Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO “Hearing Was a Mockery.”

Making up only the impression of justice or an appearance of fair trial (where Power always wins)

Sterling and wife



Summary: A closer look at how 'justice' is being done inside the European Patent Office (EPO), which is rapidly becoming synonymous with something like lynch mobs or Night of the Long Knives

HAVING just published Hardon's dismissal letter, shown a response from her lawyer, and explained the ludicrous case, we truly hope that readers see just what kind of an intolerable autocracy the EPO really is. No wonder its very own employees protest against it and sign petitions against its decisions. The European Patent Office is a Pariah for a reason. It spends a huge amount of money on PR (manipulating the media) because if more people knew what was going on at the EPO, the general German (and Dutch) public would march with pitchforks towards the Office.



On Friday morning one union leader was dismissed with a 20% cut in pension; another was dismissed and the last one downgraded (8 steps). The allegations are hypocritical and laughable. All with immediate effect, staff representatives are abruptly fired (having been suspended for two months) and if they can get fired, then everyone can. The allegations are rubbish, they are poorly supported (putting a London varnish/veneer on them by hiring CRG isn't cutting it), and laws were probably broken by the investigator, not the investigated (e.g. illegal spying). Looking closer to what happened in recent days we have the following message, which is rather revealing:

The hearing in my disciplinary procedure took place on 10 December 2015. I was supported by a lawyer. The deadline for submitting our position was 9 December, i.e. the day before the hearing. Our request for postponement of the hearing was refused. Due to the mass of documents (some 800 pages) and the complexity of the case (three disciplinary procedures crammed in one) we were not able to respond any earlier. This left the Disciplinary Committee hardly a day to consider our arguments.

As I informed you in my previous mail, the hearing was a mockery. Although originally foreseen for two half days it was pushed through in just one afternoon. The opinion of the Disciplinary Committee was apparently finalised the day after the hearing, as it is dated 11 December.

I received the opinion on 17 December. I was informed that the opinion had been sent to the President on the same day. Not surprisingly, the Disciplinary Committee recommends my dismissal.

Art. 102 (3) ServRegs foresees that the employee be given an opportunity to be heard before a final decision is taken. After we reminded the administration of the applicable regulations, I was invited to respond to the opinion on 5 January at the latest. [...]

The same Article requires the President to take his decision within a month after receipt of the opinion, i.e. the final decision is due on 16 January at the latest.

Elizabeth Hardon


We still have a lot more to say and we shall soon revisit the case which relates to criminal charges against Željko Topić, the President's right-hand man. The EPO's management has opened a jar of warms. So will we.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

--Martin Luther King Jr.

Recent Techrights' Posts

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
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
 
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)
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025