Bonum Certa Men Certa

Even Battistelli-Funded Media Admits That Battistelli is in Deep Trouble Right Now

Summary: It looks highly probable and increasingly like a certainty that Battistelli will soon leave the Office, leaving the EPO some leeway to recuperate after his historic (in a bad sense) term

TECHRIGHTS is optimistic about the EPO, which is probably about to change for the better because the President (Battistelli) lives on borrowed time. Next week we'll start debating succession.



Earlier today we found rather interesting a bunch of tweets from EPO-funded media, which rather than repeat the latest lie from the EPO's PR bunnies actually acknowledges that Battistelli is deep -- very deep -- in trouble. When even an EPO-funded Web site admits there’s a serious problem (the PR department is still denying it as it's paid to do this) one has to acknowledge that the situation is looking very grim. To quote IAM: "If Benoit Battistelli really is in conflict with the EPO Administrative Council, as now rumoured, that is not a sustainable situation."

"When even an EPO-funded Web site admits there’s a serious problem (the PR department is still denying it as it’s paid to do this) one has to acknowledge that the situation is looking very grim."There is no point denying it anymore (the conflict). The authenticity of the documents and accuracy of the information have already been verified.

"It is hard to see Battistelli agreeing to back down," IAM added, "he is much more likely to walk away." He reportedly threatened to do it last year, but new reports suggest it's down to money right now. We urgently require a translation of this new article (in Dutch) titled "Franse despoot wil 18 miljoen bij vertrek". FTI Consulting has clearly failed Team Battistelli. It didn't manage to salvage the EPO's reputation, meaning that Battistelli already flushed close to $1,000,000 (dark budget/PR money) down the toilet. Does he want over 20 million dollars now? After all the damage he has done? We now know Battistelli's salary and may reveal it at a later date (it's not so urgent a topic). Battistelli -- reportedly -- basically wants 30-40 years of presidential salary. Not so bad a 'welfare' plan for a man who is already approaching age 70...

IAM then brought up some Battistelli talking point, stating that "Battistelli will believe - with some justification - he has done what the Admin Council wanted him to do: increase production & revenue."

"Battistelli -- reportedly -- basically wants 30-40 years of presidential salary. Not so bad a 'welfare' plan for a man who is already approaching age 70..."Over in the US, based on this new chart of "Patent Grants 2016" (nice work from Patently-O by the way), patent numbers (and thus revenue, which is proportional) nearly doubled because of declining quality, which is indicative of a problem; it's not a yardstick of success (does not take externalities into account).

Bragging about growth in the number of granted patents -- as Battistelli often does (remember the "Meet the President" charade earlier this month) -- is misleading at best and a lot of it is based on a lie, too. They're cooking the books. They are extremely craftful with statistics and they hope to successfully mislead the media, as they so often do already, exploiting gullibility of non-technical journalists with a university degree in a language.

"To clarify again, we do support the EPO in principle (there is no intention to destroy the EPO), but the EPO needs to go back to the EPC."Earlier today I joked that Battistelli should soon apply for a job at SIPO (China), where there is almost zero quality control and almost zero human rights (it's probably negative, i.e. lower than zero, at the EPO right now).

To clarify again, we do support the EPO in principle (there is no intention to destroy the EPO), but the EPO needs to go back to the EPC. Watch how the EPO is trying to 'massage' the “Guidelines for Examination” in various events, some of which were announced or re-announced even hours ago. The EPO asks: "What's the impact of the amendments in the new Guidelines for Examination? Discuss with experts in Oslo on 7 April..."

What are the changes/amendments based on? Definitely not the EPC, which definitely and unambiguously forbade software patents (be these "as such" or not).

Asked for a comment on the EPO's latest teaser ahead of upcoming propaganda (bogus patent numbers to be shared next week), a reader told us: "OK, it's only that stupid applicant hit parade PR exercise again. They've been doing this for a few years, I can't say when it began (before or after Battistelli), but Battistelli already ran a similar show when he was at the French patent office. I thought it could be something else, I should really learn not to overestimate them."

Going back to IAM, in its Twitter account it said: "It is clear, though, that recent headlines over union official dismissals and the Enlarged Board of Appeal have spooked some on the AC."

"What it all means," IAM added, "is that something has now got to give at the EPO. When that happens, it will not be pretty."

"Battistelli cannot tolerate transparency (he can only write/author blog posts titled “transparency”) because transparency would reveal gross abuses like keyloggers, hidden cameras (targeting guests who come to the EPO), and worse — all sorts of serious criminal charges in Croatia."IAM then said that the "EPO is in crisis this evening. Its governance structure is clearly not fit for purpose. It is time for full transparency." As I explained to IAM, not (lack of) “transparency” is the problem. It’s what the secrecy has served to hide... so far. Battistelli cannot tolerate transparency (he can only write/author blog posts titled “transparency”) because transparency would reveal gross abuses like keyloggers, hidden cameras (targeting guests who come to the EPO), and worse -- all sorts of serious criminal charges in Croatia.

The bottom line is this: when even people whom Battistelli pays recognise that he might be leaving it really means something.

A final (second) reminder: We urgently need a translation of the article "Franse despoot wil 18 miljoen bij vertrek" (link above) as it seemingly serves to further confirm that Battistelli will be out soon (and that it's just matter of money now). When choosing to prepare a translation please state the intent to us so that we can ensure there's no duplication of effort (two or more people working on a translation at the same time). Someone is already working on a translation of "Problemas de gobernanza en organizaciones internacionales: la EPO" and today we received 3 translations of 3 articles in Dutch, so stay tuned for more...

Recent Techrights' Posts

Nat Friedman Had Left Microsoft GitHub Exactly One Week Before Matthew Garrett Sent His First SLAPP (Which Was an Empty Threat, He Was Abusing the Legal System of Another Continent to Terrorise Critics Who Had Just Unearthed Major Microsoft Scandals)
And it was likely talked about by his lawyers around the exact same time Nat Friedman was packing up
 
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part III: Data Protection Failures, Just Like at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Just less than a decade ago we showed that the EPO had illegally shared staff data with third parties
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 05, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 05, 2025
Pushing Microsoft's Proprietary Trash/Trap as "Open" and "Linux" (Windows is 'Linux' Now?)
Maybe it's time to just stop saying "FOSS". The people who use that term are promoting Microsoft.
Slopwatch: Comparing Linux to Vermin, Attacking BSD With LLM Slop, and Helping Microsoft Demonise Linux/OpenBSD/SSH Over Weak User Passwords
Microsoft must be laughing its arse off, seeing how a bunch of Serial Sloppers (no skills, no comprehension, no integrity, no creativity) and slopfarms use Microsoft LLM to flood the Web with anti-Linux FUD
Links 05/06/2025: US Poised for Another $2.4 Trillion to Debt, Cops Want GAFAM Kill Switches
Links for the day
Links 05/06/2025: First US Spacewalk 60 Years Ago, GNU Octave 10.2.0 is Out
Links for the day
Scandinavia Saying Goodbye to Microsoft
The Danes have had enough of Microsoft
GNU/Linux Measured at 6% in Bangladesh, According to statCounter
Windows isn't growing, it's going away
Gemini Links 05/06/2025: Loop Earplugs Review and ANS Forth
Links for the day
Armenian Adoption of GNU/Linux
Russian influence in Armenian must be worrying to Microsoft
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part II: Turning a Once-Respected Patent Office Into a Circus and Laughing Stock
It's not legal, but administrators who don't care about the law and don't fear the law would just go ahead and turn things to junk
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 04, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Slopwatch: Mindless Slop Pieces, Fake Images and Text, Linux FUD on the Cheap
spewed out by Microsoft-controlled LLMs
Links 04/06/2025: Workers' Strikes, Sudan Exodus
Links for the day
Links 04/06/2025: Linux Foundation PR Spam and Lee Jae-myung Wins Election
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Future Leaders of the World and Platforming Jordan Peterson
Links for the day
Links 04/06/2025: WSL Backfiring on Microsoft and "Disney, Microsoft Announce Massive Layoffs"
Links for the day
Our Case is a Very Easy Win, the SLAPPs From Microsofters Were a Grave Error, and Censoring Information Won't Work (It'll Only Ever Backfire)
Censoring is what people do when they lose the argument
Say the Truth, the Rest Will Follow
There's no guarantee that writing the truth will result in an audience (or readership), but over time - in the long run - people generally gravitate towards what they know or feel to be crude truth, not just what's comforting (albeit false or self-deluding, usually groupthink dictated from above)
How to Expose High-Level Corruption Without Getting in (Too Much) Trouble
Democracy depends on free press and freedom of the press depends on being able to safely publish (and keep available) material that bad people don't want to be known to anybody
In-Depth EPO Coverage at Techrights Turns Eleven
11 years is a very long time
Windows Measured Below 10% in Afghanistan, GNU/Linux Gaining a Lot
about 80% are Android (Linux) users, compared to only about 10% for Windows
Poland's Political Predicament and Social Control Media
Democracy and fake "tech" don't mix well; the latter tends to interfere with the former and that's why we get more "Putins" out there
EPO: Taking Away From the Staff to Give More to the Rich
The Central Staff Committee (CSC) wrote to EPO staff earlier this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 03, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part I: It's a Lot Like the EPO
we can commence a series soon
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Inescapable Questions and Quitting All "Oligarch Tech"
Links for the day