Maybe paid and defanged, co-opted like many other German publishers and EPO "media partners"?



Summary: EPO 'genius' António Campinos enjoys shallow press coverage, which echoes or resembles Benoît Battistelli's corruption of the media (paid-for fluff)

Hours ago the EPO published the above fluff (text below). A "sign of renewed interest by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in the activities of the EPO"?

Sort of.

"Recently published on the EPO's intranet," as our source notes, was something "[m]ore like using the SZ as a vehicle for pushing software patents."

So Süddeutsche Zeitung writes about the EPO again. "But not for critical investigative reporting on breaches of fundamental rights," our source adds.

Here's the full text about "EPO's approach to CII patenting":

Home → Organisation → DG 0 → PD Communication → Announcements → 2021

13.10.2021

Patents in a digitised finance sector

SZ Finance Summit: President advocates greater support for innovative SMEs

Invited as the first-ever EPO speaker to participate at the annual "Bayerische Finanzgipfel" President António Campinos, spoke last week on the EPO's approach to patenting digital inventions, and the relevance of such inventions for the European economy.

The event was organised by the publishing house SZ-Verlag (Süddeutsche Zeitung) under the auspices of the Bavarian State Ministry of the Economy. Held in a hybrid format with strict COVID measures, the Finanzgipfel attracted some 70 attendees to the congress venue in Munich, and some 250 finance and insurance experts following by video stream. The invitation to President Campinos to speak at the conference can also be seen as sign of renewed interest by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in the activities of the EPO.

The central topic around which the conference presentations and podium discussion revolved was the need of the finance industry to re-invent itself after the pandemic with the help of digital technologies. Speakers from government institutions, leading banks, insurance groups and digital technology providers shared their business experience and discussed a wide range of new digital solutions to improve their services for clients.

The President's podium dialogue with Herbert Fromme, a leading journalist from Süddeutsche Zeitung's economics pages, was dedicated to discussing the suitability of patents as appropriate instruments for supporting the digital technology evolution, and whether patentability of software should be legally acceptable in Europe. President Campinos responded by setting out the EPO's approach to CII patenting, and explaining the role of the EPO's examiners, as well as the value of our databases and systems, such as Ansera, when processing applications for digital inventions.

President Campinos concluded by encouraging the sector to monitor more closely the development of new and promising inventions in the field, as they are often submitted by start-ups, SMEs and public research institutions. These enterprises need to be more effectively supported by investors if Europe is to catch up with its competitors in Asia and the US.

Süddeutsche Zeitung gave him a platform.

Notice the ridiculously promotional ending (makes one wonder who funded this puff piece, soon to be 'cited' with pride by the EPO itself): "President Campinos concluded by encouraging the sector to monitor more closely the development of new and promising inventions in the field..."

Yes, THANK YOU! Thank you, Dr. Professor Sir Campinos! ⬆