Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO Management High-Fiving Patent Propaganda Sites Like 'Managing IP' While Granting Illegitimate Patents on Algorithms

A muscle car



Summary: Having mastered the art of hype and buzzwords, the management of the EPO carries on pretending that it does nothing wrong by rubber-stamping abstract patents on mathematics

THE software patents promotion by the European Patent Office (EPO) under António Campinos is no laughing matter; it almost guarantees the demise of Europe's flourishing software industry (which involves many lesser-known systems that corporate media in America rarely covers, e.g. SCADA).



Europe's car industry is also noteworthy, especially because of Germany's dependence on it. We recently covered cases of patent lawsuits against German car-makers; some of these are software patents. "Self-Driving" as the EPO puts it means mostly computer vision, i.e. algorithms/mathematical methods; these are illegitimate patents. Why does the EPO violate the EPC which is its founding document?

Just before the weekend the EPO uttered these words: "Europe and the US have a strong lead in self-driving vehicle innovation with about 1 400 European patent applications each in 2017 alone. See how other regions performed here: http://bit.ly/SDVstudy #SelfDriving #FutureOfCars pic.twitter.com/isyFESqbKL"

They make it look like bingo or some kind of competition; but what they actually enumerate there boils down to monopolies. How many of these are legitimate? What proportion? It's hard to tell because very few will be tested in court in their lifetime as patents.

The patent maximalists couldn't be happier about the above. As we mentioned here before (only a few days ago), Managing IP is throwing petals at António's feet (as it did his appointer, Battistelli, before him). The EPO has just retweeted this: "Most influential people in IP: António Campinos, EPO http://www.managingip.com/Article/3846046/Managing-Patents-Archive/Most-influential-people-in-IP-Antnio-Campinos-EPO.html … António Campinos has so far succeeded in improving relations in the upper echelons of the @EPOorg since taking over as president in July. #MIP50 pic.twitter.com/2OF7kVlaLl"

This tweet is a lie. It's whitewashing. Ask EPO workers if he is "improving relations"; he's not. He certainly pretends to, but it isn't working anymore. The impatience has turned into sourness.

As if the above retweet wasn't enough, the EPO added: ". @ManagingIP has named EPO President António Campinos one of the most influential people in IP. “António Campinos has so far succeeded in improving relations in the upper echelons of the EPO since taking over as president in July.” Read more: https://bit.ly/2QpIQ17 #MIP50"

Remember this is the same Managing IP that repeatedly whitewashed Battistelli and promoted the UPC with the EPO. It's hardly an independent publisher and it shows. It has long been a propaganda platform of the EPO and the UPC (check who funds it) and it seems like quite a few writers have resigned (we no longer see their names). Moreover, as I pointed out to them in Twitter, "António Campinos just got his job from his French compatriot and friend, corrupt Battistelli..."

The very name of the site gives it away; they call patents "property" (which they're not) and another person to be crowned by them just now is a Watchtroll-connected lobbyist who supported patent trolls too (i.e. just the cup of tea of Managing IP's sponsors). In their own words: "Most influential people in IP: Manny Schecter, IBM http://www.managingip.com/Article/3846050/Managing-Patents-Archive/Most-influential-people-in-IP-Manny-Schecter-IBM.html … @IBM's chief patent counsel tells Managing IP about holding onto the number one patent filing spot in the US, his concerns about Section 101 and his passion for IP education. #MIP50 pic.twitter.com/N9TLJkwmSi

They mean patent indoctrination (maximalism), not "IP education", and he's a vocal proponent of software patents, which his employer uses extensively for extortion, having been armed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He habitually attacks Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes reviews (IPRs) because they get in IBM's way (with blackmail).

Going back to the EPO, however, D Young & Co LLP wrote about "Allowed text at the EPO" and R. K. Dewan & Co in India takes note of the EPO illegally granting software patents by exploiting the buzzword "AI" -- a strategy we've long criticised. To quote:

Science and Technology have been unfolding new eras of growth. With each new ground breaking invention, there arises the need to protect the intellect invested in the innovations. However, granting protection can indeed be very challenging keeping in mind the high standards of pre-requisites for granting of Patents.

Recently, the European Patent Office (EPO) issued certain guidelines for patentability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The guidelines state that AI & ML are based on computational models and algorithms for classification, clustering, regression and dimensionality reduction, such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, support vector machines, k-means, kernel regression and discriminant analysis. The guidelines state that such computational models and algorithms are per se of an "abstract mathematical nature", irrespective of whether they can be "trained" based on training data. The guideline focusses on mathematical algorithms to have a technical character. It states that at the time of examining, the claimed subject-matter must be examined with expressions such as "support vector machine", "reasoning engine" or "neural network", since these terms usually refer to abstract models which are devoid of a technical character.


I've personally implemented some of the above; they're pure software and are thus patent-ineligible as per the EPC, courts etc. No doubt the EPO, supported by the media it got by the pocket (or the balls), will carry on lying about it.

Recent Techrights' Posts

On the Internet, Nobody Knows Microsoft and Windows Are Becoming Niche Players Until Data is Shown Correctly, Not Microsoft-Sponsored Articles in Microsoft Publishers
Microsoft controls a lot of publishers and thus it controls information
All That's Left of MSNBC (Microsoft-NBC) is Microsoft NOW
When plutocrats and large corporations (even deep in debt) buy all the communication channels
Accessibility Isn't Overrated
Making things simpler typically means better accessibility
 
IBM Operatives Inside The Register MS and More Shady Money to Follow
The Register MS bites every banknote it can sink its teeth into
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers and Slopfarms in Google News (e.g. Linux Journal and WebProNews)
Google plays an active role (if not deliberately then through utter neglect and carelessness) in plagiarism
Links 20/08/2025: Mass Surveillance Framed as "Artificial Intelligence" (All Old Things Reworded to Misframe Old Computer Issues), Europe Resists Capitulation to US(SR)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/08/2025: Trips and Permacomputing
Links for the day
Links 20/08/2025: Oracle Layoffs in India, "AI" Scammers/Profiteers Admit It's a "Bubble", Softbank-Saudi (Oil) Control Tech Companies
Links for the day
Social Control Networks Give You False Metrics to 'Addict' You To Them
Leaving social control media may seem hard, but the same is true for any other addiction
A Lot of What Happened in Twitter Was Bots, Botfarms, and Troll Farms. It's Even Worse Now (Under X.com) and People Are Noticing.
Last month we said the same was happening in YouTube
Microsoft May Have Become - at Least Partially - Like a Boiler Room Scam
Giving imaginary salaries using imaginary tokens based on imaginary value (with restrictions on conversion to cash)
In Vietnam, Microsoft's Search Engine "Market Share" Fell to Almost 0%, CocCoc More Than 5 Times Bigger
Why are people still investing in this company?
The Register MS, Paid to Promote "AI" Hype, Does "Sez" (Says) Pieces
every bubble-funded "news" site tries to make it a story about "AI"
Many Companies Are Run by Liars Who Ride Other People's Money
Or steal it
Before CoreAI There Was Builder.ai
GitHub isn't about "AI" (just a bunch of lies and storytelling for shareholders' patience)
Microsoft Windows in Croatia at New Lows
We've been keeping track of this trend for a while
Using the Best Tool/s for the Job: RSS Feeds and RSS Readers
Use RSS feeds. Reject those "modern" Web things
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/08/2025: Neovim, XML, and Alhena 5.2.9
Links for the day
The Register's Slopfest
Remember when The Register UK (yes, UK) had better standards?
Latest Version of Windows (Vista 11) is a Failure 4 Years After Its Fake 'Leak'
Vista 11 became more scarce this month
Improving Our Archives
Our old archives are still accessed a lot. Making them better is well worth the investment.
Things One Learns as a Litigant in Person at the UK High Court
Don't fear the official manuals
Slopwatch: Lots of Fake Articles From Fake "Linux" Sites and About "Linux"
Google says it's committed to "AI" (it means slop, not AI); that seems like an excuse to dodge accountability
Links 19/08/2025: "Eavesdropping on Phone Conversations Through Vibrations" and Air Canada in Chaos
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/08/2025: Niche Spaces and "AI Pasta Sauce"
Links for the day
Links 19/08/2025: "NASA Is Giving Up on Climate Change Science" and "Earth's Continents Are Drying Out at an Unprecedented Rate"
Links for the day
Microsoft said “GitHub and its leadership team will continue its mission as part of Microsoft’s CoreAI organisation.” But it's just an empty shell created earlier this year.
In short, it's not too clear what Microsoft has just done except dumping GitHub - i.e. mostly a Web site that loses a ton of money (it always lost money) - into some mysterious new bucket
Phil Wyett evidence & Debian Zizian plagiarism, modern slavery tendencies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
IBM Layoffs in MCC, or Marketing, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
IBM and Microsoft inflate their share price by circular financing
In Many Countries People Move Away From Vista 11
Vista 11 has been available for download for 4 years already, but adoption has been poor
Desktops/Laptops Fall to All-Time Lows in the UK, So Why Does British Media Quote a Famous Criminal on "End of the Smartphone Era"?
mobile usage (for Web access) has never been higher, based on an Irish surveyor, statCounter
The Groklaw Web Site Has Been Hijacked by Scammers
Groklaw.net isn't a safe site to access at this time
The Register MS gets Lazy, Uses Slop
Unlike 3-D renderings or "Classic" CG, slop images aren't quite original and definitely not fair use
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 18, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, August 18, 2025
Online Safety Act Does Not Tackle the Worst (and Biggest) Culprits
if our governments are serious about tackling online harms, then they need to look closely at GAFAM and social control media giants
Chat Control (1 and 2) in the European Union Sends the Wrong Message
This is an EU law
Slopwatch: Google News and Serial Sloppers (Fake Articles About "Linux")
Calling out the culprits
Gemini Links 19/08/2025: Digital Legacy and Chat Control
Links for the day
English Law Misused by Americans and Irishmen Against Brits is Unfair
There's always a way to improve existing laws
Overly Maximalist, Expensive, Localised Patent Law is Dooming Western Companies, Argue 3-D Printing Champions
We've long warned (over 7 years already!) that China's approach to patents will impress WIPO by gaming the totals but will doom the West
Links 18/08/2025: "Microsoft Store" Gets Increasingly Hostile, "Cracking Abandonware DRM"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/08/2025: Summer "Gone" and Web Reposts in Gemini
Links for the day
Microsoft's Windows in Gabon: Still Moving Down
What is this Unknown? Who knows...
Links 18/08/2025: LLM Reputation Damaged, Australia Catches Google Foul Play
Links for the day
Geeks Like GNU/Linux
The technical community seems to be consolidating and rallying around GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux is 486 in Ireland
4.86% that is
End of Reliable Media
it makes the world a worse place, it renders the Web a misinformation machine
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 17, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 17, 2025
GitHub Won't Last Much Longer
Many things at Microsoft are going to go the way of the Skype (or "dodo"). GitHub will be among those.
We've Never Used Large Language Model (LLM)
we just never used an LLM
"Secure Boot" is a Security Problem, Not a Solution
These people don't try to improve security but to undermine security
Gemini Links 18/08/2025: Retro and Endless Escape from the WWW
Links for the day