Bonum Certa Men Certa

Breaking EPO News Regarding G 1/21: Judge Calle Josefsson Deposed as Chairman

Deposed as Chairman May 2021; Not how EPO was made
Two kangaroos gone astray



Summary: The Boards of Appeal are trying to get their act together; Josefsson has been removed from case/referral G 1/21 and Ingo Beckedorf is rumoured to have also been replaced

"Breaking news from the EPO," EPO insiders told us, citing this concrete document [PDF] dated 3 days ago (warning: epo.org link).



"An intermediate decision (so-called "interlocutory decision") has just been published in case G 1/21," we learned. "According to this decision, Josefsson has been deposed as Chairman of the panel due to well-founded suspicions of partiality. One other internal member has also been replaced. It is rumoured that this is Ingo Beckedorf who is said to have been involved in drafting the disputed regulation allowing hearing to be held by video-conference without the consent of the parties."

It's not impossible that our ongoing series played a role in this. "It seems that the other members of the Enlarged Board had enough of the way Josefsson was conducting the procedure and have staged a minor 'palace revolt'," insiders alleged. "The decision is a major slap in the face for Josefsson who should have recused himself of his own volition rather than waiting to be forced to step down by the Enlarged Board. Further updates to follow as more information becomes available."

This latest development in case no. G 1/21 means that the current series has now been "superseded by reality" as the saying goes...

"However," as insiders noted, "despite the change in the factual circumstances (i.e. the replacement of two members of the panel) most of the material and observations are still relevant. The interlocutory decision of 17 May just means that Josefsson has been deposed (along with one other member, rumoured to be Beckedorf). The hearing seems likely to continue as scheduled on 28 May with the panel in a new composition, including a new chairman."

As a side note, we have correction to make. Referring to "Calle’s Strange Metamorphosis" (Part 7), we have been notified that we wrongly assumed Jürgen Habermas had died. We apologise for this. The summary read as follows: "Sources believe the “legal anarchy” that EPOnia became notorious for, especially when it comes to handling referrals at the EPO‘s BoA, will become a dark legacy — a legacy that would, if he was alive, disappoint even Josefsson’s source of inspiration."

Josefsson’s source of inspiration is still alive to witness the appalling metamorphosis of young "Calle", who has just suffered a form of humiliation among his peers. "The wording suggests that Jürgen Habermas is no longer in the land of the living," said a reader. But that was wrong, a regretful assumption had been made. "As a matter of fact," the reader said, "Habermas is still alive and resides in Starnberg, near Munich. Although he is at a very advanced age - approaching 92 in June - he made the headlines in Germany earlier this month when he turned down an award from the United Arab Emirates worth over € 200,000."

Talking of principles...

Our reader said: "Habermas had been in line for a Sheikh Zayed Book Award under the category "Cultural Personality of the Year." Winners of the cultural personality award receive not only a medal but also a lucrative cash prize of 1 million UAE dirhams (approx. € 226,498). The awards are named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE who ruled Abu Dhabi for over 30 years. Habermas had initially decided to accept the award, but then changed his mind saying it was the wrong decision."

Shades of Jesper Kongstad and his political allies in Denmark with their Rolex scandals (taking a very expensive watch from the Saudi king).

In a statement shared with the German Spiegel Online news website, Habermas said "I declared my willingness to accept this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Award. That was a wrong decision, which I correct hereby".

"I didn't sufficiently make clear to myself the very close connection of the institution, which awards these prizes in Abu Dhabi, with the existing political system there," he added.

To quote our reader: "The German public service broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on the affair in the following articles [1, 2] and Deutsche Welle had previously published articles on Habermas to mark his 80th and 85th birthdays.

Josefsson? #NotMyPresident of the boards of appealWill Josefsson last until the end of his (already-extended, nearly 2 years ahead of time!) term in 2027? Will he be sacked prematurely like Kongstad? The perception of the independence of the Boards of Appeal has long been problematic, even by admission of its members! Removing Josefsson and replacing him with someone that António Campinos doesn't have in his back pocket would perhaps revive AMBA after a long hiatus. Maybe that would even put a smile on Habermas's face.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
 
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Motorcycling in Central Oregon, Protocol Styles and the Flag of Sark
Links for the day
Links 30/09/2025: Death Sentences, Internet Censorship, and Internet Shutdowns
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Social Control Media and ROOPHLOCH
Links for the day
Richard Stallman About to Give More Talks in Europe, Some Confirmed Already
In Göteborg
Links 30/09/2025: CERN in "Have I Been Pwned" and More Windows TCO Blunders
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical is Selling Mass Surveillance and Back Doors as "Security for Ubuntu"
If you are looking for a GNU/Linux distro to use, just remember that Microsoft has Ubuntu in the bag
Justice for Wildlife
animals cannot speak to humans who hate animals
Cowboys Gonna Be Cowboys (on the Internet, They're Not a New Problem)
Boys will be boys
Cowboys of the "Left" and Cowboys of the "Right"
Don't believe the lie that this is some "leftist" thing
When Codes of Conduct Serve to Protect Criminals From Much-Deserved Scrutiny
CoCs are typically unfit for purpose because enforcement lacks context and suitable understanding of the full background (the "full story")
It Took the Open Source Initiative (OSI) 4+ Years to Address the 'Data Breach' or Data Protection Violation Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) in March 2025
We may never know the dialogue or its nature
Even Microsoft's Biggest Boosters (and Media Operatives) Are Turning Against Microsoft
Expect many more layoffs before the fake "results" next month
GNU Was Right 42+ Years Ago
Since then the abusive, user-hostile technology has spread like mushrooms
Old Isn't Always Inadequate
How many gadgets manufactured today (in 2025) will still work in 2075?
The Monkey Business of Rust People
Compatibility won't matter
Almost Half of the FSFE's Money (the Fake 'FSF', Misusing the Brand) Comes From Vodafone
That money always comes with strings, even if they're invisible to most of us
Microsoft Lunduke Spreads Deliberate Lies to Incite Online Mobs
Has he lost his reading comprehension skills?
Our 19th Birthday (in Just Over 5 Weeks From Now)
We meanwhile have ongoing, solid plans to cover patent-related issues when the FSF turns 40
British GNU/Linux Distro FydeOS Tops DistroWatch
That seems like a decent site and decent effort to keep an eye on
We'll Soon Have 75,000 GemText Pages
avoid many perils of today's Web
Google Used Free Software to Build a Monopoly. Now Google Kicks Free Software to the Curb
The "G" in "Google" does not stand for GNU. It never did. It's just another greedy company.
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Retro Hardware, Federated Fragmentation, and Nex Server Written in C
Links for the day
4 More Days Till "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users"
We are now just 4 days away from the rare anniversary
Two Months After Merging to Hide GitHub Losses Microsoft is Doing It Again (This Time Windows)
Merging those two together is not a sign of strength but a tightening of budget
Speculations About the Next Large Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs
the mass layoffs are likely to happen on week 3 or 4 in October
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 29, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 29, 2025