06.05.18
Gemini version available ♊︎The Demise of the EPO and Collapse of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) May Mean That António Campinos Will Soon Fire ~15% of the Workforce
The management team distracts from that, usually with help from media that the managers are paying (at the EPO’s expense)
Summary: As work is running out (patents granted far too hastily with far too little scrutiny) expectation remains that Campinos will soon implement staff cuts which are being discussed by the top-level management
THE next king of Eponia, António Campinos, will start his reign in a few weeks. Battistelli, according to lingering rumours, still hopes to make a ‘comeback’ as head of UPC (there are similar rumours about upcoming firings of somewhere between 700 to 1000 employees, probably not too long after Campinos takes over).
The EPO could be seen last night retweeting the IAM lies that it’s paying it to spread. One scratches one’s back and they swap positions interchangeably. IAM is setting up UPC advocacy events with help from the EPO’s PR agencies and direct support from Battistelli. Earlier this week, under “European Union, Spain, United Kingdom” in a patent lawyers’ site IAM was reposting its UPC propaganda. It’s being (re)published in other Web sites. The EPO must be very proud, having paid IAM for such patent lies.
“Well, the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) isn’t being signed by Germany and it is definitely not compatible with a ‘Brexit Britain’…”Patrick Wingrove, writing on behalf of Managing IP (which was also setting up UPC advocacy events that were EPO-connected), wrote this UPC puff piece yesterday, summarising it as follows: “The UK government ratifying the international agreement that will establish a Unified Patent Court (UPC) for Europe is the biggest recent news related to the UPC and Unitary Patent. But May saw some interesting developments.”
Well, the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) isn’t being signed by Germany and it is definitely not compatible with a ‘Brexit Britain’ (I’m not a proponent of Brexit, but I at least understand the reality of this referendum). When will they ‘get’ it and decide to abandon this whole lobbying campaign? Having invested so much time and money in this lobbying, they simply refuse to give up. Arguably, an overzealous (For UPC) Battistelli was the death knell of the EPO. █