What would EPO founding fathers, Johannes "Bob" van Benthem and Kurt Haertel, have made of Benoît Battistelli's liberticidal project?
The seven founding states of the European Patent Organisation were: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the three countries of the Benelux Union (the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), and the Alpine confederacy of Switzerland.
"As we shall see later, the only Benelux delegation which declined to endorse Battistelli's manifestly flawed and unlawful proposal was the Belgian delegation, headed by Jêrome Debrulle."In the Benelux camp, Luxembourg followed its larger neighbour the Netherlands and likewise voted in favour of the "Strike Regulations".
As we shall see later, the only Benelux delegation which declined to endorse Battistelli's manifestly flawed and unlawful proposal was the Belgian delegation, headed by Jêrome Debrulle.
The two remaining founding states, France and Switzerland, also voted in favour of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations".
A casual observer could be forgiven for naïvely expecting that - in view of their special responsibility as founding members - the delegations representing those states would have seen fit to scrutinise the proposed curtailment of staff rights in a more diligent and critical manner.
"In the upcoming parts we will take a closer look at the delegations from the EPO's founding states, starting with the two main host states, Germany and the Netherlands."But unfortunately the facts on the ground tell a different story and show that such idealistic notions are far removed from the realpolitik of EPO governance.
The official record shows that the delegates from six out of seven of the EPO's founding states had no qualms about endorsing Battistelli's liberticidal project.
In the upcoming parts we will take a closer look at the delegations from the EPO's founding states, starting with the two main host states, Germany and the Netherlands. ⬆