Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part IXXX: The EPOnian Micro-States - Monaco and Malta



Series parts:

  1. The EPO's Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part I: Let the Sunshine In!
  2. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part II: A “Unanimous” Endorsement?
  3. Liechtenstein delegation
  4. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part IV: The Founding States
  5. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part V: Germany Says “Ja”
  6. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part VI: A Distinct Lack of Dutch Courage
  7. Luxembourg delegation
  8. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part VIII: Perfidious Albion and Pusillanimous Hibernia
  9. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part IX: More Holes Than Swiss Cheese
  10. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part X: Introducing the Controversial Christian Bock
  11. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XI: “General Bock” - Battistelli's Swiss Apprentice?
  12. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XII: The French Connection
  13. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XIII: Battistelli's Iberian Facilitators - Spain
  14. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XIV: Battistelli's Iberian Facilitators - Portugal
  15. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XV: Et Tu Felix Austria…
  16. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XVI: The Demise of the Austrian Double-Dipper
  17. Icelandic delegation
  18. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XVIII: Helsinki's Accord
  19. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part IXX: The Baltic States
  20. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XX: The Visegrád Group
  21. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXI: The Balkan League – The Doyen and His “Protégée”
  22. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXII: The Balkan League - North Macedonia and Albania
  23. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXIII: The Balkan League - Bulgaria
  24. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXIV: The Balkan League - Romania
  25. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXV: The Balkan League - Fresh Blood or Same Old, Same Old?
  26. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXVI: A Trojan Horse on the Budget and Finance Committee
  27. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXVII: Cypriot Complicity
  28. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXVIII: Benoît and António's Loyal “Habibi”
  29. YOU ARE HERE ☞ The EPOnian Micro-States - Monaco and Malta


Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Iceland, and Malta
A look at the delegations representing the EPO's microstates.



Summary: As it turns out, the enablement of dictatorship is possible by controlling a very large number of tiny states which are inexpensive to bribe

There is no universal consensus on what criteria should be relied on for the purpose of categorising a political unit as a "micro-state".



Nevertheless, five of the EPO's member states are generally considered to qualify as such:

● Monaco (area: 2.02 sq. km; population: 37,308); ● Liechtenstein (area: 160 sq. km; population: 37,313 ); ● San Marino (area: 61 sq. km; population: 32,742 ); ● Iceland (area: 103,000 sq. km; population: 317,351); ● Malta (area: 316 sq. km; population: 514,564).

There is another relatively small EPO state, namely the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg with an area of 2,586 sq. km and a population of 633,622 according to the latest census estimate from March 2021. However, notwithstanding its relatively small population, Luxembourg has a somewhat larger land area. For this reason it is not usually considered to be a "micro-state".

Despite their small size and relatively low level of patenting activity, these miniscule political entities are able to punch above their real-world weight in the "Bizarro" world of the EPO's Administrative Council.

"There is another relatively small EPO state, namely the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg with an area of 2,586 sq. km and a population of 633,622 according to the latest census estimate from March 2021."As a matter of fact, they often end up exercising a disproportionate and detrimental influence on the affairs and governance of the EPO.

The reason for this remarkable state of affairs is to be found in the voting arrangements laid down in Article 34 (warning: epo.org link) of the European Patent Convention, which grants one unweighted vote to each state on the organisation's Administrative Council.

Article 36 (warning: epo.org link) of the Convention makes additional provision for the use of a system of weighted voting whereby the weight allocated to each state is based on the scale for special financial contributions defined in Article 40 (warning: epo.org link) and depends on the number of patent applications filed in that state. However, this modified voting arrangement is only applicable to budgetary and financial matters, including the level of fees charged by the EPO.

"As a matter of fact, they often end up exercising a disproportionate and detrimental influence on the affairs and governance of the EPO."In any event, the weighted voting procedure of Article 36 has never actually been invoked in the almost fifty years of the organisation's existence, and nobody seems to know how exactly the votes would be distributed if it were to be applied.

In terms of EPO realpolitik, the EPO's smallest members typically adopt a position that is closely aligned with that of their larger neighbours.

Thus, for example, Luxembourg generally tends to align itself with its larger Benelux neighbours, the Netherlands and Belgium, whereas Iceland will tend to follow the position adopted by Denmark.

Similarly, Liechtenstein tends to align itself with Switzerland, Monaco with France and San Marino with Italy.

In the case of Malta, its membership of the British Commonwealth means that it is most likely to align itself with the UK.

In an earlier part of the current series, we saw how the Liechtenstein delegation failed to turn up for the vote on Benoît Battistelli's "Strike Regulations" in June 2013.

Profiles of Isabel Frommelt and Esther Schindler AWOL at the 136th meeting in June 2013: Liechtenstein delegates Isabel Frommelt and Esther Schindler.



Meanwhile, the Luxembourg delegation followed the lead of the Netherlands and the Icelandic delegation aligned itself with Denmark.

The remainder of this part will focus on two other EPO micro-states, namely Malta and Monaco. In the next part we will look at San Marino.

"...Liechtenstein tends to align itself with Switzerland, Monaco with France and San Marino with Italy."All of these micro-states contributed to the rubber-stamping of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations" in June 2013.

We begin with the Republic of Malta, a rocky archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, which lies to the south of Sicily and is considered to be the word's tenth smallest state by area.

In June 2013, the Maltese delegation on the EPO's Administrative Council was headed by Godwin Warr, the "Comptroller of Industrial Property" under the supervision of the Commerce Division of the Ministry for Fair Competition, Small Business and Consumers.

According to the official EPO minutes, Warr didn't actually attend the 136th meeting of the Administrative Council. On that occasion, the acting head of delegation was his deputy Michelle Bonello, Director of Industrial Property Registrations who proceeded to cast the Maltese vote in favour of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations".

Godwin Warr and Michelle Bonello The Maltese representatives in June 2013: Godwin Warr and Michelle Bonello.



More than eight years later, Warr still remains at the head of the Maltese delegation.

The only discernible difference in the meantime is that his supervising ministry has rebranded itself as the "Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business".

In April 2019, his deputy Bonello moved to the "Small Business and Crafts Unit" of the ministry. Bonello's position as Director of Industrial Property Registrations was taken over by Matthew Pisani, who now acts as Warr's deputy on the EPO's Administrative Council.

Matthew-Pisani Matthew Pisani, the current deputy head of the Maltese delegation.



The second micro-state that we want to look at here is the Principality of Monaco, located on the French Riviera, just a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria.

"More than eight years later, Warr still remains at the head of the Maltese delegation."Monaco, which is ruled by the Grimaldi dynasty, is effectively a French protectorate.

With French support it acceded to the European Patent Convention on 1 December 1991.

In June 2013, the Monegasque delegation on the EPO's Administrative Council was headed by Elodie Boisson Kheng. Prior to starting her career with the Monegasque administration in 2003, Kheng completed business studies in Paris and worked in the private sector. Between 2001 and 2003 she worked for MRM Partners, a global direct and digital marketing agency which forms part of McCann Worldgroup.

According to the official EPO minutes, Kheng didn't actually attend the 136th meeting of the Administrative Council.

On that occasion, her the acting head of delegation was her deputy, Jean-Pierre Santos.

Elodie-Boisson-Kheng-and-Jean-Pierre-Santos The Monegasque representatives: Elodie Boisson Kheng and Jean-Pierre Santos.



At the time in question, Kheng was the Assistant Director of the Monegasque Business Development Agency (BPA), a government authority under the control of the Finance Ministry. Her deputy, Santos, was head of the BPA's "Intellectual Property Division".

In May 2014, a year after the Monegasque delegation had helped to rubber-stamp Battistelli's "Strike Regulations", Kheng was appointed as "counsellor for budgetary and economic affairs", a senior position in the Monegasque Finance Ministry. At that juncture, she relinquished responsibility for EPO affairs.

"According to the official EPO minutes, Kheng didn't actually attend the 136th meeting of the Administrative Council."Kheng's role as head of delegation on the EPO's Administrative Council was taken over by Thomas Lantheaume, her successor as head of the Monegasque BDA.

In November 2018, Kheng's services were recognised [PDF] by the award of a Knighthood in the Order of Saint Charles.

Soon afterwards, Kheng was elevated to the lofty position of "Administrateur des Domaines" or Director of the State Property Authority of Monaco.

As the name suggests, this is the government agency responsible for managing the real estate assets of the Monegasque state. Its duties include allocating industrial, commercial and office premises and issuing authorisations to occupy state property. It is also responsible for drafting loan agreements approved by the state and managing the purchase of equipment and supplies required by the administration.

"As a consolation prize for his services to "le système Battistelli", Santos was awarded a place on the jury for the EPO Inventor of the Year Award in 2021, where his co-jurors, included none other than the former EPO President Benoît Battistelli himself."Kheng's deputy on the EPO Administrative Council in June 2013 Jean-Pierre Santos - who holds a postgraduate degree in "industrial property" from CEIPI - doesn't appear to have enjoyed such a dynamic career.

When last heard of, Santos was still stuck in his position as head of the "Intellectual Property Division" of the Monegasque BDA. He took over from Lantheaume as head of the Monegasque delegation on the EPO's Administrative Council some time in October 2019.

As a consolation prize for his services to "le système Battistelli", Santos was awarded a place on the jury for the EPO Inventor of the Year Award (warning: epo.org link) in 2021, where his co-jurors, included none other than the former EPO President Benoît Battistelli himself.

In the next part, we will look at the remaining EPO micro-state, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman About to Give More Talks in Europe, Some Confirmed Already
In Göteborg
Justice for Wildlife
animals cannot speak to humans who hate animals
GNU Was Right 42+ Years Ago
Since then the abusive, user-hostile technology has spread like mushrooms
 
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
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
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
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
Links 29/09/2025: Opposition to Surveillance Giant Google and Conflicts Worldwide (Moldova Sides With EU)
Links for the day
Why the EPO Never Managed to Silence Us (After Over a Decade of Trying)
Firms like Mishcon de Reya and Brett Wilson LLP contribute to a bad stigma, staining the entire occupation
Links 29/09/2025: Datacenter Fires and "Too Much Internet Use Is Changing Teenage Brains"
Links for the day
Almost a Couple of Years After Microsoft Hijacked the Name 'Sudo' (to Describe Unrelated Windows Stuff) Microsoft Canonical Breaks Sudo in Ubuntu
These are vandals in "goodwill" or "security" clothing
Does the Good Law Project (GLP) Know the Director of Brett Wilson LLP Deems It OK to Endorse Violent Actions Against Trans People?
We were miffed to see this morning's report
Names Are Not Unique IDs and the UK Government's "Digital ID System" Would be a Nightmare
Digital surveillance, "apps", and worse (all the time)
What is Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader?
A news reader that uses OPML files and parses RSS feeds
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 in 5 Days
We should be talking about software freedom, not "Open Source"
It Feels Like Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Tacitly Admitted That It Defamed Me
It arguably admitted many other things by refusing to deny or address them (altogether)
Stefano Maffulli's Front Page Mentions "AI" 11 Times
They're more focused on slop (plagiarism) than sharing or Software Freedom
CMS Rot
With "modern" (bloated) content management systems (CMSs) there is a long chain of dependencies
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 28, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 28, 2025
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About Linux 6.17 and Microsoft Meddling in Linux Development
today's Slopwatch is short because the picks are from Sunday
Gemini Links 29/09/2025: The Labor Wars and Retro
Links for the day