Jesper Kongstad. Photo from the Nordic Patent Institute.
Battistelli has done a bit of a 'media tour' as of late, striving to improve his image and restore the reputation taken from him by his very own staff.
"The collusions galore has turned a seemingly self-regulating disparate collection of organisms (AC, BoA, EPO etc.) into a superorganism that devours or destroys opposition without any accountability."The president of the FFII, which opposes software patents in Europe, wrote last week that "EPO staff representatives who attended heard "je m€´en fou de vos opinions" and "encore un mot et vous etes virez"," noting what he called "EPO corruption" because Battistelli "appointed Frederic Angermann, with whom Benoit [Battistelli] had already successfully worked together at INPI".
This is already the subject of complaints in France, but be sure Battistelli will jump into the scene fuming with "damage control" in the face of many anonymous comments (probably his staff). Patents glamourisation site "Managing Intellectual Property has just published an article," [puff piece] said IP Kat, "containing a series of questions and answers [softball opening lines], put by Managing Editor James Nurton to EPO President Benoit Battistelli and Chariman of the Administrative Council, Jesper Kongstad."
Here is this puff piece from the patent lawyers' site.
"Mr Jesper Kongstad reminds people that the EPO is financing itself for the patent fees," wrote the FFII's President, correctly calling it a lie ("wrong") because much of the money is actually derived from European taxpayers. "Sorry Mr Jesper Kongstad," he continues, "representatives of 38 gov of EPO AC are not democratically elected, not elected by people" (in fact, some are very much connected to those whom they are supposed to oversee or regulate).
As we have shown before, Jesper Kongstad is loyal to Battistelli and his cronies. He even provides coverup for them. Him speaking alongside Battistelli serves as somewhat of a clue here. That's not how two independent bodies should present themselves to the press. They're conjoined through mutual loyalty, or 'protection', to use Mafia-inspired terminology. The collusions galore has turned a seemingly self-regulating disparate collection of organisms (AC, BoA, EPO etc.) into a superorganism that devours or destroys opposition without any accountability. Even the European Parliament is too timid to handle this monster, which resembles the way that Congress and Senate in the United States now approach three-letter agencies, especially the CIA.
What goes on in the EPO is a very big deal because those who run the organisation do a huge disservice to all member nations. "Videos of the UPC rules of procedure being written by the patent industry are here," writes the FFII's President. We have been warning about the UPC for years.
Thankfully, judging by the will of the staff (the heart of the EPO), the EPO's management continues its collapse as people at all levels protest. As Merpel from IP Kat put it the other day: "Over the past month, this weblog has hosted news and developments of reports of unrest among the workers at the European Patent Office (EPO). These have been some of the most commented-upon posts in this history of the blog. The unrest is not, as might have been supposed, only at the level of the Examiners and regular employees, but even within the exalted ranks of the Boards of Appeal and Enlarged Board. Since news does not develop in a neat and tidy manner, the IPKat has asked Merpel to review the recent events, to write a brief summary of the events themselves and to outline the issues now facing the EPO. Merpel emphasises the word "brief"; with hundreds of comments, it is not going to be possible to reflect them all in detail."
A lot of this debate comes from and is shaped by EPO staff, not just stakeholders. In the coming weeks we shall say a lot more about what's wrong with the EPO and why some of its managers (including the very top ones) should be in prison, not in an overpriced office in Munich (alluding not only to Željko Topić here). We welcome sources to come forth if there is more that they can anonymously share with us. ⬆