Bonum Certa Men Certa

Staff of the EPO Under Siege Ahead of Tomorrow's Demonstration in Munich

Shooting the messengers again

Kent State massacre
Recall the lessons of an antiwar protest at Kent State University
۩ 1970 Valley News-Dispatch



Summary: The smaller demonstration in The Hague is estimated to have had about 400 participants, but the big protest will take place tomorrow in Munich and it is already being forcibly removed out of EPO buildings, allegedly for 'security reasons' because of VP4 (Željko Topić)

EXCITING TIMES? Not if you work at the management of the EPO, which is about to come under a lot of attacks (negative publicity) in English-speaking media, including media which targets patent lawyers (i.e. clients of the EPO, which oddly enough warped into a business with 'favourite' customers that enter or hop onto a V.I.P. queue). We have just learned that this scheme is already "a permanent fixture", so don't accept all sorts of excuses from the EPO, or any attempts to belittle this scandal. Watch the 'damage control' and see the update at Heise (with over 60 comments now, as the EPO can't just ignore this scandal or even simply stay silent). Today was the first time the EPO (through its official Twitter account) chose to engage with me (indirectly, in response to something a patent lawyer wrote). I never even tried to engage with them before. They blocked my site (gagged me), as a matter of unprecedented policy which precludes even common sense. It's personal. To them it's personal. For posting what they themselves wrote (verbatim) I had the EPO saying I was "wrong". The evidence speaks for itself though (a legitimate leak), does it not? If anyone is wrong here, it's the EPO. They were wrong to even attempt this utterly ludicrous scheme, which has become permanent (they might, due to pressure from the media and the public, choose to change/rewrite history and pretend it never was).



Ad Hominem? That's the EPO's Spiel



The EPO is desperate now. It doesn't know exactly what to say to the media (journalists are inquiring) and people at the managerial tier certainty cannot take the blame. Union-busting and protest-crushing doesn't seem to have worked; it only caused backlash or blowback (to use the term infamously coined by the CIA, which also likes to 'interrogate' innocent people* and has just been belatedly sued for it, as reported earlier today[1, 2]). The EPO is misleading and misdirecting right now. It just looks at who to blame other than itself. Right now they are witch-hunting Elizabeth Hardon, whose name was made public by Florian Müller just over a month ago. Alluding to an issue that we covered last week in Techrights, IP Kat finally tackled the horrible personal attacks on Hardon.

"Merpel has hitherto been reluctant to identify individuals involved in disputes with the EPO," she wrote, "but now that one of them has been named in other media sources, she need not in this instance concern herself with discretion: the EPO administration is singling out for special treatment Elizabeth Hardon, who is Chair of SUEPO Munich and also Chair of the Local Staff Committee in Munich. Ms Hardon has already been demoted for alleged "harassment", but Merpel understands that the act complained of was a single sentence written in her official capacity, and that the person purporting to be harassed by this was a senior member of the EPO administration. This does not correspond to any understanding of harassment that Merpel has encountered before.

"Now, in an escalation of action, Ms Hardon was summoned to a disciplinary hearing on 10 September 2015 relating to allegations of harassment, but the nature of these allegations was not specified. The summons was however published on the Techrights blog and elsewhere. This apparently being contrary to the requirement to maintain confidentiality in the case of disciplinary investigations, Ms Hardon was then requested by the EPO's Principal Director Human Resources to name all persons to whom the summons had been disclosed, as reported on the FOSS Patents blog. Ms Hardon's lawyer responded by challenging the legitimacy of requiring the accused employee to keep the fact of the investigation secret, as well as other aspects of the investigation process. This letter can be seen on the SUEPO website here, at 21/09/2015. The same lawyer has since written to the Administrative Council and to the President of the EPO, complaining of institutional harassment of Ms Hardon, and the letter has been posted and reported on the FOSS Patents blog. It remains to be seen whether any of these pleas will have any effect."

Notice the comments posted there. Some are directed personally at Ms Hardon. She must be untoucable now because if the EPO does anything to her, then many resignation letters and a massive brain drain (already a serious issue) are to be expected. This is what solidarity is about. Will people march for Hardon and her SUEPO colleagues? The bigger the march, the stronger the pressure on EPO management, not on SUEPO. It's not an overly simplistic "either you are with us" situation; a showing of solidarity helps send out the message that the staff is loyal to those who protect staff, not the management (which is mostly preoccupied attacking the staff when Battistelli looks over their shoulder). The staff needs to make it clear who's in charge or at least who deserves some respect. The EPO's talent (or "asset") is the doctors and professors who objectively assess patent applications. A "lunatic tyrant" management model (reign by fear of irrational outbursts) shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Quoting Merpel again: "The SUEPO website reports (see item of 09/10/15) that further demonstrations will continue at the EPO. A demonstration in Munich on 14 October 2015 will focus on the issue of institutional harassment of EPO staff."

The Inside Story About the Demonstrations



We wish to say more about these demonstrations, which are about to receive some press coverage even in English-speaking media. This quite seldom happens because German-speaking and Dutch-speaking articles are a lot more commonplace. They barely inspire British authors and journalists who cannot even comprehend the language. World IP Review told us they're "aiming to publish a couple of reports tomorrow" (Wednesday), so we want to share more of what we know. For those who still are not aware of the demonstration tomorrow (staged by EPO employees in Munich, where the biggest office is based), the SUEPO Web site (SUEPO.org) is a good place to start. The EPO is not professional and it habitually lies. It also breaks the rules, so don't trust a single word that comes out of its representatives' mouths. All they do is propaganda of the crudest kind.

Staff of the EPO has chosen to "put together some information regarding the latest (sad) development in the EPO Saga."

To paraphrase a little, the “good” news spread by the EPO President during the Management Meeting in Munich and The Hague, the large PR exercise which took place 2 weeks ago, is that the patent office is in peace. Yes, you heard that right. Lying right through his teeth!

According to Battistelli, there is “no social tension” as “there has been no strike this year” (who crushed it and how?). Based on the text below, Željko Topić is already engaging in tactics designed (and quickly refined or perfected) to discourage attendance/participation in protests. Did Topić bring these tactics from the Balkans or is he just inspired by China?

Battistelli claims that only a “small hardcore” troop of unionist are engineering a “negative media campaign very damaging for the EPO reputation” (nonsense because the protests precede by a huge gap any media coverage regarding these issues).

Notice how this parallels or mirrors the dismissive tone of TPP proponents. They ridicule and belittle their vast opposition.

"The disconnect with reality," said one person, "may be obvious for any reader who knows the spirit in the machine rooms; But considering the utter silence with which these statements have been received during this expensive “Grand Messe”, the disconnect seems also shared by assembled loyal EPO line-managers. It is expected that the same story will be told to the Council Delegations who are meeting [...] in Munich for the 14th AC session."

Considering how Battistelli gamed and even bribed the media in exchange for positive coverage, one should be prepared for the spin. Journalists should not believe a single word that comes out from Battistelli's mouth (and his loyal ilk, which is more like family). Maybe they actually believe their own lies. "And if they do not read any newspaper nor publication," said one person, "[especially] from staff on the subject, they may even believe it [their lies]."

"Instead of peace," alleged another person who attended today's protest, here is what the reality of social "peace" looks like:

A demo has taken place today, Tuesday 12.10 in The Hague, with buses starting from the EPO premises aiming at the building of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, Social Affairs Inspectorate. The Dutch MP, John Kerstens joined the well-attended Demo (ca. 400 participants) and the small delegation that met a Dutch Official in the Ministries premises.

A further demo will take place tomorrow, Wednesday 13.10 in Munich in front of the ISAR to express their discontent to the assembled delegations. Allegedly for security reasons, the "announced demonstration cannot take place in the EPO premises, nor on the EPO grounds" (VP4).

General assembly will take place in Berlin in the Halle West on Friday, 16.10, from 12.00 to 14.00, to inform about the possible implications for the Berlin side of general developments in the EPO.

The staff is experiencing further drastic cuts of their working conditions:

- the official staff “consultation” body known as GCC took place last week in the usual new EPO management style, introducing amongst others new rules of procedure allowing the management to write unilaterally the minutes and hence decide what has been discussed.

[...]

For the outside world, the EPO used to be a Model Organisation. Now, the EPO is becoming a laughing stock:

According to news blogs, the EPO has a new policy meant to handle our major “customers“ (my apologies to sensitive readers, but this is new EPO jargon for applicants and public)


Please stay tuned as there is a lot more coming, including media coverage for the rest of this week (some in English). _____ * Mental torture is also a form of torture, albeit nonviolent, depending on the definition of violence.

Recent Techrights' Posts

A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web