Bonum Certa Men Certa

Battistelli's Serious Conflict of Interest in Saint-Germain-en-Laye Disqualifies Him as EPO President

SIPO and Battistelli Reference: Loose Patent Scope Becoming a Publicity Nightmare for the EPO and Battistelli Does a China Outreach (Worst/Most Notorious on Patent Quality)



Summary: While a lot of British media continues to push the agenda of law firms, a technology site in the UK (The Register) continues its coverage of EPO scandals and the sad state of the Unitary Patent (UPC)

Kieren McCarthy, writing from San Francisco for the largest British technology publisher, revisits EPO scandals this morning. His article actually focuses on the UPC, but the last few paragraphs allude to one the latest scandals. To quote:



That demand had a deadline of October 31. The FCC has now confirmed that following requests for more time, it extended that date to the last day of the year.

That is a sign, patent experts say, that the issue is not as simple as many hoped, and the UPC is unlikely to emerge at all during 2018, and may be delayed to 2019, 2020 or even further.

The exact timeline is impossible to divine until the FCC takes its next step. The constitutional court could simply throw the complaint out – although that is looking increasingly unlikely, given it extended its deadline: it is clearly interested in weighing up responses to the complaint.

Much more likely is that the court either runs the complaint through its usual processes, or refers the question up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). If the German court decides to take on the case and make its own decision, it is likely to decide in mid-2018. Assuming it rules that the UPC is in fact constitutional, that would point to a 2019 launch.

[...]

And talking of unholy messes, King Battistelli continues to infuriate EPO staff and political circles. This time, it is Benoit's decision to take on a political role as deputy for culture in his home district of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, just outside Paris, France.

Aside from the fact that Battistelli is supposed to stay away from any political role while head of an international organization, the rumor in EPO circles is that Battistelli is applying pressure on the EPO to hold its annual inventor of the year ceremony – which will take place one month before his term at the EPO ends – at his preferred location. You guessed it: Saint-Germain-en-Laye.


The first comment on this alludes to the last part of the article (quoted above): "How is that not a breach of contract?"

We wrote about it more than a month ago (we broke the story, but media prefers to keep quiet on EPO affairs). Battistelli is basically like a classic "crook" who additionally enjoys immunity. Here is the full comment:

How is that not a breach of contract? I've never heard of any contract where you can just decide to take another Job without approval from your employer. Which in this case would be the EPO Board, and considering that they want him out, I would be surprised they would agree to something like that.

Additionally, I would be hugely surprised if there wasnt something about being politically neutral in the contract with a Position like this. If not, which ever lawyer wrote up the contract should be fired on the spot.

Still with everything else going on at the EPO, I guess None of this should be surprising...


Well, the UPC has long relied on political corruption and another reply to the above says this:



"With the appropriate political pressure applied, it should pass"

Do they have a bunch of politicians who vote on issues to the benefit of their constituents or a bunch of yes men who rubber stamp decisions made by some other authority?



The next commented says: "Was this a rhetorical question? Most parliaments tend to follow the second model, with the 'authority' ranging from the Politburo via the President/Prime Minister to the most munificent lobbyists."

There are then a bunch of comments, including some which attack the author (McCarthy), over the Brexit mention, perhaps not understanding that while the EPO has nothing to do with the EU the UPC by all means does (hence Brexit's relevance).

What's more, the UPC threatens to bring software patents to the UK (bypassing British law and British courts) -- much to the fear of software companies in the UK (there are many of these and they have been mostly secured from trolls up until now).

Apropos, the lobby for software patents in the UK carries on and it's obvious who's behind it.

"This article has been submitted by Greenaway Scott," a Welsh news site said this morning. The only problem is, it's not an article. It's an advertisement for software patents (a patent law firm speaking out to harm software developers) with several links to the firm and even an E-mail address. From the 'article' (advertisement):

There is also the option to patent software, however this is very difficult. To obtain a patent the invention must new, involves an inventive step, is capable of industrial or technical application and does not fall within the exclusions. UK and EU law states that patents for a programme for a computer will not be granted.

However, if the software/computer programme contains a necessary technical character it may be patentable. The EU and UK patent offices have been granting patents in relation to software/computer programmes for many years. The issue here is that there must be an inventive step.


Firms like this have been pushing hard for the UPC, which they view as a boon to patent applications and litigation (the most expensive 'product' of the whole lot). As we have been showing before, the litigation 'industry' routinely takes over British media (in Scotland too) and habitually spreads fake news, e.g. regarding UPC 'progress'.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States of America
Windows is trending down
Why the Microsoft People Who Started SLAPPs Against Techrights Could Very Well be Sent Back to Prison
White-collar crime is also a crime
 
Microsoft Layoffs in Spain, Portugal Record for GNU/Linux
in Portugal we see GNU/Linux at record levels
Yes, Microsoft is Again Using Its Favourite Liars (Stenographers) to Seed Fake Layoff Numbers, Much Lower Than What's Really Happening
It is Jordan Novet again, just as we predicted
Will Microsoft Once Again Choose Its Favourite Liar to Spread Lies About Today's Layoffs, Quickly to be Replicated and Spread by Slopfarms?
What lies is Microsoft briefing its media moles to tell today?
"OSS Fetishism" Wins After Ferenc Zsolt Szabó Ousted (Microsoft Mole From Capgemini)
Many people said 2025 would be the "year of Linux on the desktop"
There is Nothing That LLMs Can Offer Honest People
LLMs are a passing fad; they're expensive and offer poor "value" for energy; they usually offer no value at all unless you are a cheater, spammer, and liar
What statCounter Shows Today Helps Explain Microsoft's Helplessness, Mass Layoffs
Since many US journalists are already away on holiday almost nobody will dare ask the difficult questions or give a voice to whistleblowers
Microsoft Gets the Chop in South America
The notion of digital sovereignty gained a lot of popularity
Europe Has an 'Exit'
Let's see what happens the rest of this year
El Presidente Talks, Canada Walks (Away From Windows)
GNU/Linux rising
Cities in France and Germany Move to GNU/Linux and statCounter Detects Big Differences
Will governments lead by example?
Microsoft Lost Its Foothold in Africa
How many of these are "old" Windows machines converted to GNU/Linux? Probably a lot.
Led by Europe, GNU/Linux Makes Big Gains This Month
statCounter started showing new/fresh stats
Links 02/07/2025: Massive Microsoft Layoffs About to Commence, "Tesla's Robotaxi Program Is Failing"
Links for the day
The Company Run by Former (and Last Proper) Red Hat CEO, Promoting Microsoft Mono, Faces Shock as Senior Partner Jailed for 33 Sexual Offenses Including Pedophilia
"As reported by The Oxford Mail in April 2025, the offenses include rape, sexual assault, engaging in non-penetrative activity with a child, and more."
Microsoft Lost 29% of Windows Users, Based on Microsoft, Now Come Massive Layoffs
Microsoft collapse is today
Slopwatch: Google Serves to People Linux Slop and Linux FUD (Made by Bots)
"Slopwatch" finds it difficult to ignore Google's role in encouraging LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
"Wayland People" Behave Like the Googles and Microsofts of This World
Published yesterday by Igor Ljubuncic
Gemini Links 02/07/2025: Arch Linux and Fulfillment in Gemini
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day