The costly death of eDossier last Friday [1, 2] adds up to various other Battistelli-related write-offs and losses at the European Patent Office (EPO). The waste on his luxurious new office at the top floor, the lavish bonuses, the corrupt 'bodyguards' (outlaws and thugs), the millions he sent to his other employer, the defective new building and the money he sent to toxic loans are only few among dozens of examples. He even spent millions of euros buying himself favourable press coverage, in effect bribing and corrupting the media too. The biggest heist likely remains what we previously covered in:
"Surely examiners at the EPO are well aware of these fine interactions. Patents don't "create value" out of a void/vacuum."In the broader scheme of things, the costs (or losses) to the EPO may be negligible if not irrelevant compared to the full commercial and societal costs (sometimes known as externalities, e.g. what pollution is to a factory). On the former, what would be the cost (write-off) of a hundred thousand wrongly-granted European Patents (application, renewal, legal fees)? This money needs to have come from somewhere (time and labour). On the latter, how much would wrongly-accused parties need to shell out on law firms, putting aside emotional distress and lack of productivity? A calculated guess would be somewhere north of a billion euros per year. Surely examiners at the EPO are well aware of these fine interactions. Patents don't "create value" out of a void/vacuum. ⬆