Bonum Certa Men Certa

News Sites That Talk About Patents Have Become Shameless Self-Promotion 'Plugs' by Law Firms (and Sometimes Outright 'Spam' for Litigation)

Video download link



Summary: The sources of news about patent affairs have dried up; sites that actually used to investigate and report facts have since then shut down or defected to the Public Relations/marketing industry

THE PAST 20 years I've spent a lot of time reading news sites, with growing focus on patents over time, especially 15 years ago. I grew up on the Web, which was there when I was a teenager. In the early days of the Web (before and during the Netscape days) we'd go to sites like Download.com and News.com (some might know the history of these domains and the ill fate of CNET). There used to be a "golden era" of transition from newspapers to "online news", except the classifieds sections weren't quite there, so business models needed to urgently change. In the late 90s and well into the start of the millennium there was still investment (capital) in online news, but with Web monopolies and social control media (over a decade ago) many news sites languished and ebbed away. They never truly came back. IP Kat and Watchtroll were early at the scene, but they too have languished and the founders of both are no longer there. They're like 'satellite' sites with fluff and sometimes clickbait...

Litigation firms now sponsor Patently-O. It even admitted so openly a few weeks ago.

"IP Kat and Watchtroll were early at the scene, but they too have languished and the founders of both are no longer there."It's saddening to me, it really is...

What works in our favour is that we don't have a 'business model' and we don't need one. We're all volunteers fighting the good fight, even in the face of smears and discreditisation campaigns (corporations have attempted to 'cancel' us since the site was months old).

The video above is a rant about the lack of media participation in covering EPO abuses. EPO insiders are smart enough to know why this is happening (in the Benoît Battistelli days there was still some media left and some of that same media defected and became a lapdog/censor of António Campinos).

"Same publisher, different agenda."In part 13 of the current series we'll show the sorts of puff pieces produced by JUVE for 'access' to EPO management. They just never expose EPO abuses anymore. Same publisher, different agenda. The video shows two 'reports' from this morning; one from Konstanze Richter and another from Christina Schulze, who once upon a time wrote and even exposed EPO scandals. Now, as we noted in the latest Daily Links, we cannot say anything without insulting or offending both of them. Because this isn't journalism, it just isn't. We've been filing many more examples in Daily Links (not meriting a whole article about them; there's really not that much to say) and it's concerning to see JUVE becoming just another IAM. Will the fate be the same as IPWatch and IPPro Patents? I've not seen Barney Dixon online since last year* (some British publisher) and it's a shame because he actually did some good work and he gave a voice to EPO staff, just like the original 'Kats' at IP Kat. _____ * To quote this page: "Recent news related to Asset Servicing Times, Captive Insurance Times, Securities Lending Times, IPPro Magazine (Closed December 2019) or IPPro Patents (Closed January 2019)" (all the articles were lost, too).

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM HR "Process is Similar to Raising Farm Animals"
IBM "silent layoffs" won't stop
 
The Register MS Covers "AI" Because It Gets Paid to
A lot of noise "in the news" about "AI" is paid-for trash
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 02, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 02, 2026
Gemini Links 02/07/2026: OpenBGPD, Newt and OpenBSD, Indieweb Theme for Ghost
Links for the day
Links 02/07/2026: China "Ethnic Unity" Law a Global Threat, "EU Imposes €3 Duty on Parcels From China"
Links for the day
Japan's Share of GNU/Linux Has More Than Doubled
GNU/Linux now sits around 3.5% compared to about 1% two years ago
'Largest Single Layoff Event In Gaming History' or 'Largest Single Layoff Event In Microsoft History'?
we need whistleblowers, not official or semi-official statements from Microsoft
Off-putting Terms or Behaviour That Keep Women Away From Areas of Technology (Not What IBM and GAFAM Tell Us)
the use of language
Microsoft Windows "Goes South" in South America, GNU/Linux Popularity Soaring
Brazil and its neighbours must have paid attention to what happened earlier this year in Venezuela
It's Not the Layoffs, It's the Debt
PIPs and/or "silent layoffs" are about the companies flouting obligations to staff, reducing or eliminating the compensation packages
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Cutting Ribbons in Sintra While the EPO Burns
Like the Roman Emperor Nero, Campinos fiddles in Sintra while the EPO burns
In Spain, GNU/Linux Now Measured at 5.5%
Microsoft and Windows are generally shrinking
North America: GNU/Linux Leaps to 8% "Market Share"
the trend is clear
statCounter: GNU/Linux Has Risen to All-Time High of 6% Worldwide (July 2026)
GNU/Linux has massive gains
Not Tolerating Death Threats
Death threads are a serious matter
Silent Layoffs, 'Happy' Layoffs, and 'Buyouts' (Pretending to Voluntarily Retire)
We've been seeing lots of that at IBM and Microsoft
SLAPP Censorship - Part 125 Out of 200: Litigants in Person (LIPs) Handling American Lawfare Funded by Third Parties (About a Million Pounds for 100 Kilograms of Legal Papers)
An appeal to the Court of Appeal can be justified at one point
Attacks on the Sites
These are clearly censorship attempts
Links 02/07/2026: Microsoft May be Shutting Down 5+ Studios, Slop Got Too Expensive, "RAMpocalypse" Discussed
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 01, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 01, 2026
Gemini Links 02/07/2026: Kondo, Theological Thought, and X4
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2026: Apple and Microsoft Price Hikes, Political Catchup
Links for the day
Parroting the Script of RAs and PIPs, "Buyouts" and Layoffs by Any Other Name
Over time people will find out just how many people "leave" IBM
Slop Gives No Real Edge, It's Just Falsely Marketed That Way (FOMO)
Plagiarism in some measurable form is always bad, irrespective of what we call it
The Microsoft-Owned Media Shows What Spin Microsoft Will Use Amid Mass Layoffs
Microsoft says goodbye to over 10,000 workers this month
Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Lost a Case of Its Biggest Client "IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)"
Is Brett Wilson LLP proud of such clientele?
The Media is Shooting Its Own Foot by Peddling Slop and Spam
Nobody wishes to read slop; as soon as people realise "the news" (or "news site") is LLM trash, they will walk away
Gary Smith Says Brett Wilson LLP Engages in SLAPP Against Him Over LinkedIn Post, "This is the Streisand Effect in Real Time"
"Lawyers who front SLAPP‑style threats on behalf of powerful institutions are not “defending reputation”; they are abusing legal process to intimidate and silence legitimate public‑interest scrutiny."
Gemini Links 01/07/2026: Wild Flowers, Slop, and Waystone Tools
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2026: Bending Spoons Makes an 'Exit' ("Going Public"), US Supreme Court Rules on Many Issues
Links for the day
Misattributing Blame, the Core Issue is Slop
that issue has nothing to do with Bash
Microsoft: Layoffs Are an Investment
Sales of the console will take another plunge and debt will skyrocket
Links 01/07/2026: MElon (Elon Musk) "Confronted With List of People He Has Killed", Microsoft Ignores Union, Chooses "Bloodbath"
Links for the day
The Register MS: Paid-For SPAM Advocating Chinese Colonialism in Africa, Not Even a Disclosure (as Before)
Does The Register MS recognise what this piece is promoting and who for?
Techrights Never Defended Rapists
In the past, I and others got falsely accused of "defend[ing] a rapist"
"Regular Silent Layoffs and PIPs" at Microsoft, According to Microsoft Insider
Many people leave without a fuss, only a signed NDA
Gaming Companies Help Promote Rootkits ('Anticheat') and Help Microsoft Take Control of People's PCs
The industry in its current form acts a bit more like a cabal of power-hungry companies that actively try to back-door everything and smear people who oppose that
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Turns 38 Next Month
IRC did well because over 300k users are on significant networks (simultaneous, also counting bots and cross-network overlaps)
opensourceforu.com is a Slopfarm, It's Not "Open Source" and It's Not "For U"
Slop "For U"
DRM and Ownership
We now even have PCs that "expire"
GNU/Linux Reaches 6% in North America
Tomorrow around 10AM we'll see what preliminary data they get for July
IBM Layoffs Still Happening in 2026, They're Just Not Being Reported
The demise of IBM accompanies the demise of the media
SLAPP Censorship - Part 124 Out of 200: The Court Deems My Wife Connected to the Case of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Invites Her to the Hearing Last Week
Brett Wilson LLP does not play by the rules
Paying Severance to Staff Laid Off by Microsoft Too Expensive for Microsoft Now?
When companies earn such a bad reputation (not paying severance to people they discard) it lowers morale even further
Microsoft Mass Layoffs Due to Money Problems (Debt, Lack of Money to Complete Payroll), Not "Hey Hi"
If Microsoft later comes up with some "Hey Hi" narrative, then immediately reject it
Stop Conflating Free Software With Slop Plagiarism and Time-wasting
Even decades ago people could use "compute" for lots of fuzzing, then file away false or unaudited reports using bots
What Security Means
Security does not mean asking Microsoft for permission
Microsoft May be Losing 10,000+ Workers This Month
Here's the quick math
BSN Senior School Leidschenveen is Shutting Down and What That Means to the European Patent Office (EPO)
Follow-up meeting with Site Manager VP1 on school matters
Gemini Links 01/07/2026: Keeping (Relatively) Cool plus Adventures in Solar, Camp Snap Cameras and XTEINK X4 Ereader Reviews
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Different Strokes For Different Folks
Organisation operating in two parallel universes
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 30, 2026
GNU/Linux Measured at 4.4% by statCounter, Even More by analytics.usa.gov
GNU/Linux has fared well