Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Max Planck Institute's Determination on UPC's (Unitary Patent) Demise is Only “Controversial” in the Eyes of Rabid Members of Team UPC

“Controversial” like allegations that Battistelli is corrupt

Bristows EPO



Summary: Bristows keeps lying like Battistelli; that it calls a new paper "controversial" without providing any evidence of a controversy says a lot about Bristows LLP, both as a firm and the individuals who make up the firm (they would not be honest with their clients, either)

TECHRIGHTS has long argued that the EPO was lying about UPC along with Team UPC -- basically the very same elements that crafted UPCA and would stand to benefit from such an 'agreement' (behind the public's back). Thankfully, the UPC is now in its death throes. It seems extremely improbable to us that it can ever recover, though it might re-emerge with a different name and new marketing strategy (as happened before).

Just before the weekend the Max Planck Institute made some headlines (not enough, however, in our humble assessment). Team UPC would rather nobody saw it. It would rather pretend such a paper does not exist. But some people did take note of it and we managed to get a copy.

"If it was pro-UPC or had a favourable -- even if purely fictional -- view of the UPC, the patent microcosm would probably have prodded some publishers to write a bunch of puff pieces, complete with those infamous old lies which they keep repeating every week."Soon afterwards even some pro-UPC sites (of patent maximalists) took note of it. Managing IP, for instance, having previously set up pro-UPC events (with the EPO also involved), has just said: "UK in UPC after Brexit is “incompatible with EU principles” – Max Planck Institute [link] … An association of German research institutes concludes in a paper that the UK being in UPC post Brexit would create a “fictitious unity” that is incompatible with EU law..."

This links to a post we mentioned before the weekend. No other Web site appears to have covered it, at least not in English. If it was pro-UPC or had a favourable -- even if purely fictional -- view of the UPC, the patent microcosm would probably have prodded some publishers to write a bunch of puff pieces, complete with those infamous old lies which they keep repeating every week.

Funnily enough, last night we spotted the headline "Max Planck Institute publishes controversial opinion on continued UK involvement in the UPC" (it's not controversial at all).

We could immediately guess that it came from Bristows LLP or the likes of it. According to Bristows LLP, no such issue exists because Bristows LLP staff are a bunch of self-serving liars and they don't mind the world seeing that they're liars. Gregory Bacon wrote this piece; it was the first blog post in this blog for a very, very long time (awkward silence that actually says a lot!)...

"A very long paper with ample evidence is being contested by... basically nothing."The decision or determination from the said paper is not controversial; we saw not a single person publicly disputing it. Nobody. It's just not convenient to Team UPC, who decide to label it "controversial" and come up with their usual lies (which we covered here aplenty in the past).

Bacon has provided no evidence whatsoever that Matthias Lamping and Hanns Ullrich were wrong and therefore the title, calling it "controversial", isn't supported by any substance in the body. A very long paper with ample evidence is being contested by... basically nothing.

Here is the abstract of the paper, which is actually dated more than a fortnight back. We've highlighter some bits for 'lazy'(ier) readers:

Among the many problems Brexit raises in the field of European intellectual property those relating to the system of unitary patent protection stand out for their complex and controversial nature. The reason is that this system rests on two legally different but interconnected pillars: EU Reg. 1257/2012 on the implementation of enhanced cooperation by the creation of unitary patent protection on the one hand, and, on the other, the Agreement between the Member States of the EU on the establishment of a Unified Patent Court (UPC) that will have exclusive jurisdiction over invalidation and infringement actions concerning the European patent with unitary effect and/or the classic European (bundle) patent. However, the link between unitary protection of European patents and the UPC Agreement is not only one of jurisdiction, but also one of substantive law. Thus, as regards the rules on infringement of the unitary patent, Reg. 1257/2012 refers to those contained in the UPC Agreement in respect of the European (bundle) patent.

Many in the patent law community hope to overcome the disruptive effects the withdrawal of the UK from the EU will produce on both the territorial scope of unitary patent protection and on the UPC as a court common to EU Member States. However, unitary patent protection cannot be dissociated from the general legal order of the EU’s Internal Market and extended to the UK once it has left the Union. Any such extension is incompatible with the autonomous character of EU law and its institutions, will result in a legally split unity for separate and separately regulated markets, and conflict with both the UK’s and the EU’s public interests in defining and implementing a patent policy of their own. Since the core objective of the UPC Agreement is to establish for the adjudication of unitary patent protection a common court of EU Member States that, as such, forms part of the judicial system of the EU, continued participation in the UPC Agreement of the UK post Brexit will not be possible. It would be incompatible with the EU’s foundational principle, which is integration by virtue of the operation of an autonomous legal order based on a complete system of legal protection by national courts acting as ordinary courts of the Union and in cooperation with the Court of Justice of the EU.


We cannot say we're surprised that Bristows et al attempt to twist this paper, picking the word "controversial" from the first sentence of the abstract and then framing the entire paper (almost 200 pages long, i.e. months in the making) "controversial". Shame on Bristows and its hatred of scientific, legal discourse. It's just like Battistelli. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

In Reporting, Timing is Everything
If you keep calling people "paedophiles" when you yourself are connected to paedophiles (or are a paedophile), you're attracting a lot of unwanted attention to yourself
Links 25/10/2026: TMZ Revisits Epstein's Connections to Bill Epsteingate, "Italy Hit by New Cost of Living Protests"
Links for the day
 
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XV - Annualised Consequences for Opposing Microsoft Back Doors in Linux Since 2012
a roundup of what we got from GGG
Links 26/10/2026: China’s Communist Party Plenum and Aleksandar Vucic Concedes Defeat
Links for the day
Links 25/10/2026: Microsoft Layoffs and Cuts, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Wins Election
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/10/2026: Brazilian Politics and Leaving Bear Blog
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 25, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, October 25, 2026
Another Form of Microsoft Silent Layoffs: Workers That 'Expire'
When the media becomes a lapdog, not a watchdog, false narratives gain traction
Carte Blanche for GPL Violations 4 Days Ago (by Torvalds)
Slop disclosure is no longer required for the Linux Kernel
There Are No Women That Are Kernel Developers Sent by Corporations Which Claim to Champion Diversity
As noted the other day
Sites with "Linux" in Their Name Cannot Slop and Retain Readers
if they write about "linux "(or "Linux") using LLMs they will be caught, then shunned
At Microsoft, the Silent Layoffs Impact Executives Also
Microsoft hid the real story of Helen Chiang
Linus Torvalds Defected to Enshittification
Linus Torvalds is betraying a generation of high(er) standards
Microsoft’s Spin About Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns: They "Never Should Have Existed"
Microsoft-sponsored spin
It's Slop
Maybe we'll exclude It's Slop from our curation. It's a Linux Foundation outpost of sorts, an apologist of sloppy code and plagiarism.
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XIV - Six Years of Learning Irish, But the Real Issue Was Microsoft-controlled 'Secure' (Restricted) Boot
Had I not opposed back doors in Linux, not of this would come about
Gemini Links 25/10/2026: Moana (2026) and OpenBSD Updates
Links for the day
The Netherlands Fast to Adopt GNU/Linux, "Market Share" Rises to Two-Digit Value (on Desktops/Laptops)
It peaked at around 20% yesterday
DST Still Needs to Get Abolished
Get rid of DST, efficiency will improve and systems will become more reliable
PHP2Shell as Paid-for FUD Campaign (Intended to Help Sell Slop and Fake "Market Value" of Slop Pushers)
PHP2Shell considered overhyped [...] Remember all the paid-for hype regarding Mythos? What happened to all that?
Microsoft Sort of Tried to Sell XBox Piecewise (Offloading Microsoft)
XBox is in a morbid state
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 24, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 24, 2026
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Arch Linux Journey and Amin Bandali's Priorities
Links for the day
Bluewashing as a Form of Silent Layoffs
IBM will continue to shed off loads of workers while its debt climbs
Turning 20 in 2 Weeks and Upcoming Network Maintenance
That ought not interrupt our anniversary
Microsoft Shutdowns Accelerating, More Shutdowns Revealed (Not Connected to Gaming)
Silent layoffs disguised as "voluntary" "exits"
Links 24/10/2026: Microsoft Blackmail and Lingering Unrest in France:
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: From Bendigo to Kerang, Enshittification of Radio and Music in the UK
Links for the day
Red Hat Sinks With the Blue (IBM) Ship
As IBM's debt continues to soar so do the silent layoffs
Linux is Not Controlled by Linus (Torvalds)
Torvalds has become "90% marketing hype"
The "No Pain No Gain" Expectations in Publishing
Sometimes truth hurts; but that does not mean it mustn't be told
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XIII - Censorship by All Means Available in a Continent So Far Away, as 'Secure' (Restricted, Restriction by Microsoft) Boot Has a Crisis of Legitimacy
it's about America controlling sites and computers everywhere
Links 24/10/2026: Oligarchs Already Buy US Elections, GAFAM Front Group "EFF" Speaks of "Vulnerability Apocalypse"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Automobile Differential Tire Movement, Samsung Washer Woe, and Slop Scraping
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 23, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 23, 2026