03.24.17
Bernhard Rapkay, Former MEP and Rapporteur on Unitary Patent, Shoots Down UPC Hopes While UPC Hopefuls Recognise That Spain Isn’t Interested Either
When even UPC proponents admit that the UPC (in its present form) may be dead in the water…
Photo credit: Official Web page of Bernhard Rapkay
Summary: Germany, the UK and Spain remain massive barriers to the UPC — all this in spite of misleading reports and fake news which attempted to make politicians believe otherwise (for political leverage, by means of dirty lobbying contingent upon misinformation)
TODAY it’s Friday. Monday will be the 27th of the month, i.e. just two days before Article 50. Must be pretty depressing a time for UPC hopefuls… did all of their lobbying fail? Did they sacrifice what was left of their reputation in vain? The supposed ‘expectation’ of ratification on the 7th of March was a long time ago (false prediction, as usual) and we don’t expect anything to happen by the end of this month. Fallback dates are meaningless if nothing concrete has changed; in this particular case, things only got worse (read on for details).
“The supposed ‘expectation’ of ratification on the 7th of March was a long time ago (false prediction, as usual) and we don’t expect anything to happen by the end of this month.”With just 5 days left for Team UPC to lobby (even fewer weekdays that are working days), they are growing visibly irritated if not stressed. They have attempted to lie, spread fake news (or at best distortions), and shame politicians in an effort to bamboozle Jo Johnson into a Unitary Patent sellout, which defies the very fundamental interpretation of the law, taking into account Article 50.
Monika Ermert, writing for Intellectual Property Watch last night, caught the gossip about what Rapkay (German politician with the Social Democratic Party of Germany) had said and published this short piece, from which we quote the non-EPO/Battistelli part (totally aloof and disconnected from the reality):
Bernhard Rapkay, former rapporteur for the legislative package for the community patent, was highly sceptical.
The German Parliament on 10 March passed the ratification documents, and Rapkay said he does not expect a much longer delay there, despite some reports over a lack of a quorum for the middle of the night decision. But he was wary of the Brexit government in the UK. Slawomir Tokarski, director of Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing in the European Commission’s Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), said that ratifications have to be in by 29 May, otherwise it would be too late to finalise the process this year.
We spotted that earlier than the above as well, but there was no formal article about it. The UPC is a great sham that would give Europe nothing but patent trolls, lots of injunctions, and software patents (as the EPO seems ever so eager to grant them in spite of the rules). Nobody, not even patent examiners, should be interested in the UPC. Maybe a tiny portion of the population (less than a thousandth of Europe) would benefit from it.
“The UPC is a great sham that would give Europe nothing but patent trolls, lots of injunctions, and software patents (as the EPO seems ever so eager to grant them in spite of the rules).”Prior to the report from Ermert we caught this tweet which said: “Quote from today’s hearing on the Unitary Patent, Committee on Legal Affairs, EP (http://bit.ly/2nGfe19 ) #upc #unitarypatent”
This, in turn, quoted another person: “Bernhard Rapkay, ex MEP and rapporteur on unitary #patent: “unfortunately I hold no great hope that the UK will ratify” #Brexit”
So there he goes. Honest person, for a change.
“Fortunately,” he should have said, not “unfortunately.”
Nobody in Europe really wants this monster. It’s no more benign than ACTA and the TPP were.
“Nobody in Europe really wants this monster. It’s no more benign than ACTA and the TPP were.”UPC hopefuls try to look elsewhere, clawing or grasping at more positive visions, like Battistelli’s and the EPO’s delusional lies. Christopher Weber, whose views on the UPC are not necessarily all that positive (relatively apathetic), wrote a series of tweets to say [1, 2, 3]: “Former EU MP Rapkay very skeptic re. #UK ratification based on his years of experience w/ #UK reluctance wrt #ECJ [...] Battistelli replied that he believes in what the #UK government stated on ratification of #UPC [...] EU Parliament committee remains optimistic that #UPC will start soon.”
Which committee would that be? One that’s a bunch of moles, as a result of entryism by Team UPC and its lobbyists/facilitators?
Speaking of moles and lobbyists, Manuel Rey-Alvite Villar from Bristows vindicates us by proving we were right all along about Spain [1, 2]. All that fake news from Bristows (even published in the weekend!), including some about Spain, was all in vain. By Manuel’s own admission [1, 2], the Spanish government continues to reject the UPC. Mind the responses from Francisco Moreno, who includes citations and says [1, 2, 3]: “With the rules of procedure already adopted, what influence could have ES judges/representatives? So French judges would be able to influence the development of the CJEU (but not Spanish ones, as we joined the EU in 1986) [...] My understanding is that ES nationals who are European Patent Attorneys could qualify as representatives [...]”
They would be, bluntly speaking, just moles like Team UPC, which is stacking the deck (or panels) in an effort to accomplish the unthinkable and the outrageous.
“UPC hopefuls try to look elsewhere, clawing or grasping at more positive visions, like Battistelli’s and the EPO’s delusional lies.”Bristows wrote: “The minutes of the debate record that Ms Moraleja noted that she was initially inclined to support joining the system, but changed her mind after learning more about the background of the project and discussions with stakeholders. Most of the concerns she expressed are language considerations. It is PP’s view that the system discriminates against the Spanish language, and therefore benefits foreign companies. The MP noted that Spanish is an official working language of WIPO and the EUIPO, and that it is a strategic priority for Spain to defend the use of Spanish in European institutions and, more broadly, its position as a language of technology.”
Nonsense! Spain should defend its language and it should also defend its SMEs from the UPC, as it’s not just a matter of language (requiring interpreters, who are typically expensive). The whole thing is a coup of patent law firms and their richest clients.
We are still seeing loaded questions which wrongly assume that the UPC is inevitable, e.g. this one: “Which country will get the the third central #UPC court? Can the UK still get it after #Brexit?”
Maybe no country will get any courts. Dr. Ingve Björn Stjerna wrote a paper about it earlier this year.
“Spain should defend its language and it should also defend its SMEs from the UPC, as it’s not just a matter of language (requiring interpreters, who are typically expensive).”Bristows was not (as one might expect) alone in ‘damage control’ over Spain. Other outposts of Team UPC begrudgingly admit that all the lobbying in Spain (and fake news which was an integral part of the lobby) was in vain. To quote Team UPC itself: “Spain will not join the Unitary Patent system. That became clear today during a session of the Spanish parliament. Earlier this month, the parliamentary committee for economics, industry and competitiveness had approved a motion of the socialist party PSOE, requesting the government to reconsider joining the system. Only the Popular Party, which runs the minority government in Spain, voted against the motion.”
It was never really anything to begin with, but it was taken out of context by Team UPC and EPO mouthpieces like IAM. It’s rather clear by now that Team UPC was playing mental games earlier this month, basically lobbying at truth’s expense, not only in Spain but also in Germany and Britain. Only a fool would still trust anything that Bristows says. They’re not just the patent microcosm but core people of Team UPC, having been lobbying Spain with loaded statements, false headlines and so forth.
What good is a lawyer that lies for a living? It might be comforting for a day or two (maybe a week), but bad advice leads to pricier consequences. Guess who foots the legal bills?
“There is still time for Europeans to sign the UPC petition, which now has 133 signatures, including 24 from CEOs.”Here again is Manuel Rey-Alvite Villar from Bristows, stating: “I find it unrealistic that Spain remains out indefinitely, missing the formative years means no ES input in key case law and decision making…”
Well, get out of your Bristows bubble or echo chamber. It ain’t happening, but UPC events have been so thoroughly stuffed by the “choir” that nobody dares yell out that the emperor is naked. The UPC is a sham. In reply to the above, Benjamin Henrion wrote: “UPC will be a paradise for trolls, better stay away.”
Moreover, the “UK should use Brexit as an opportunity to avoid Software Patents,” noted a person who opposes software patents, knowing what the true implications of UPC would be (it’s against SMEs, not for SMEs). There is still time for Europeans to sign the UPC petition, which now has 133 signatures, including 24 from CEOs. █
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