Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO Bubble — Part X — A Leaked E-mail Provides Some Clues...

Overview: [Teaser] The EPO's Deflating Patent Bubble and Pursuit of Illegal Software Patents (With Kangaroo Courts, UPC, and Bullied Examiners)

Series parts:

  1. The EPO Bubble — Part I — An “Unprecedented Surge”
  2. The EPO Bubble — Part II — Signs of a Deflating Bubble?
  3. The EPO Bubble — Part III — Dividing Up the Spoils...
  4. The EPO Bubble — Part IV — A Cashflow Problem Looming on the Horizon?
  5. The EPO Bubble — Part V — Propping Up the Bubble?


  6. The EPO Bubble — Part VI — From Humble Examiner to CO€³
  7. The EPO Bubble — Part VII — A Multifaceted Man of Letters
  8. The EPO Bubble — Part VIII — The “Algerian Skirmisher” Replaces the “British Grenadier”
  9. the Faustian pact with the EPOnian "deep state"
  10. YOU ARE HERE ☞ A Leaked E-mail Provides Some Clues...


EPO software patentge grant rate
Despite a significant surge from 2016 onwards, the grant rate for "IT methods for management" (G06Q) remains relatively low, currently hovering around the 10% mark. However, rumours on the EPO grapevine indicate that a recent "changing of the guard" at managerial level is likely to lead to dramatic changes on this front.



Summary: European software patents have been ushered in by Benoît Battistelli (grant rates soared from 2% to 10%) and leaked communications suggest that António Campinos intends to take this disturbing trend a lot further (whilst attempting to replace European patent courts with his 'UPC' kangaroo courts)

In this part we will discuss the contents of a leaked e-mail which reportedly emanates from a EPO directorate in the ICT sector. According to informed sources, the directorate in question is the one responsible for computer-implemented "business and administrative methods" (CPC class G06Q).



The E-mail provides some clues about the results that António’s "Algerian Skirmisher" is expected to deliver from his side of the Faustian pact with the EPOnian "deep state".

"...between 2015 and 2020 the G06Q grant rate rose from the ultra-low 2% mark to its current level around the 10% mark. Nevertheless, this figure remains far below the EPO’s overall grant rate of 69%."As noted previously, grant rates in the G06Q area remain relatively low despite a noticeable upward "surge" from 2015 onwards.

To be more precise, between 2015 and 2020 the G06Q grant rate rose from the ultra-low 2% mark to its current level around the 10% mark. Nevertheless, this figure remains far below the EPO’s overall grant rate of 69%.

However, in recent months there has been been a "changing of the guard" at managerial level in the directorate in question. Rumours on the EPO grapevine suggest that this is likely to be accompanied by a dramatic shift in granting practice.

During the recent EPO "reorganisation" which took effect on 1 April 2022, the previous director in charge of this area, Christian Platzer from Austria, was replaced by his compatriot Georg Weber.

Christian Platzer and Georg Weber
EPO director Christian Platzer (l.), formerly in charge of the G06Q area, and his successor Georg Weber (r.)



Weber is known to be a zealous advocate of "software patenting". His reputation in this regard gives rise to a suspicion that he has been entrusted with the task of pushing through a major change in examination practice in the G06Q area.

This suspicion is further fuelled by the contents of the leaked e-mail referred to above.

Weber for G06Q
A leaked e-mail suggests that plans are already afoot to increase the grant rate in the G06Q area.



According to reliable sources, the e-mail was not personally authored by Weber himself but is understood to reflect his views on how examiners under his authority should carry out their work.

An excerpt from the e-mail is reproduced below with some emphasis added to highlight passages that are considered to be of particular significance.

1. Search stage — An all-feature whole application search consideration should be taken, with all necessary classes considered - leading to 2. ESOP/WOISA with comparison point by point with prior art in PSA [problem-solution approach] with all features which imply, involve or affect a real world application or use given full consideration in differentiation. All these features then taken towards constructing an objective technical problem and a positive appreciation of how they technically solve that OTP.

[...]

3. For sufficiency (and clarity) it should be remembered that if there is a difference then it may well be that difference, however defined, which forms the inventive step. Care should be taken against unnecessarily limiting an applicant, if such a difference exists, to a narrowly construed version. 4. Where two options exist for how to analyse a claim (e.g. a priori consideration of what is technical/non-technical vs not doing so) then the former is considered to be 'circular' and would ‘never lead to allowable claims’. Accordingly the other option should be taken, to the benefit of the applicant. 5. The appropriate 'test' of the validity of approach is considered to be opposition, and appeaI-after-opposition. It should be remembered that the existence of appeals may be open to interpretation as a sign of low quality. 6. High levels of grant (99.6% in some cases) are not considered exceptional in the Office, and may even be a sign of high quality when user satisfaction is also high. 7. A change from a negative track to a positive one, even late in the substantive procedure, should be understood as a success in adherence to the high quality procedure above.


The content of the E-mail is formulated in arcane EPO-Speak and managerial jargon, so its significance may not be immediately apparent to the uninitiated.

"The content of the E-mail is formulated in arcane EPO-Speak and managerial jargon, so its significance may not be immediately apparent to the uninitiated."Nevertheless, according to insiders, this internal communication - reportedly directed at EPO examiners - can be understood as heralding a significant change of policy for patent examination practice in the G06Q area.

The most relevant points derivable from the e-mail can be summed up as follows:

â—¦ Examiners are advised that "[c]are should be taken against unnecessarily limiting an applicant" and that applications should be interpreted "to the benefit of the applicant".

â—¦ Examiners are discouraged from issuing refusals. The rather dubious rationale given here is that this could lead to appeals and "the existence of appeals may be open to interpretation as a sign of low quality". It is not explained who might advance such an interpretation and whether or not it might have any substance. It seems that the mere fact that someone might do so should be enough to deter examiners from refusing an application.

â—¦ Examiners are encouraged to regard "high levels of grant" as a desirable objective. A passing reference is made to 99.6% grant rates "which are not considered exceptional in the Office" but without any further details being provided as to the technical fields for which these grant rates apply. It is further asserted that such high levels of grant "may even be a sign of high quality when user satisfaction is also high".

â—¦ Examiners are also encouraged to view "change from a negative track to a positive one" as a "success". This means that wherever the examination procedure starts out with a negative opinion that points towards a refusal, if the examining division happens to change its mind later on in the procedure and decide to grant, then this will be considered as a "success" [by EPO management].

The underlying "takeaway" from all this is that - as far as EPO management is concerned - "refusals are bad" and "grants are good".

"The underlying "takeaway" from all this is that - as far as EPO management is concerned - "refusals are bad" and "grants are good"."In other words, the E-mail sends a clear signal to examiners that "high levels of grant" are "a consummation devoutly to be wished" – irrespective of the kind of subject-matter contained in the patent application.

There can be little doubt that examiners in the G06Q area are being gently "nudged" in the direction of less refusals and more grants.

G06Q: EPO operator
There can be little doubt that examiners in the G06Q area are being gently "nudged" in the direction of less refusals and more grants.



Of course, it goes without saying that if such "nudging" fails to produce the desired results, then more drastic France-Télécom-style measures might have to be adopted in due course…

In the next part we will take a look at the person entrusted with implementing the predicted shift in examination policy, namely Georg Weber, the EPO director who - according to inside sources - has recently taken over responsibility for the G06Q area.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
Why the "Wayland People" and "Rust People" Will Lose Hearts and Minds (Same Reasons)
Wayland pushers are fast becoming like "Rust People"
5,600 Pages/Articles Per Year
So far this year we've kept all the promises
BetaNews Beginning to Show What Its True Goals Are
The 'new' BetaNews won't be about journalism. It's trying to sell things.
Microsoft Has Lost "The War"
We'll soon see the 9th or 10th wave of Microsoft layoffs in 2025 alone
Slopwatch: A Wreck and a Dreck, "Flooding the Zone With Dreck" or Flooding the Web With Junk
"Slopwatch" continues today because we have many new examples
Links 25/06/2025: Thwarting More Software Patents, Overlap Grows Between EPO Corruption and Illegal Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore