back at the "Rudolf-Diesel" Hörsal "MW 2001" in About 40 Hours
He spoke there before; there's a very high seating capacity there
 
Richard Stallman to Give Another Talk Today in Bavaria (Bavarian Academy of Science)
Tomorrow at 6 PM he speaks in Munich
Barry Kauler Explains That Puppy Linux and EasyOS Exclude Systemd to Keep Things Simple
Barry Kauler's Puppy Linux is in the community's hands. He now focuses on EasyOS and more.
Half a Year After Brian Fagioli Got Kicked Out of BetaNews for Slop He's Still Doing LLM Slop and Slop Images Targeting 'Linux' (Plagiarising Original Works)
If the Web gets polluted or flooded by slopfarms such as these, and Slashdot then sends traffic so these slopfarms (Slashdot probably doesn't do this intentionally), then real writers with real knowledge of GNU/Linux will lose the spark for publishing
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 19, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 19, 2025
Campaign of FUD Against Framework Laptops and GNU/Linux (Using Microsoft's Attack on Linux, 'Secure Boot')
Ritual Defamation Cult has turned its attention over to Framework
Liberation From 'The Feed'
They rank things based on the editor's choice/ideology (he or she knows the sponsors, hence the masters)
Microsoft's Killing of Vista 10 Seems to Have Resulted in More Articles About GNU/Linux (But Also FUD)
We not only saw a rise in traffic, we also saw a remarkable rise in the number of articles
Today (a Day Before Richard Stallman Talk at TUM) There's a Patent Propaganda Event at TUM
Perhaps an opportunity for Dr. Stallman to rebut this "invention to patent" nonsense/fantasy (conflating monopolies with innovation)
OpenSource or "Open Source" as a Brand is Dying, Let's Get Back to Talking About Software Freedom
Those of us who actually want to reform the industry and put users in control of their systems/devices will recognise that "Open Source" was selling a lie or got-co-opted by liars
19 Years in Numbers: Techrights' Anniversary Countdown and Retrospective
In 2019 we began improving our workflows and, accordingly/predictably, we became a lot more productive
Slop Turns People Off (LLMs Lack Intelligence, They're Just Plagiarism Powerhouses That Fail to Deliver Any Real, Measurable Value)
"More" (or "MOAR") isn't always better
IBM Red Hat Has Re-calibrated or Adjusted to Bubble Economics, False Promises, and Slop/Plagiarism
This won't end well
Fake Numbers, Fake Claims, Fake Economy, and Media Grifters That Prop Up Fraud
Grifters like The Register MS won't be looked upon kindly after the bubble implodes
For Some, the GNU Web Site is Not Accessible This Week
They seem to have gone into some kind of lock-down mode
Symptoms of Upcoming Microsoft Layoffs in XBox
A crashing franchise
Psychiatrist confession: Germanwings crash & Debian toxic culture recognized before suicides
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: Scentjacking 101, Slop Hype Boosters, and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Slopwatch: The Serial Slopper, LinuxSecurity, and Google News
Let's hope slopfarms die as soon as possible
Links 19/10/2025: Cambodia Scam Centres, Slop Hurting Wikipedia Traffic
Links for the day
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025
The Term "AI" is Not New and What Today's Media Calls "AI" Isn't Even AI
Only the hype was new... and totally artificial
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: "Planetary Rings", Steam, and PSU Replacement
Links for the day
Defeating LLM Abuse (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) in the Area of Linux and GNU, Free Software, BSD, Security and So On
The aim is to get them to stop using LLMs to rip off other people's work
Links 18/10/2025: Russell Vought in Charge, US Government Leans to Russia Again
Links for the day
Credit Where It's Due: LinuxConfig.org Quit Doing LLM Slop, Back to Original and Real Articles
We waited for a while to say this, now it seems conclusive
Of Note: UbuntuPIT Aware of Critics of Slop, Adds Disclosure of Use of LLMs
We appreciate the honesty
Links 18/10/2025: Madagascar's President Flees and ICE Arrests Protest Comedian Robby Roadsteamer
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Near the European Patent Office (EPO) in 3 Days From Now
It'll be a good opportunity for patent examiners to listen, ask questions, and maybe greet him in person
From Scholar to Booster of Slop (and Even Slop in His Own Blog)
We're going to keep an eye on future posts of his
End of Vista 10 Also Good News for the BSDs
There are many news sites that recommend trying GNU/Linux this month
What's Wrong With Liking Parrots or Birds as Pets?
They'd demonise people for speaking about freedom, no matter what they say or do
Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025