So much for free speech or free thinking (access to information)...

"PS: Don't read to [sic] much Techrights"

Summary: Staff of the European Patent Office (EPO) continues to speak about the horrible deal that FFPE-EPO signed with the management, serving to divide and further punish SUEPO, which represents nearly half of all staff

THE FFPE-EPO folks aren't quite being ignored, partly due to their own recent actions. Their current leader only has a few weeks left in his role and sources tell us that quite a few FFPE-EPO members recently left in protest. The only allies they've made seem to be from upper management. To list some of this month's articles about FFPE-EPO again:

1. In the EPO's Official Photo Op, “Only One of the Faces is Actually FFPE-EPO”
2. Further Evidence Suggests and Shows Stronger Evidence That Team Battistelli Uses FFPE-EPO as 'Yellow Union' Against SUEPO
3. “FFPE-EPO Was Set up About 9 Years Ago With Management Encouragement”
4. Fallout of the FFPE EPO MoU With Battistelli's Circle
5. The EPO's Media Strategy at Work: Union Feuds and Group Fracturing
6. Caricature of the Day: Recognising FFPE EPO
7. Union Syndicale Federale Slams FFPE-EPO for Helping Abusive EPO Management by Signing a Malicious, Divisive Document
8. FFPE-EPO Says MoU With Battistelli Will “Defend Employment Conditions” (Updated)

"Here is another document from the famous Yellow tinted EPO Union FFPE-EPO," a reader told us, having shown us the above text, adding: "those fools commented on Techrights" (it says "Don't read to [sic] much Techrights," which is blocked anyway, by the same upper management that FFPE-EPO has just signed a terrible deal with).

"Techrights was never an enemy of the EPO but an enemy of software patents.""Thanks for all the work and support to the EPO staff," told us the reader. "The staff is glad to have you around."

Techrights was never an enemy of the EPO but an enemy of software patents. Huge difference. I even sent some letters to the EPO back in the old days, regarding software patents in particular.

Don't let FFPE-EPO paint Techrights as an enemy. It's a false narrative and the above wrongly characterises Techrights as "hate Intellectual Property rights". Well, we never use the term "Intellectual Property"; we adequately distinguish between copyrights, trademarks and patents, and we specifically tackle software patents. FFPE-EPO probably hasn't studied the site well enough before making that reckless comment.

“...the reply of the FFPE is rather hilarious, stating that there is only one difference between the accord cadre of the EU-commission and the MoU of the EPO.”
      --AnonymousFor the record, Techrights was not an enemy of FFPE-EPO. In fact, we supported them before the MoU, as anyone can see from our past articles, e.g. this one. One might say that FFPE-EPO foolishly (if not intentionally or even maliciously) defected. Here is a new comment which says: "the reply of the FFPE is rather hilarious, stating that there is only one difference between the accord cadre of the EU-commission and the MoU of the EPO.

"They tend to forget Article 9 of the "accord cadre", which is about "Representativeness of the organisations". The EPO-management could not have insisted on such an element, as otherwise they would've lost anything they could have shown and bragged about.

"Pity the unions start to bicker against each other. We're all in the same boat, and shooting at each other will not help in our desire to get the EPO back on track, and the recognition of human rights."

A reply to this comment stated: "The last page (page 16) is very informative. So, according to the EU "accord cadre", SUEPO would be a recgnised representative organisation which has not yet signed, but would've gotten full access to rooms, union leave, and emails? FFPE-EPO would've been a recognised organisation at best and not eligible to sign.

“They are not making it easy to recognise them as professionals...”
      --Anonymous"And FFPE-EPO sells the MoU as being the same as the EU commission accord cadre? (the only difference they acknowledge are the strike elements in the "accord cadre")

"Really?

"They are not making it easy to recognise them as professionals...

"Anyway, this bashing against each other must stop."

SUEPO has hardly made any comments that bash FFPE-EPO; it just criticised the MoU, and rightly so. It serves as a covert attack on SUEPO, as EPO management now uses it as ammunition against SUEPO and the dismissed staff representatives. ⬆