Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO Rejects Innovation

Litigation, litigation, litigation, litigation, even frivolous litigation

Innovation vs Litigation = waste of time and money



Summary: The EPO ceased caring about the needs of scientists whose work involves invention; instead, EPO management crafts increasingly lenient guidelines that yield illegal European Patents (not compatible with the EPC) that heavily-besieged EPO judges are unable to stop

THE European Patent Office (EPO) is led not by a scientist; several consecutive presidents, including António Campinos, had no background in science, so it's hardly surprising they deem lawyers -- not scientists -- as those to be served. And they even use terms such as "Clients" or "Customers" (as if the EPO is a private, for-profit corporation whose sole goal is maximising revenue).



"How about databases on the network? Oh, blockchains? Yes, let's just overcomplicate things."This very simple (albeit not shallow) observation could not be avoided or overlooked by EPO staff, notably examiners. Who are they even led or managed by? A nonscientific, law-breaking cabal often younger than the examiners themselves? People who choose buzzwords over substance? Mere marketing lingo which they can't even explain, let alone understand? Earlier this week we saw the EPO promoting software patents in Europe again -- patents that are illegal and can only be excused using hype waves few people can grasp. How about databases on the network? Oh, blockchains? Yes, let's just overcomplicate things.

"A year ago," the EPO tweeted, "experts in #blockchain discussed its possible impact on the #patent system."

The EPO has since then distorted its guidelines to permit if not encourage patents on "hey hi" (AI) and stuff like "blockchain" (most algorithms that depend on some database can be spun or twisted that way). Got some data? Got some logic (loops and conditional statements)? Give it to some attorney who can spin that as some "hey hi on the blockchain..."

"X on a car"

"Y on a mobile"

"Z over the Internet"

Remember all those "on a computer" patents?

That fashion is back in Europe, having been borrowed from the US.

"The EPO has since then distorted its guidelines to permit if not encourage patents on "hey hi" (AI) and stuff like "blockchain" (most algorithms that depend on some database can be spun or twisted that way)."Hey, it's not like examiners can refuse, right? With new guidelines in effect and with growing risk of dismissal, it's a lot safer for them to swiftly grant these bogus patents. "Patentees Need to Act Fast as the EPO Opposition Timeline Tightens" is the title of what Watchtroll posted yesterday. Watchtroll is a close ally of the EPO and it shares its attacks on judges with EPO management. They're fantastical patent zealots and this article was of course composed by litigation people, Katherine Green & Emily Hayes (first article in Watchtroll). Taking EPO advice from Watchtroll would seem suitable to EPO management, but not anybody else. Watchtroll is a radical site, which says (this week) that "Now is the Time to Put the PTAB [the court itself] on Trial" (article by Gene Quinn, the founder). Maybe they'll also call for assassination of patent judges one day (revenge for 'killing' patents).

What's it all about? It's about PTAB applying the law, 35 U.S.C. ۤ 101, to invalidate patents wrongly granted by the USPTO. So Watchtroll wants the judges themselves to be put on trial! Perfectly normal, right?

In EPOnia the attack on judges has been normalised, as was the attack on the media. The EPO sent threats to journalists and bribed a lot of them as well. So now we're left with no objective coverage (if any) about EPO scandals. Even past EPO critics (publications) seem to have sacked good writers, replacing them with 'docile' corporate writers. Check out this new EPO puff piece from World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR), composed by Rory O'Neill who ended up copy-pasting quotes from the EPO's press release while offering nothing new, no insights. Is this what qualifies as "journalism" nowadays? Maybe they should also frame every Donald Trump "tweet" as fact and present that as "journalism".

"In EPOnia the attack on judges has been normalised, as was the attack on the media."The EPO has meanwhile published this latest nonsense (warning: epo.org link) about a "Working Party"; it used to present "Working Party" for patent quality (obviously a publicity stunt), but this one is for "Guidelines" because the latest EPO guidelines likely violate the EPC in a lot of ways. To quote the press release:

Members of the SACEPO Working Party on Guidelines and the EPO met on 27 November to discuss the annual revision of the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO and the Guidelines for Search and Examination at the EPO as PCT Authority.

[...]

The meeting formed a part of the EPO’s efforts to involve users in the revision of the Guidelines, a goal expressed in the Strategic Plan 2023 that was adopted by the EPO’s Administrative Council in June. During the meeting a move to broaden the spectrum of external involvement through a public online consultation on the Guidelines was unanimously embraced by the participants. The meeting was also used by the Working Party members and the EPO to discuss the details of the planned consultation which should start in March next year.


What next, EPO? Working Party on staff relations? Working Party on transparency? Working Party on workers' welfare? Working Party on googlebombing the Web with misinformation about a topic of concern?

Now sit back expect the likes of IAM and WIPR to parrot the above (in days to come). This is what "journalism" in the area of patents has been reduced to. The litigation lobby hijacked everything in circulation (even anonymous comments get deleted!) -- a mundane lobbying/coup facilitated by threats and bribes.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
 
Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day