THIS week was historic; UPC collapsed again. Another death, another irrecoverable ordeal. Only the insane would still insinuate that the UPC/A stands a chance.

"If the EC wants to do something useful, it'll start cracking down on EPO corruption."With Campinos still lobbying for software patents in Europe (in defiance of patent courts' rulings, as well as the EPC, the Parliament and basic common sense, a la 35 U.S.C. ۤ 101/SCOTUS) we've come to the point where the EPO writes its own obituary. As recent leaks show, the EPO will not only decrease the pay of staff while purchasing power plunges; it'll also let many examiners go (so the rumours we heard years ago were correct).

To me, personally, the sad thing is that EPO corruption now harms the EU. It also harms Germany (my roots). It harms ILO, which was supposed to guard justice and workers (the L stands for Labour or Labor). How much more damage will EPOnia's "Mafia" cause? Yes, insiders call it "Mafia"...

How many more institutions will lose their reputation?

How many more scholars (or universities) and journalists (or publishers) will the EPO bribe and blackmail?

If the EC wants to do something useful, it'll start cracking down on EPO corruption. That's unlikely to happen, however, with the likes of Breton in charge, along with a dynasty of slaveowners. Failure to contain the EPO 'cancer' means that it's spreading to the whole body, not only in the EU but also elsewhere (ILO is only based in Geneva but it's international in scope). It's like too many appointments these days are being optimised for cover-up, rather than accountability or public service. Who's in charge of today's Europe? Clearly not its people. Breton has some very difficult questions to answer. ⬆