Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Real Fate of the UPC 'Stunt' in Germany Will be Known Next Month (or Next Year) and There Are Substantial Constitutional Barriers in the Way

The four panel: BMJV, FCC, Trolls' lawyers, German law, Team UPC and constitution



Christine LambrechtSummary: Contrary to what Team UPC wants people to think, UPC(A) isn't a "done deal" in Germany; they never actually addressed the substance of complaints and with help from Benoît Battistelli's friends in the Commission they're just attempting a blatant coup

EARLIER this month many scholars across Europe publicised their position on the UPC, which they oppose. The minds, not the litigation lawyers, consider UPC/A to be a bad thing. They're still adding more signatures and are actively working to squash the UPC, seeing that it is bad for Europe and insulting to the Rule of Law. As someone put is on Friday, citing/quoting FFII: "Politicians willfully ignored the problem that the UPC violates the “Rule of Law” principle, as the EPO still cannot be sued for maladministration, where there are 4 pending complaints in Karlsruhe, which should be issued in early 2021."



"It's not impossible that there will be multiple constitutional complaints next month. Time will tell; but this was expected all along (as was the outcome of the Bundestag vote)."We said we'd refrain from wasting much time on this, foreseeing another major failure for Team UPC. It is meanwhile more apparent that the complainant the first time around has several weeks to submit another, maybe to be dealt with in substance this time around (the FCC did not get around to addressing all the points the first time around, dealing instead with a formality). As he has just put that in his site:

Update (25 and 26/11/2020):

On 07/08/2020, the German government started its second attempt to ratify the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court and sent its corresponding draft legislation to the Federal Council (“Bundesrat”; Federal Council printed matter 448/20, German language). In its 993rd session on 26/09/2020 the Federal Council raised no objections to the draft (Federal Council printed matter 448/20 (decision) and protocol, p. 297, both German language).

On 25/09/2020 the German government presented its draft to the German Parliament (“Bundestag”, Parliament printed matter 18/22847, German language). In the first deliberation on 08/10/2020 the draft was referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection (in charge), the Committee on European Union Affairs and the Committee on Budgets (protocol, p. 23001 (D), German language).

In its 113th meeting on 25/11/2020, the Committee for Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection dealt with the draft legislation (item 3 on the agenda of 20/11/2020, German language) and recommended its adoption, against the votes of the AfD. A motion by the AfD Parliamentary group to hold a public hearing on the dossier was rejected (see the report “Bills pass the Legal Affairs Committee” of 25/11/2020 and the Resolution recommendation in Parliament printed matter 19/24742, both German language).

The Parliamentary group CDU/CSU is of the opinion (Resolution recommendation, p. 4, last para.)

“…that the primacy of Union law provided for in Article 20 of the Agreement affects neither the fundamental domestic constitutional guarantees, in particular the principles laid down in Article 1 and Article 20(1) and (2) in conjunction with Article 79(3) of the Grundgesetz, nor the Federal Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction to review compliance with minimum constitutional standards in the transfer of sovereign rights to European or intergovernmental institutions.”

The SPD parliamentary group thinks (Resolution recommendation, p. 5, first para.)

“…that the final distribution of the competences of the Unified Patent Court with regard to the partial location in London provided for in the Agreement, that is necessary due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, is still to be resolved appropriately in the future in consent with the other Member States participating in the Agreement.”

Also on 25/11/2020, the Budget Committee consulted on the draft legislation and recommended its adoption, against the votes of the FDP and the AfD (Resolution recommendation in Parliament printed matter 19/24743, German language).

Already on 26/11/2020 the German Parliament will hold its second and third deliberations on the draft legislation (item 15 on the agenda of 25/11/2020, German language).

The consultation of the Legal Committee of the Federal Council is currently scheduled for 02/12/2020 (survey 56/20 of the agenda, German language), the Federal Council can therefore be expected to make its final deliberation on the draft legislation in its 998th session on 18/12/2020.





It's not impossible that there will be multiple constitutional complaints next month. Time will tell; but this was expected all along (as was the outcome of the Bundestag vote). Even Team UPC spoke about this in advance. It was foreseen.

This has become a matter of politics instead of law. As Benjamin Henrion told me the other day: "Now von der Leyen cabinet does not seem to reply to my emails deposi[ti]ng the letter. Sent it via recommandé 2 days ago, still no proof of good reception. They are playing with us."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
 
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025