Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Unitary Patent (UPC) is Not Delayed; It's Dead and Without Any Major Rework It Will Go Nowhere

Delay



Summary: The Unified Patent Court (UPC) isn't just delayed but likely canceled; however, people who planned to make a fortune from UPC-centric lawsuits don't want the public to know that or see it that way

THE EPO hasn't mentioned the Unitary Patent in nearly two months. António Campinos said something about it in his first week in Office and that's about it. The EPO does, however, promote software patents every single day now, even at the USPTO. Yesterday the EPO did that thrice (yes, three times!) in one single day, outdoing its usual once or twice per day. In that regard, Campinos is a lot worse than Battistelli.



"The UPC is nowhere near a reality; it's very, very far from it. Simply put, the UPC isn't happening. It is already dead. "The Unitary Patent (or UPC) is itself a Trojan horse for software patents, among other bad things. It is a crude and cycnical attempt to bypass national patent laws and even directives against software patents. It's just insane and no democratic society should allow this to happen. The German Constitutional Court has already taken that abomination to task, but Team UPC keeps pushing two lies which depend on dismissal of a complaint and elimination of lots of other barriers. The UPC is nowhere near a reality; it's very, very far from it. Simply put, the UPC isn't happening. It is already dead.

Managing IP, which worked with the EPO on some UPC advocacy/events, has this new article with a loaded headline: "How patent-heavy businesses are planning for the UPC and unitary patent" (as if it's about to start).

"Counsel at pharmaceutical, telecommunications, car and plastics manufacturers and medical charities tell Managing IP about their considerations for the unitary system," Managing IP wrote, hiding all the pertinent quotes behind their paywall (so only people who agree with this agenda can read and scrutinise).

"No, there are no "delays" for UPC. The UPC just isn't happening. Unitary 'patents' do not exist and the foreseen framework is already dead. It's abandoned. Hardly anyone speaks about it."What Patrick Wingrove does here is that self-fulfilling fantasy-type of propaganda, i.e. pretty much the same old tactic used by Managing IP for a number of years. On almost the very same day another article emerged, this one titled "Bulgaria ratifies the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement but delays still in store for the UPC" (what an incredible understatement, as if it's only a matter of time).

No, there are no "delays" for UPC. The UPC just isn't happening. Unitary 'patents' do not exist and the foreseen framework is already dead. It's abandoned. Hardly anyone speaks about it. It's gone with the wind, gone with Battistelli, whom nobody has heard anything from since he left at the end of June. Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, which is responsible for the above, is just wanting us to think otherwise and being Team UPC opportunists (litigation 'industry') they're looking really hard for signs of UPC progress, jumping a whole month back to a country with barely any European Patents (a fraction compared to a country like France or Germany). Bulgaria was mentioned on August 21st (but that only showed up yesterday) regarding something that happened back in July. To quote: "On 24 July Bulgaria ratified the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement (Protocol). Four more ratifications/declarations are needed, including Germany, for the Protocol to come into effect and allow the practical workings of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) to be established in preparation for the court coming into operation, which will happen once the UPC Agreement (UPCA) itself has been sufficiently ratified. In both cases, ratification by Germany is a prerequisite. Recently reported comments from the Chairman of the UPC Preparatory Committee have revealed that there may be at least a 6-8 month delay once Germany is ready to ratify the UPCA, given how much needs to be done for the UPC to be ready to open its doors. It therefore looks increasingly unlikely that the UPC will take effect before Brexit unless Germany ratifies the Protocol in the next few months."

"The EPO does not obey court rulings, it does not care about the law, the management engages in corruption, and the founding document (EPC) doesn't mean a thing. While this remains the case (António Campinos has not tackled this in any way whatsoever), only a madman would entrust or give the EPO authority/leverage over a legal system, as per the UPC."Notice their nonchalance; as if they're already sure about the outcome of the complaint in Germany. As if it's without merit. What sheer arrogance.

Meanwhile (also yesterday) Mitscherlich PartmbB's Christian Rupp talked about an upcoming/past case for the Boards of Appeal. The EPO has already attacked its judges pretty viciously; the Boards of Appeal can therefore not rule independently and that's a persistent problem which even the German Constitutional Court is well aware of. Rupp wrote:

In the decision T2563/11 the Boards of Appeal of the European patent had to deal with a divisional application having identical claims to a parent application (on which in the meanwhile a patent had been granted), but having differences in the specification – which, in the opinion of the applicant, lead to a different scope of protection vis-à-vis the scope of the granted parent.

The Board decided that, for the double patenting prohibition, it is the “matter for which protection is sought” defined in the claims (in line with the wording of Art. 84 EPC) which matters, but not the scope of protection, or more exactly “the extent of the protection conferred by a European patent” as defined in Art. 69 EPC. According to Art. 69EPC the “extent of the protection” shall be determined by the claims, however wherein the description and drawings shall be used to interpret the claims.


The EPC is no longer applicable in the EPO however; it was repeatedly violated by Battistelli, who faced no consequences for violating the EPC. The reality of the matter is -- and the German Constitutional Court has ample evidence of it -- the EPO now operates above the law. The EPO does not obey court rulings, it does not care about the law, the management engages in corruption, and the founding document (EPC) doesn't mean a thing. While this remains the case (António Campinos has not tackled this in any way whatsoever), only a madman would entrust or give the EPO authority/leverage over a legal system, as per the UPC.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
 
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025