Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO's War on Justice and Assault on the Law -- Part 2: Just Another Pro Forma Rubber-Stamping Exercise?

Previously in this series:



The kangaroo judges
G 1/21 is likely to be just another pro forma rubber-stamping exercise.



Summary: Half a decade after Benoît Battistelli 'kidnapped' and then defamed judges (it started in 2014) António Campinos has done nothing to restore lawfulness at the EPO, as controversial referral case G 1/21 shows; in fact, they recently approved European software patents after pressure from Campinos himself

This time the story is connected to the "new normal" at the EPO and plans of the management to impose oral proceedings by videoconference, in particular in circumstances where the parties don't consent to the use of such a procedure.



The case is G 1/21 (warning: epo.org link) and the crucial referral question reads as follows:

"Is the conduct of oral proceedings in the form of a videoconference compatible with the right to oral proceedings as enshrined in Article 116(1) EPC if not all of the parties to the proceedings have given their consent to the conduct of oral proceedings in the form of a videoconference?"


Back in February of this year, IPKat began reporting on the case under the headline

"BREAKING: The legality of Board of Appeal oral proceedings by video conference has been referred to the EBA".

This was followed up by two further posts in March:

"BREAKING: Board of Appeal in T1807/15 continues with ViCo oral proceedings referral"; and

"Chairman and Enlarged Board criticised for lack of impartiality in ViCo oral proceedings referral (G1/21)".

It seemed like the blog was finally starting to show signs of awakening from its Kat-atonic torpor and recovering some of its long-lost critical faculties vis-à-vis the already deeply entrenched and ongoing erosion of the rule of law at the EPO.

"Even the normally censorious Rose from AstraZeneca has been allowing EPO-critical comments to filter through."In particular, IPKat recognised that the "hasty scheduling of the oral proceedings with limited time for third parties to comment, and (…) the potential conflicts of the appointed members of the Enlarged Board" had given rise to a significant amount of legitimate public criticism.

Even the normally censorious Rose from AstraZeneca has been allowing EPO-critical comments to filter through.

Much of the criticism in the comments following the articles has been directed at Carl Josefsson.

"It should be noted that the decision adopted by the EBA in such a case is a final decision which is not subject to review by any further instance."In his capacity as President of the Boards of Appeal, Josefsson was directly involved in the introduction of the disputed amendments to the Rules of Procedure. His involvement in the amendment procedure is foreseen under Rule 12c(2) EPC (warning: epo.org link).

It seems that Josefsson is now insisting on playing a key role as Chairman of the Enlarged Board in deciding whether or not the amendments which he himself proposed are compatible with the European Patent Convention.

It should be noted that the decision adopted by the EBA in such a case is a final decision which is not subject to review by any further instance.

As things stand, the procedure in G 1/21 is unlikely to be anything more than another pro forma rubber-stamping exercise.

"But even if the outcome seems like a foregone conclusion at this stage, the case has generated a significant amount of public interest and controversy and will, in all likelihood, continue to do so in the lead-up to the hearing scheduled to take place on 28 May."The only useful purpose which it is likely to serve is to provide a further "exhibit" in the mounting pile of evidence of a serious erosion of the rule of law at the EPO and a failure by the organisation's main judicial body to comply with even the most elementary standards of judicial independence and procedural fairness.

But even if the outcome seems like a foregone conclusion at this stage, the case has generated a significant amount of public interest and controversy and will, in all likelihood, continue to do so in the lead-up to the hearing scheduled to take place on 28 May.

In the next part we will present the composition of the judicial panel entrusted with deciding the controversial referral case G 1/21.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
 
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Addition Addiction and Nitride
Links for the day
Links 09/06/2025: Science, Hardware Projects, and Democracy Receding
Links for the day
Computers Got Smaller, So GNU/Linux Got Bigger
Many people here recognise the lack of urgency (or need) to get expensive new laptops
BetaNews is a Plagiarism and LLM Slop Hub, the Chief Editor Isn't Addressing This Problem Anymore
SS Fagioli is basically a parasite leeching off or exploiting other people's work
Links 09/06/2025: Chaos in Los Angeles and Hurricane Season
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Grows at Windows' Expense and Microsoft Trolls Infest and Maliciously Target Articles About It
Microsoft is - and has long been - organised crime
They Say I'm Mr. Bombastic
They didn't take good lawyers
Links 09/06/2025: Windows TCO and Many Data Breaches
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VI: Political Stunts by Former President Edyta Demby-Siwek and the Connection to Profound Corruption at EUIPO
it's like a money-laundering operation where one politician rewards another at taxpayers' expense
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Pipelines and Splitgate
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 08, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 08, 2025