07.18.18
Gemini version available ♊︎The EPO — Like the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patent System — is an Untenable Mess
When a President associates with people like Željko Topić, whom many Croats want to see in prison (but EPO gives him immunity like some World Cop) just like his former boss, Prime Minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader
Summary: The António Campinos-led EPO, nearly three weeks under his leadership, still fails to commit to justice (court rulings not obeyed), undo union-busting efforts and assure independence of judges; this, among other factors, is why the Office/Organisation and the UPC it wants to manage appear more or less doomed
“Be one of the thousands of learners who access our learning centre on a regular basis to learn about patents and much more,” the EPO wrote some hours ago, shortly after someone had said: “The EPO is not able to find the answers for their own Examinations? Good news.”
“The UPC isn’t getting off the ground any time soon; it probably won’t ever take off, even after they try to modify, rename and reframe it.”The Office is a mess. Nothing is really changing, just as many people expected (with only cautious optimism). António Campinos now approaches the end of his third week in Office and nothing has really improved. Never did we see the USPTO dealing with a mess remotely like this.
There’s an apt parallel here; recall the latest spin from Team UPC, bypassing/disguising the reality as explained just days earlier by the British government. Hogan Lovells, earlier today remarking rather belatedly on news from July 12th, said this:
On, 12 July 2018, the UK government published a White Paper addressing its plan for exiting the EU
[...]
The White Paper includes a short section on Intellectual Property and the UPC (Section 1.7.8). These paragraphs confirm that the UK intends to explore staying in the Unitary [sic] Patent Court and Unitary Patent system after the it leaves the EU.
If it leaves the EU. But an even greater issue for the UPC itself (not British participation) is the constitutional incompatibility and this relates to EPO corruption. Don’t let British elements of Team UPC perpetuate the two lies. The UPC isn’t getting off the ground any time soon; it probably won’t ever take off, even after they try to modify, rename and reframe it. No doubt they will carry on trying, even under/with Campinos, whose first action as President was UPC lobbying, as expected. █