A Decade of In-Depth Coverage of Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO)
The world needs transparency and sunlight
THIS decade-old wiki list reminds us that 10 years ago (as of later this summer) we started our in-depth EPO coverage. See this September article. Back then we had already planned to (eventually) dump WordPress and we had already covered EPO issues, albeit rather infrequently - about once a month on average.
After we started covering the EPO corruption we suffered DDoS attacks and habitually reported these. Of course part of the problem was WordPress unable to cope with malicious traffic that's designed to drive up RAM and CPU usage.
Exactly two weeks from now our sister site turns 20 and a couple of months from now our EPO focus turns 10. Looking back, and moreover considering the fact that we still cover EPO affairs (many new articles yesterday), we're gratified to have made a positive difference.
I want to take this opportunity to thank my pro bono lawyer who helped stave off SLAPP from EPO managers. I am ever so grateful because he did a phenomenal job and the man whom we exposed, a Director at the EPO at the time, got 'sacked' not too longer afterwards (we covered this too, based on insiders' account). We're thankfully protected by powerful and well-connected individuals who are eager to fix the system; sometimes this means dismantling not only large corporations but also their collaborators.
In almost 18 years of its existence (it'll be 18 in November) this site was never forced to or bullied into removal of its articles (self-censorship). As my wife put it the other day: "The truth will come out and the truth will prevail so that the public and people in FOSS circles will see this." █
"One strategy that Microsoft has employed in the past is paying for the silence of people and companies. Charles Pancerzewski, formerly Microsoft’s chief auditor, became aware of Microsoft’s practice of carrying earnings from one accounting period into another, known as “managing earnings”. This practice smoothes reported revenue streams, increases share value, and misleads employees and shareholders. In addition to being unethical, it’s also illegal under U.S. Securities Law and violates Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (Fink).
--2002 story about Charles Pancerzewski, Microsoft