Bonum Certa Men Certa

Central Staff Committee of the EPO Reminds the EPO's Management, Yet Again, That It is Breaking Laws

Video download link | md5sum fd3e324afc255b0cdb9fc138073829f0 EPO Does Not Care What the Law Says Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: Sinking quality of European Patents [1, 2], plus a Patent Granting Process that is not compliant with the law, quite likely mean the EPO drives straight into a wall; the Central Staff Committee is still trying to save the institution, but management is uncaring and unresponsive (these people typically serve a term and leave, so they couldn't care less about the long-term viability of their employer)

EARLIER this year the higher-level management of the EPO (Team Campinos) received a letter of concern that people won't find in suepo.org and epo.org, so we're sharing the latest correspondence below.



"Notice that between 10 March 2022 and 4 April 2022 nothing happened. In other words, the super-busy management took 4 weeks to reply."As it turns out, the EPO violates many rules, including EPC rules, and maybe even ILO ruling would be negatively affected. Not to mention EU regulations! This happens not less frequently than in the Benoît Battistelli era. It has probably gotten a lot worse since then. Here's the letter from 4 weeks ago. Notice that between 10 March 2022 and 4 April 2022 nothing happened. In other words, the super-busy management took 4 weeks to reply. Here we go:

Reference: sc22045cl Date: 14.04.2022

European Patent Office | 80298 MUNICH | GERMANY

Mr Steve Rowan Vice-President DG 1

By email

OPEN LETTER

Formal deficiencies in the electronic Patent Granting Process vs standards for electronic identification

Dear Mr Rowan,

In our open letter of 10 March 2022, we addressed the problem that the current electronic file flow is inadequate to reliably provide properly authenticated actions of the Examining Division where such authentication is a legal requirement of the EPC. In that letter, we also suggested possible remedies. In your reply of 4 April 2022, you unfortunately do not refer in any satisfactory manner to either the problem of authenticated signatures in the electronic file flow nor the suggested solution of introducing electronic signatures into the system.

We do not agree that any deficiencies of the tools provided to the patent examiners to perform their duties should be remedied by simply giving further instructions, be they internal or public, to the examiners, line managers or formality officers. Rather, it can be expected from an organisation that regards itself as one of the leading patent offices in the world to work with tools that – if not at the forefront of technology – meet at least widely recognised standards. In the specific case, such a standard is e.g. set by EU Regulation No 910/2014 on electronic identification means or in the Verordnung über die elektronische Aktenführung (EAPatV) of the German Ministry of Justice. In particular in view of the implementation of




the Unitary Patent it can be expected from the Office to be aware of and apply such standards.

More specifically, it is technically possible to implement an electronic file flow in which each time the EPC requires the signatures of the examining division, the relevant document is electronically signed by each examiner at the moment the examiner signals their approval in the tool provided to control the electronic file flow (currently the Patent Work Bench). The advantage of such an approach is that the validity of the electronic signature and the authenticity of the signed document as well as the identity of the undersigned can be verified later, enhancing legal certainty and increasing trust in the actions issued by the Office. We already referred to severe problems with the signature of an examiner on Search Reports that had been changed without his knowledge and with designating staff as Authorized Officer in public documents who in fact never see those documents (AT-ILO Judgments Nos. 1344, respectively 2417). Furthermore, the Legal Board of Appeal emphasised in decision J 16/17 in all clarity that the requirement laid down in Rule 113(1) EPC (signature and name) is not just a mere formality but an essential procedural step in the decision-taking process.

We are aware that it is the task of DG4 to provide the tools for examiners. However, we think that DG1 should define their technical requirements. Otherwise, DG1 may receive tools that are new and shiny, but inadequate for the work examiners have to perform. Should DG4 currently lack capacity and/or expertise to implement electronic signatures for the electronic file flow, the Office could also make use of expertise in the European Patent Network, e.g. in the German Patent and Trademark Office, which seems to have been working with a functioning system implementing the standards since 2020.

The Central Staff Committee is confident that after your first somewhat evasive answer to our constructive proposal, you are now addressing the real problem and working on a sustainable solution in the interest of staff, the Office and the public.

Yours sincerely,

Alain Dumont Chairman of the Central Staff Committee


How long can EU officials turn a blind ever to EPO misconduct? These scandals rapidly become a liability to the EU itself.

In the words of the staff representatives: "In this open letter to Vice-President DG1, we address again the legal requirement of signature authentication in the electronic file flow. It can be expected from an organisation that regards itself as one of the leading patent offices in the world to work with tools that – if not at the forefront of technology – meet at least widely recognised standards, also in view of the implementation of the Unitary Patent. We are confident that after a first somewhat evasive answer to our constructive proposal, he is now addressing the real problem and working on a sustainable solution in the interest of staff, the Office and the public."

The attempt to forcibly impose "Unitary Patent" is yet another act of abuse or criminality; they knowingly do something illegal. But that's a different subject.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Official SUSE Blog Still Uses LLM Slop (Bots) to Make Fake Articles (Marketing)
The company is all about sound bites
Companies Realise That Slop Doesn't Work as Advertised, Accordingly Dump It
"Hype dims as a country-wide survey of US corporations shows a sudden drop-off in AI use among firms with more than 250 employees."
Microsoft-Funded Lawsuits Against Critics of UEFI 'Secure Boot'
Remember that no company (or law firm) ever survives collaborations with Microsoft
It's Only the Second Week of September and Already Two Waves of Layoffs at Microsoft, Slopfarms and Microsoft-Funded Sites Spin It as "AI Investments" Rather Than Commercial Failure
A very large third one expected next week
If Your Machine Still Has "Secure Boot" Enabled, Then Microsoft Has a de Facto Kill Switch (Even If Your Machine Doesn't Have Windows and Never Had Windows)
It is not incorrect to call UEFI 'secure boot' a "kill switch"
Reddit is Corporate Propaganda
To make matters worse, Reddit ousted many original moderators
Jeff Geerling Shocked to Discover Many Metrics in YouTube Are Fake (His Audience Turns Out to be Much Smaller)
Maybe self-host all videos, don't rely on Google's "FOMO" cheating (addiction based on false assumptions)
EPO Workers Point Out that the EPO is Destroying the Planet Under the Guise of "Hey Hi" (It Also Grants Many Invalid Patents Illegally
On 12 March and 16 June 2025, staff representation met with the administration in the Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in Munich
 
Google News (Not Just Google Search) Lets Itself by Gamed by One Slopfarm - to the Point Almost Half of "Linux" News is Bot-Produced Plagiarism (LLM Slop With Slop Images)
That says a lot about what Google thinks of quality, even in Google News
Bill Gates-Funded Media Inadvertently Refutes the Microsoft Lie That in 2025 Microsoft Had Just Two Waves of Layoffs
There were about 12 rounds of layoffs so far in 2025
From theregister.co.uk to theregister.com (US) to The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives) and theregister.ai
The best way to break this racket (or cycle of hype and harm) is to break the chains of funding
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Culture of Censorship Necessitates More Speech
The OSI bans dissent or people who merely point out that the OSI is abusive
How to Reach Us Discreetly (Other Than Encrypted E-mail)
We're still managing to maintain a 100% source protection record. We soon turn 19.
LLMs Are Vastly Worse Than a Waste of Energy and the Externalities Are Huge
Worse than just higher power bills for everybody
LLMs Versus Search (Not Replacing Search But Engaging in DDoS Attacks Against Web Sites That Permit Searching)
The state of the Web isn't just bad; it's utterly terrible
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 08, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 08, 2025
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IX - Shunning Old Computers (in 2023 the Certificate Was Updated/Overridden, Underlying Aim May Be Herding/Forcing People to Get TPM and Other 'Novel' Restrictions)
the "upgrade treadmill"
Rumour: Second Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in September to Commence Third Week of September
That basically answers questions like, "Any specific date or time of the month?"
Gemini Links 08/09/2025: Reality, ROOPHLOCH 2025, and Writing Another Gemini Client
Links for the day
Updating Firmware is Not the Solution But Only Additional Risk, Disable "Secure Boot" Today
firmware blobs are buggy, secret, impossible to audit, and barely tested
Microsoft Tim's DevClass (Part of The Register MS/Situation Publishing) is Full of Slop
Looking at many sites that are full of slop images is becoming an eye sore and hallmark of text too likely generated by LLMs or 'assisted' (tainted) by them
Microsoft Trying to Fake Demand for Slop. At What Cost?
That's a giant demotion and broken promises
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant and Kryptonite/Garlic to Vampires
Transparency (sometimes described by words like "Sunlight" or "Truth") is paramount
The Register MS Uses Slop in Articles About Slop
we are fairly certain it's slop or CG based on other people's work
Visiting a Web Page or a Public URL Should be Safe, Predictable, and Benign
It's probably too late to "fix" the Web
The Register MS (Situation Publishing) is Paid to Spread Mindless Hype for the "Hey Hi" Ponzi Scheme and That's a Serious Problem
"Sponsored by Zoom."
Links 08/09/2025: Burger King Cracked, Cox v. Sony Analysed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/09/2025: Socialist Computer Museum and GAFAM/ByteDance/TikTok-Dominated Net
Links for the day
Links 08/09/2025: Tim Crook Disappoints Apple Faithfuls and Zuckerberg Lies (Financial Fraud) for Cheeto King
Links for the day
Turn Off Microsoft's Restricted Boot ("Secure Boot")
We're still running a series on this issue
Social Control Media Sites Have Become Bot Farms (Not Limited to LLMs and Automation)
linkedin.com was nothing but trouble and losses for Microsoft
Deep in Debt With the Magnitude of Losses Quickly Growing, Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Now Uses Broadcom for Vapourware, Pretending It'll Do OK Next Year
At some stage it'll collapse
You Can Tell Microsoft is in Trouble When Its Own Fans and Staff Blast it
"Microsoft sinks billions into chasing artificial intelligence fads to hype up its share price."
Multiple Undersea Cable Cuts and We're Still OK
Microsoft customers experience problems
Lawyers Who Think They Are Online Assassins Don't Deserve a Licence to Operate
they've become a laughing stock in their "sector"
Microsoft Windows Fell to 3.9% "Market Share" in Bahamas
Based on statCounter
How the European Union (EU) Fell Out of Love With Free/Libre Software
Lots of bribery
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 07, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 07, 2025
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Scanner, Slop, and Chadobear
Links for the day
The UEFI 9/11 is 3 Days Away
Nobody denies that bad things will happen
Google Versus Journalism
Google played a big role in the demise of news sites
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Advertising, Decentralized Archival, and Outsourcing to Bezos
Links for the day
Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Has Almost Gone Down to Zero, Nearly Totally Extinct in Geminispace, the Few Capsules Still Using It Are Spam/Dead/Stagnant
This represents another decrease for Let's Encrypt; the last decrease was last week
Not Much Left in News Cycles
To be very clear, this does not describe "Linux" anything; it's true in just about every facet of news, except the paid-for fake "journalism" about "hey hi" (sites getting paid explicitly to maintain or rekindle hype)
Trying to Silence Techrights Was a Huge Mistake
Peter Thiel attacked a publisher for asserting, correctly, that he was gay. Now everyone knows it.
Throwing Away "Old" Computers (Mozilla and Other Climate Deniers)
Mozilla is not leftist
The UEFI 9/11 - Part VIII - Denial of Service and Selling Us WSL (Windows) Instead of "Risky" (Prone by Breakage by Microsoft) GNU/Linux
Restricted Boot (so-called 'SecureBoot') does not improve security. It is nothing but trouble. It's meant to trouble non-Windows users. In dual-boot setups, SecureBoot is a recipe for disaster because Microsoft keeps erasing or tampering with the boot sector, to paraphrase an associate
Slop is Extremely Rare in Geminispace, Slop Images Are Unheard Of (Despite Images Being Supported)
As long as Geminispace grows in terms of domains it's safe to predict the protocol will still be used in 2029 and hence Geminispace will turn 10
Links 07/09/2025: Robodebt Class Action, Fines, and Copyright Settlement
Links for the day
Links 07/09/2025: Yle Impersonated in Social Control Media, Boat-Attacking Orcas, Midjourney Sued Again
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal, and the Serial Slopper
Google won't tackle the issue because Google participates not only in relaying slop but also in generating lots of it
Links 07/09/2025: Google Fines in EU and "Your Internet Access Is at Risk"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Little Brother and Corporate Theatre
Links for the day
Links 07/09/2025: More Harms of Slop and Anthropic's Nightmare Scenario (Huge Legal Liabilities for Slop)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 06, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 06, 2025