EPO "Cocainegate" Cannot be Memory-holed
The European Patent Office (EPO) "Cocainegate" series will occupy a lot of our time, for we keep receiving new information related to this scandal (too much to cover in December even if we write about it every day). It turns out to be another one of those inter-year scandals, which refuse to just "go away" or get "memory-holed". Worse yet, it directly implicates the EU in a number of ways; it's impossible to dismiss it as just an EPO/EPC thing. It's connected to EUIPO in a number of ways, including the SLAPPs
Tactically we should get the press the participate in the coverage, however we've had difficulty getting journalists to convince publishers (bosses) to go ahead, for they get cold feet if not bribes. Even when mainstream journalists fully accept there's a scandal here (they admit this to me, candidly and openly), they're still afraid and they talk about SLAPPs. I personally met some journalists (in person, face to face) who told me how their bosses sent threats their way after the EPO had contacted them. Reporting factually on the behaviour of the EPO is apparently impermissible in some circles. It's akin to people in US politics (Holder for instance) who openly say that holding bankers accountable for white-collar crimes is undesirable as that might "Crash The Precious Stock Market" (not direct quote).
Well, someone needs to do this. Last night we compared this situation to that in third-world countries, where pointing out that the president is a cocaine addict is deemed "embarrassing"
If you have more information about "Cocainegate", please get in touch with us. If we get many people to independently tell us the same thing, it helps affirm that what we hear isn't just unsubstantiated gossip. █