Bonum Certa Men Certa

USPTO and EPO Faking Growth by Granting Patents on Everything in Nature, But Campaigners Strike Back

A hungry slug



Summary: The patent microcosm is eating the world; everything under the Sun must be patented, they insist, even life itself (so they can 'pirate' the Commons and then charge us a tax for 'access' or 'license' to it)

THE previous post spoke of illegal software patents being granted in Europe because the EPO is run by a former banker, President António Campinos, and his compatriot Battistelli, a dubious politician whose master got arrested for corruption.



"You own life! Yes! That's what the patent system was conceived for!""Congratulations," says the USPTO, having just given you a patent monopoly on something in nature -- something you did not even invent, let alone managed to discover. You own life! Yes! That's what the patent system was conceived for! Here in this week's news we have "Patent triumph for CRISPR inventors" and to quote: "The US Patent office has recently (May 28) issued a patent to the French biologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and US colleague Jennifer Doudna covering the methods of modulating DNA transcription with the much-vaunted but controversial CRISPR-Cas9 system. The patent (No. 10,301,651)..."

"It is definitely not "fake news" that patents are being granted on life itself."This isn't "those crazy Americans" who do this. It's happening right now in Europe as well. It has happened for quite some time and there were massive protests about it. It is definitely not "fake news" that patents are being granted on life itself. To quote this tweet from "No Patents on Seeds!": "RESEARCH REVEALS: PATENT ON SALMON AND TROUT IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE! Several similar patents, which claim food like milk and meat of animals fed with selected plants as "inventions", have already been submitted. PR https://bit.ly/2WAovoE Patent on salmon https://bit.ly/2IEzaty pic.twitter.com/D8RjnL9qhi"

It links to their article, "Patent applications covering ‘seeds to meat’and from ‘maize to milk’" (from a fortnight ago). To quote:

The patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) covering salmon and trout reared on specific plants (EP1965658) could now become a precedent for many other patent applications. Recent research shows several similar European patent applications are already pending, claiming food products, such as meat and milk, derived from animals fed with selected plants.

The patent on salmon and trout was granted in October 2018 and recently brought to public attention by “No Patents on Seeds!”. The patent monopoly covers the rearing and feeding of the fish, along with the fish itself. After learning of this case, No Patents on Seeds! researched similar patent applications. This research came to an alarming conclusion: there are several other European patent applications recently filed at the World Patent Institute (WIPO), all following a similar strategy. Starting with plants and feed, also the food products derived from farm animals are claimed as inventions.

[...]

No Patents on Seeds! is demanding a change in the rules for interpreting patent law in order to close these loopholes, it is also calling for the more effective implementation of current prohibitions. However, if a change in the interpretation of current law does not provide sufficient legal certainty and clarity, the European patent law itself needs to be changed accordingly. No Patents on Seeds! is warning that if patents on plants and animals used in food production are granted, this will allow big companies such as Bayer, DowDupont and Syngenta to increasingly take control of agriculture, breeding and food production.


These patent extremists who run the EPO are handing monopolies over to large corporations. Power or monopoly power over what exactly? Over life, animals, nature. Truly insane; most people would think it's "fake news", but it's not...

"Power or monopoly power over what exactly? Over life, animals, nature. Truly insane; most people would think it's "fake news", but it's not..."Here's another new tweet, this one in French: "BREVETS: @NoPatentsOnSeed s’inquiète de récentes tentatives pour breveter de la viande et du lait https://agenceurope.eu/fr/bulletin/article/12273/27 … PATENTS: No Patents on Seeds! is concerned about recent attempts to patent meat and milk https://agenceurope.eu/en/bulletin/article/12273/27 …"

Patenting milk! Not even joking! This past weekend we predicted patents on air would be next because there are already patents on (treated) water. Here's the cited page:

The patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) for salmon and trout raised on specific plants could set a precedent for many other patent applications, the association No Patents on Seeds! denounced in a statement published on Wednesday 12 June. However, according to this association, which fights against the patenting of living things, several patent applications claiming food products, such as meat and milk, derived from animals fed with selected...


This is Europe. Not joking. No "fake news" here...

"When she says "damage" she means refusal to grant patents on life and on nature."Over in the US things have been a little harder since 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 or Mayo. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is reluctant to go as far as the EPO does. Eileen McDermott et al have just staged a lobbying event of Watchtroll ('webinar') and she speaks of "USPTO Commissioner for Patents on Life" (seriously! The headline is "USPTO Commissioner for Patents on Life Five Years After Alice: We’ve Come a Long Way"). They're not even pretending not to grant patents on life itself. This isn't legal and even courts in the US point this out. From her summary: "Panelists in this past Thursday’s IPWatchdog webinar, “Dissecting Alice,” gave credit to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the steps it has taken to minimize the damage caused by the courts’ lack of action on patent eligibility, but expressed concern that it simply isn’t enough."

When she says "damage" she means refusal to grant patents on life and on nature. Damage to who exactly? These people are nuts. Are nuts patented yet?

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Layoffs Definitely Still Happening
Contrary to what some apologists try to say
Don't Use the Future Tense to Discuss the Slop Bubble
Wall Street does not react to reality; it reacts to panic, which is related to expectations
The Broken Window Industry and Its Ongoing Desires to Make Technology Less Dependable
Reliable computing is becoming harder to find
New XBox CEO Typecast in Social Control Media
Microsoft apologists will fall back on (or shuffle between) the "racist" and "sexist" angle
Sites Without JavaScript Deserve Your Visits
We're not arguing that the Web should be as simple or barebones like Gemini Protocol/GemText
EPO Strikes Are Already Working
Campinos is already going "into hiding"
 
Reasons to Go on Strike in the European Patent Office (EPO)
If you live in Europe and don't work for the EPO, you can still help
First speech of Chanellor Hitler, Andreas Tille & Debian denounce Branden Robinson
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 22, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, February 22, 2026
More and More Projects Quit Microsoft GitHub This Year, XBox Will See the Same
Microsoft GitHub's embrace of slop as "strategic" gives us a clue of what'll happen to XBox very soon
Google "Intelligence": Despite Slam-Dunk or "Smoking Gun" Proof, Drug Abuse in EPO Leadership is "Unverified Allegations"
Google's slop (so-called 'AI') lacks intelligence
8,000 Pages/Articles Per Year
We're eager to maintain a good production/publication pace and illuminate the sinister attempts to interfere with Freedom of the Press in the UK
Gemini Links 22/02/2026: Okonomiyaki and Midcrunch Crisis
Links for the day
Freedom Means Accepting He or She Who is Different
In the Debian community we're sadly seeing some authoritarian overreach this month
Microsoft Windows Falls to Another New All-Time Low in Guatemala, It is a Bottomless Pit
Maybe users come to realise that Windows means back doors and those doors are open to a regime that ought not be trusted
"XBox" Will Become Slop After Mass Layoffs
When all else fails, "AI it"
Links 22/02/2026: Hardware Price Hikes Across the Board, "Microsoft Issues Statement on Potential Layoffs"
Links for the day
Microsoft "Layoffs Incoming"
This transition isn't about promoting games; it's about canning the console
Links 22/02/2026: "Bloat of Modern Fitness Apps" and Wikipedia Deprecates Archive.today
Links for the day
Our IRC 5-Year Anniversary (for Self-Hosted) is Fast Approaching
A week from now it's March already
Gemini Links 22/02/2026: Dream Job Gone and Slop in Taskwarrior
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 21, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, February 21, 2026
GNU/Linux Grew a Lot in Nicaragua
We've not noticed until today
Techrights Has Over 1,000 Good Articles 'in the Tank'
Drafts, notes, and lengthy documents
New Article Challenges Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for Choosing the Wrong SLAPP Cases to Investigate
The one point we can agree on is that SRA does not know how to correctly select the worst culprits/offenders
The Brand 'Watsonx' is a Terrible Name for IBM 'Hey Hi' (Chatbots) Because Watson Agreed With Adolf Hitler
Almost a century has passed and IBM still believes that selling "intelligence", chatbots in particular, should be done under the name "Watson"
Why IBM is Still Scary and Dangerous
Keep a distance from "Big Blue" Bully
Measuring the Growth of Our Mission and Community
Something between experiment and prototype
Richard Stallman in the United States - Part III - Georgia Tech Did a Fine Job Upholding Free Speech Principles
The real problem was social control media (toxic)
Debian's Master is Deleting Criticism of SystemD and Other Things (On-Topic and Published by Debian Developers), Resorts to the Excuse Messages Are "Too Long"
Censorship serves nobody except the masters that control this censorship
Digg's Latest Incarnation Already Failed, It's Infested With LLM Slop
Many submissions go to slopfarms and some get summarised by slop
Gemini Links 21/02/2026: Veganism and DeskPi RackMate T0
Links for the day
On The Web, XBox Already a Dying Breed
Down to about 0.05% on large machines, based on statCounter [...] Microsoft will never publicly admit or say how many billions it lost on the XBox
2026 a Year of 'Top-Down' Microsoft Layoffs (Management First)
Stay tuned for what comes next
Your "Likes" Aren't Yours and They're Mostly "Worthless Clicks"
Social hermits are not popular, irrespective of how many "Facebook friends" or "likes" they get
Waggener Edstrom/Frank Shaw Lied, There Are Definitely Microsoft Layoffs
Microsoft never issued a formal statement, it made allusions by proxy
Microsoft-Controlled Media With Embargo and Press Operatives
This won't be the last example of media manipulation for narrative control or face-saving "damage control"
Slop Hype Makes Our Core Technology Less Reliable and Far Less Resilient (We Pay for the Catastrophe That Follows)
Only slop-free projects can be trusted
Going for 1,000 (Days of Uptime)
universal records are vastly better
Firefox is No-Go in China, Not Even 1% "Market Share" Anymore
Given Mozilla's utterly rubbish marketing these days (politics over technical aspects), set aside the cheerleading for slop, there's hardly a chance of Mozilla Firefox reaching or exceeding 10% again
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part III - It's in His Eyes
Workers are free to draw their own conclusions
Links 21/02/2026: Tensions Over Iran and Illegal Cheeto Tariffs, Presidential Approval Sags
Links for the day
Links 21/02/2026: "Moving Away From Cloudflare", Many Layoffs or Shutdowns in Games (Including XBox/Microsoft)
Links for the day
GNU Linux-libre is a Grown-Up Today
"before that, every distro that wanted to respect its users' freedom had to remove itself all of the binary blobs that were distributed as part of the kernel Linux's so-called sources"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 20, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, February 20, 2026
Gemini Links 21/02/2026: "The Evil of Action" and Slop Bots Causing Great Harm Online (Not Just the Web)
Links for the day