04.06.20
Gemini version available ♊︎The Fall of the UPC – Part XI: Lies Told by Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI) in Süddeutsche Zeitung
Summary: Today we look at misleading claims (or lies) published by Süddeutsche Zeitung after the Germans’ constitutional court (FCC) had pointed out the obvious, namely that UPC ratification would be in violation of the German constitution
THIS week we’ll start to properly tackle some of the biggest lies told by Team UPC. Today and over the next few days we shall take a look at what was said and then assess the accuracy. Are clients of law firms being misled? Are correct expectations put in place and across? Readers can assess for themselves, based on what we’ve ‘harvested’ and found out about. It took more than 2 weeks and it’s as exhaustive a survey as we could make it.
As a quick reminder, it took the European Patent Office (EPO) more than one week to merely mention the FCC’s decision and sort of respond to it. António Campinos decided to rely on some politician (like his dad and like Battistelli, his ‘professional dad’), never mind if what that politician said was unrealistic and rightly raised a few brows. The EPO’s dream of ‘legalising’ software patents in Europe (by capturing the courts) is now dead. Over the coming years expect many European Patents to be invalidated. The same thing happened in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) after Alice, a SCOTUS decision which turns 6 quite soon (early summer).
“It took more than 2 weeks and it’s as exhaustive a survey as we could make it.”The EPO does not seem to worry too much about the validity of patents it grants.
“EPO cannot be sued for maladministration,” Benjamin Henrion pointed out the other day, and “this does not seem to concern the German Ministry of (In)justice: “The Federal Government believes that effective legal protection against decisions of the EPO exist. She currently sees no further need for reform.” http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/178/1917809.pdf …”
This is the politician that the EPO decided to rely on as if breaking the law and violating the Constitution is as German as Apfelstrudel.
As long as the EPO is a cash cow for and of Germany, however, some parts of the German government (or some political parties) will look the other way and do nothing. They’ll play along passively, irrespective of the veracity of the EPO’s words and crimes (same for The Netherlands as we found out a few years ago). It’s not only a cash cow but a ‘sacred cow’. EPO “Mafia” exploits that “sacred” status to get away with virtually everything…
“As long as the EPO is a cash cow for and of Germany, however, some parts of the German government (or some political parties) will look the other way and do nothing.”“German government answers to FDP about the EPO are here,” Henrion wrote separately.
We wrote about it a week ago.
Separately, on another day, Henrion noted that “BDI complains about the UPC FCC: “Süddeutsche Zeitung, a published in its electronic version a complaint of BDI claiming that the decision on the UPCA by the FCC was not helping industry” http://patentblog.kluweriplaw.com/2020/03/27/despite-fcc-ruling-germany-wants-to-push-ahead-with-unitary-patent-system/#comment-36730 …”
Which industry? Litigation is not an industry (a ‘meta-industry’ per se) but arguably a parasite that negatively impacts even the automobile industry Germany thrives in. There are many articles to that effect and it is a contentious battle of interests. What’s at stake is the future of Germany’s economy. Heavy industrial producer or ‘paperwork capital’?
Henrion tried to make sense of the text.
“Article about BDI here,” he added, citing this Süddeutsche Zeitung piece. Remember the old days when Süddeutsche Zeitung still criticised the EPO? It didn't last long. In past years we explained the dirty tricks EPO management used to muzzle its critics.
“Litigation is not an industry (a ‘meta-industry’ per se) but arguably a parasite that negatively impacts even the automobile industry Germany thrives in.”Henrion said or quoted: “BDI and SMEs: They even go as far as to claim that the UPC could help restore economy after the Corona episode. If we were April 1st, it would be good joke. http://patentblog.kluweriplaw.com/2020/03/27/despite-fcc-ruling-germany-wants-to-push-ahead-with-unitary-patent-system/ […] UPC will install EU-wide software patents, using the EPO doctrines “the UPC would be to establish authoritative interpretations of the EPC and validity assessment rules, to which the EPO Boards of Appeal should give considerable weight.” [...]”
In the next few parts we’re going to look a little deeper into false claims originating from law firms, which spent a lot of money investing in “lobbying” for the UPC, wrongly assuming they would recover these costs in increased or ‘enhanced’ litigation across borders. They not only harmed themselves financially; it’s likely that their clients wasted billions of Euros based on false hopes and maladjusted expectations (that UPC was coming “real soon!” or whatever). █
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