12.26.21
Gemini version available ♊︎The EPO Conflict Affects Everyone in Europe and We Should Support Patent Examiners, Who Are Also Victims of a Corrupt System (Besieged by Dictators Installed in a Systemic Coup d’État)
The ruling class uses cops in the same way the monopolists use patent examiners (to help guard/secure their monopolies); eventually they spit out or discard those who helped them protect themselves, so we’re all in this together
This rogue Corsican got the ball rolling and the EPO rotting (still governed by despots who work against Europe, against constitutions, and against the law)
Summary: The EPO crisis is a crisis which affects everyone in Europe; while the EPO pockets billions of euros by breaking the law the workers (i.e. those who do all the actual work under intense pressure which grows over time) see their rewards shrinking and shrinking; it’s “class plunder”, nothing less, nothing more…
A year ago during the holidays we published a leak about the EPO's attack on its very own pensioners, i.e. people whose EPO careers predate the current attacks on current workers.
Today, with Boxing Day out of the way, we think it would be worthwhile to share what internal staff representatives think about a dictator, António Campinos, who is eager to turn the EPO into a bank instead of a patent office (just printing money or patents, never mind the law).
One year ago, staff representatives published the results of their findings. They actually did proper assessment of the facts, unlike Office management, which basically made up a bunch of lies. And they want us to trust them with the UPC? Insane!!! They care neither about facts nor laws.
Here is something they published half a year earlier, naming some of the culprits (it’s a little less self-censored or restrained than the usual tone):
29.05.2020
su20008mp – 0.2.1/4.2.1/0.3.2Flash report:
BFC meeting of 27/28 May 2020
Dear colleagues,
For the first time, Mr Campinos did not talk directly to your staff representation in preparation of the BFC meeting and delegated this task to Ms Simon (VP4) and Ms Seegert (Head of the President Office) under the close supervision of Mr Requena, husband of Ms Bergot.
The analysis made by Ernst & Young on Mr Campinos’ Financial Study was discussed. Management virulently criticised the report and qualified it as “unprofessional”. They argued it would be untypical for Ernst & Young, who was also a provider of services to the EPO, to criticise other consulting firms and thus the report could have been written by someone who added the Ernst & Young logo on it. The analysis would already be dubious from its cover page mentioning “Reliance restricted”.
To the above accusation, we can only say that management is back into a denial attitude and just trying to discredit and shoot the messenger. As a matter of fact, ‘Reliance restricted’ merely means that Ernst & Young has restricted liability towards the client who commissioned the analysis. We are surprised that management did not criticize the background of the document being yellow or the font being too small.
Management did not make a single comment as to the substance. They neither contested the key observations nor the figures.
In the BFC meeting itself, the delegations unanimously voted in favour of the salary adjustment procedure. Some expressed reservations about others of the six measures in the bundle (especially those related to fees) and/or suggested that further measures might be necessary. Mr Campinos added that an update of the financial study showed that the €2bn buffer had already been eaten up by the crisis caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Campinos did not exclude “activating” further measures with a future, updated, Financial Study.
For our management and our governing body, the reduction of staff benefits will never be enough as long as the production figures fit the given pattern.
SUEPO Munich
Notice the mention of Madame Seegert, who is also mentioned in this publication [PDF]. To quote: “In a meeting chaired by Ms Seegert, Head of the President’s Office, staff representatives enquired about the nature of this day off.”
It wasn’t really a day off. Over the years more holidays were taken away (denied) from staff, as Benoît Battistelli increased workload and reduced rest time. All this while making work contracts worse. Now Campinos is further lowering salaries.
More detailed analysis can be found here [PDF] and here [PDF], along with short rallies for action ahead of the latest strike:
“Let’s form an alliance with patent examiners, many of whom (that I spoke to) oppose software patents as much as we do. They’re scientists, not empty ‘suits’ like Battistelli and Campinos, two stooges of the litigation ‘sector’.”This is what unions exist to address and even if you do not support patents (or just reject software patents) remember that many patent examiners at the EPO reject software patents, loathe the very concept, but are forced by management to allow these anyway. The Office is governed by corrupt officials who are connected to Team UPC and the corrupt media that keeps relaying their patently false statements. We’ll show some of these false statements in the Daily Links of this coming week (there’s still no lack of lies and bogus assertions in so-called ‘media’ regarding patents; the false statements are their business model). Let’s form an alliance with patent examiners, many of whom (that I spoke to) oppose software patents as much as we do. They’re scientists, not empty ‘suits’ like Battistelli and Campinos, two stooges of the litigation ‘sector’.
Campinos is a disgusting liar and truly a disgrace to his father’s legacy; his father would turn in his grave if he saw how his son wages a war for the oligarchs (against the working class). A year and half ago the staff accused him [PDF] that he “maintains – without convincing evidence – that in 20 years the EPO will face a financial gap in the range of 5.8 bn Euro.”
Appalling lie. The truth of the matter is, the EPO illegally stockpiles cash to that tune — a pile that keeps growing, only to become a gambling venture deserving the wrath of MEPs. If the EU was to properly tackle this whole issue, not only would the UPC be doomed for good; the whole EPO would need a complete overhaul/reboot, including removal of every single high-level official. What we deal with here isn’t some infraction but organised crime in Europe’s second-largest institution. █
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