Bonum Certa Men Certa

More European Politicians Take on the EPO for Ignoring the Rule of Law

Marc TarabellaSummary: The wrath of European politicians remains a problem for Benoît Battistelli and his team (Team Battistelli), which has thus far used a political fluke to claim immunity from the law and even snub court rulings

OVER A HUNDRED European politicians have already complained about the EPO's scandals, but little has actually happened politically. Not much has been practically changed. Law enforcement cannot do much because the EPO -- as odd as it may seem -- enjoys immunity. The EPO's management therefore ignores the law and ignores court orders. It's like the Mafia.



"Marc Tarabella," wrote SUEPO earlier today, "a Belgian member of the European Parliament has posed questions to the European Commission" and a translation into English [PDF] was provided as follows. Quoting Tarabella (shown above):

Parliamentary questions



29 June 2015

Question for written answer to the Commission Rule 130 Marc Tarabella (S&D)

E-010497-15

Subject: Serious problems of governance in the European Patent Office (EPO)

Attempts have been made recently to alert public opinion to the particularly harmful social climate that has prevailed for several months in the EPO (expulsion of trade unions, harassment, multiple suicides, invasion of privacy, etc.). The situation has become very worrying for the 7 000 people employed by the EPO, who are facing extreme pressure from management, which is imposing intolerable productivity targets on employees without even offering them the minimum guarantees provided for under national labour laws.

The Hague Court of Appeal, in a decision dated 17 February 2015, ruled that trade union rights had been seriously breached and urged the EPO to amend its internal rules. However, EPO President Benoît Battistelli rejected this ruling under the pretext that it would violate the EPO’s immunity.

The EPO therefore seems to be unacceptably abusing its status as an international organisation in order not to provide the basic guarantees of European democracy.

1. What is the relationship between the Commission and the EPO?

2. Knowing that the Commission sets great store by respect for fundamental rights in Europe, where does it stand in general terms on these issues?

Original language of question: FR

Last updated: 1 October 2015

Legal notice



Another (much more recent) question was also translated into several languages [PDF]. The English translation, much like the above, shows that the main concern is the EPO ignoring the rule of law:

Motion by Gesthuizen/Kerstens concerning adherence by the European Patent Organisation to international legislation – Adoption of the budgetary statements of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (XIII) and the Animal Health Fund (F) for 2016 – Main content



Lower House of the States General



Session year 2015-2016

34 300 Adoption of the budgetary statements of the Ministry of Economic Affairs XIII (XIII) and the Animal Health Fund (F) for 2016

MOTION BY MEMBERS GESTHUIZEN AND KERSTENS

Proposed 15 October 2015

The House, having heard the deliberations, is of the opinion that the conduct of directors of international organisations which has no relationship to their international representation but which does result in a breach of national rules, should not be covered by diplomatic immunity;

finds that in April 2014 the government presented a Plan of Approach with measures No. for taking more severe action against persons with diplomatic immunity who have 22 breached the law of the Netherlands,

finds that those measures only address traffic fines and criminal offences and do not address breaches of employee rights as established at the European Patent Organisation by the Court;

requests the government, within the limits of the treaties, to do all that is possible to force the European Patent Organisation to adhere to international legislation,

and proceeds to the order of the day.

Gesthuizen

Kerstens

Parliamentary paper-34300-XIII-22 ISSN 0921 – Lower House, session year 2015-2016,

7371 The Hague 2015 34 300 XIII, no. 22


Recall the political interventions back in July and back in March or thereabouts (after Battistelli had arrogantly waived the law). The pressure on the EPO's management is increasing; severe action is just a matter of time because these scandals simply cannot be swept under a rug.

Incidentally, watch how 'transparency' works at the EPO. Earlier today David Brophy wrote that "the issue of poisonous priorities (and poisonous divisionals) is the subject of a referral to the European Patent Office (EPO) Enlarged Board of Appeal which is pending under reference G 1/15. [...] According to an announcement appearing yesterday on the EPO website, but carrying a date of October 2 (is this an error, the IPKat wonders, given that the date is exactly one month prior to the website publication date?), the President has decided to stay all proceedings before examination or opposition divisions where the outcome depends entirely on the answers that the Enlarged Board may give in G 1/15."

Revisit what we wrote earlier today about the relentless attacks on the Enlarged Board of Appeal. Outside scrutiny cannot be tolerated, as if the EPO is a country of its own, governed (without elections) by a few managers with big egos. Their reaction to anyone who dares to question their conduct is similar to that of the Saudi government. EPO managers derive their confidence from the silly immunity, whereas the Saudi regime derives it from the oil it sits on top of.

European politicians need to work together to put an end to the lawlessness of the EPO. No organisation should be exempted from laws, human rights guidelines and so on.

"The government is not trying to destroy Microsoft, it’s simply seeking to compel Microsoft to obey the law. It’s quite revealing that Mr. Gates equates the two."

--Government official



Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft is Shedding Off Loads of Staff and That Can be Dangerous Too
Working for Microsoft is a choice; nobody forces you to do it
Richard Stallman and the Unix Philosophy
When asked about systemd people must remember that RMS speaks as an active Board member of the FSF and also the founder of the FSF
Get Rid of Back Doors, Don't Obsess Over Bounties and Other Corporate PR Stunts (or Needless Reboot Rituals)
Security as a term has mostly lost its meaning due to repeated misuse for many years
Serial Sloppers Are Killing the Web (They Probably Don't Care, Either)
Slop is a disease on the Web
IBM's Debt Ballooned by 8.5 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months!
Hallmark of a company in a state of disarray, trying to spend its way out of trouble
Big Trouble in GNOME
even GNOME people admit the CoC went wrong
 
Approaching 10,000 Articles/Pages Since Going Static
Trying to silence or derail the site was always a dumb strategy
Windows Falls to New Lows in Nicaragua, Now Below a Quarter (It Used to be Almost 100%)
Another all-time low for Windows
The Cost (to Linux) of LLM Slop
Slop 'artists' like Fagioli are far from harmless
Links 25/04/2025: Ubisoft Spyware, Hegseth Fails at Tech on Every Level
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/04/2025: Food Forest Update and Facebook Destroying the Net
Links for the day
Streaming Apps Are “Investor Fraud” That Kills the Planet
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Things Get Increasingly Nasty at Microsoft Ahead of the Fake Results and May's Mass Layoffs Wave
They try to get people to 'resign' so that they won't count as layoffs and the company's 'wellbeing' will seem better
Slopping the Trough: Disney Plus Loses Billions and the Decline of Physical Media in America
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 24, 2025
Links 24/04/2025: GAFAM Problems and No Peace (or Ceasefire) in Sight
Links for the day
Slopfarms on the Web Almost Always Generate Anti-Linux FUD When They Produce "Linux" Output
Welcome to the dying Web
Richard Stallman's Oxford Talk Has Just Ended, Here Are Some Photos
he might hop over to another European country
Gemini Links 24/04/2025: Birthday and Good Work of Academia in Esotericism
Links for the day
Links 24/04/2025: EU fines Apple and Facebook, Another Microsoft GitHub Security Blunder
Links for the day
New Article Explains How the GPL Came About and WordPress Having Copyleft Obligations
Having been involved in the WordPress development community since almost the beginning, I know why it chose the GPL and how it restricts abuse by Automattic
IBM Gained Almost 6 Billion Dollars in "Goodwill" Value in Just 3 Months, According to IBM
Congrats to the management!
In Belarus, Yandex is Now Measured as 50 Times More 'Popular' (by Usage) Than Microsoft
Yandex continues to gain, whereas Bing cannot even register at 1%. Last month it was registered or measured at a measly 0.65%.
IBM Cannot Lie to Shareholders Anymore
"I would not be surprised if we see a layoff every quarter this year."
Dr Richard Stallman (RMS) Gives Talk in Oxford University in 4 Hours
If you live nearby, go there (it's free as in gratis)
Using a Law Firm's Licence to Exercise Politics Through Frivolous SLAPPs and Nastygrams (to Silence People, Remove Pages, Demand Fake or Forced 'Apologies')
Things must be getting really bad when lawyers act for raving antisemites
We're Working to Make Full-Site Search Available
This site has over 1,000 'wiki' pages, many thousands of documents, several thousands of videos, and about 50,000 blog posts or articles. We need to make them easier to find/navigate.
Links 24/04/2025: IBM Loses Many Contracts, Intel to Lay Off Over 20% (Not Counting Those Who Leave 'Voluntarily')
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Can Explain to Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society Why LLM Slop is Not Artificial Intelligence and Why It Hurts Society
another 'crop' of LLM slop that damages GNU/Linux and facts
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary Software Using Microsoft Operatives
Because nothing says "Open Source" like GPL violations facilitated by Microsoft
Another Site Bites the Dust: "Open Source For You" Becoming a Slopfarm (LLM Slop)
What a shame. Another dead site.
Links 23/04/2025: Crackdowns on Dissent, Palin Loses Libel Retrial Against New York Times
Links for the day
Links 23/04/2025: Hard Times and Digital Amnesia
Links for the day
The GNU/Linux Site Formerly Known as "linoxide.com" is Back... as an LLM Slopfarm!
Better for linoxide.com to go offline than to do this
Richard Stallman to Speak in Oxford University Exactly a Day From Now
outsourced to GAFAM
Links 23/04/2025: "Hiding Corruption" and "The Cost of Defunding Harvard"
Links for the day
Microsoft 'Studies' Again? Leon Musolff is Writing Papers With Microsoft.
Even if one can see/find a link to "the study" (in the Bezos-controlled publication), most people won't look any further and just take everything at face value.
Towards GNU World Domination
The FSF led by Geoffrey S. Knauth with his friend Richard Stallman in the FSF's Board [...] Let's encourage people to adopt GNU/Linux. There has never been a better time.
statCounter Helps Visualise Just How Deep in Trouble Microsoft is (Especially in Africa)
Microsoft sabotaged efforts to connect Africans and equip them with GNU/Linux laptops
The Register is Using Linux-Hostile Clickbait in Articles of Linux Proponents
Don't be a "whore" to advertisers, team El Reg
Microsoft Windows in Cyprus Lacking a Future
Most people access the Web there from mobile
Matrix Has a Severe Problem With Illegal Images
If Matrix cannot get the CP problem under control, many projects and people will dump Matrix
Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)
Joint post by Mrs. Rianne Schestowitz and Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Links 23/04/2025: Tesla Profits Plunge 71%, Intel Ready to Lay Off 20% of Staff, Microsoft and IBM Layoffs
Links for the day
Microsoft's Most Profound Issue is That People Moved to 'Mobile' and "App Stores" (Microsoft's Presence There is Negligible)
Expect a wild ride for Microsoft this year
Google News is Amplifying FUD and Lies About Linux (and OpenSSH/SSH) by Promoting Slopfarms With Machine-Generated FUD and Slop Images
Google should know better
Gemini Links 23/04/2025: Librarians, Anubis, and Refactoring a Gemini Capsule
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 22, 2025