Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO Leak: Administrative Council's Latest Meeting Report (Updated)

AC meeting report
Click for full-sized version (the EPO's intranet version, i.e. the public is kept in the dark for now)



Summary: The outcome of the Administrative Council's meeting, where Battistelli managed to avoid earthquakes and basically did just about everything he wanted, reinforcing the perception that there is no oversight

Yesterday's AC meeting report was limited in terms of concrete evidence. Well, now we have the above (click to zoom in/get a full view). Noteworthy among IP Kat comments this morning is this person who says: "We will see how the new BoAC drafts the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal based on the wish of the President and the AC to reduce the backlog of appeal cases, ie to streamline and speed up the appeal proedure. No auxiliary requests and only revision of the decision of the department of first instance. Brave new EPO."



“But still the president convinced the AC members (a qualified attorney/practitioner before the EPO between them?) to decide that they knew better.”
      --Anonymous
Another person jokes: "I understand that a dead cat has been found, stuck in the ventilation system of the main building of the EPO. That was obviously the source of the overwhelming smell of corruption that lingered in the air. The problem is solved now."

Another comment notes, "as far as I could see not one person who has to use the BoA, be it the parties, their representatives or the board members themselves, supported any of the proposed changes. But still the president convinced the AC members (a qualified attorney/practitioner before the EPO between them?) to decide that they knew better. But that's democracy for you."

"Nobody cares for the users," replies the following comment. "Because they dared to criticize Battistelli they are getting a fee increase and no place in the Boac..."

"Battistelli plans another such lobbying event for next year (if he survives this long in his job)."Speaking of fee hikes (coverage here and elsewhere before), with examination quality at the EPO sinking why would anyone withdraw? This morning the EPO published update to examination fees (warning: epo.org) and last night we got another reminder that EPO applicants' money gets wasted on Battistelli's PR stunts and lobbying. To quote this new article: "For the Munich-based team of the VOK DAMS, agency for events and live-marketing, this year’s award was a special anniversary, as it was the 10th awards ceremony designed and implemented by VOK DAMS in a row, looking back on a long-standing the successful partnership between the EPO and VOK DAMS. [...] More than 550 VIP guests from politics, economy, and academia were on site at the MEO arena in Lisbon, when the EPO president opened the award ceremony together with the Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and the EU commissioner for research, science and innovation Carlos Moedas."

We have already mentioned the role played Moedas and António Costa, serving to reinforce the perception that this was just Battistelli's wasteful lobbying effort (lobbying Portugal, the Commission and more). So far this week (in 3 days alone) the EPO has posted about half a dozen calls for nominations (in Twitter) for the next massive waste of money (millions of Euros). Battistelli plans another such lobbying event for next year (if he survives this long in his job).

Update: Here is the above image as text (credit due):

News from the Administrative Council Outcomes of the 148th session The Administrative Council (AC) met on 29 and 30 June for its 148th meeting. Following the presentation of the activities report of the President, the AC members congratulated the Office, the management and the staff, for the excellent results achieved so far in 2016. In what was a dense agenda, the latest session of the AC notably included the adoption of the reform of the Boards of Appeal. Structural reform of the Boards of Appeal By a very large majority (35 in favour, 2 abstentions, 1 against), the delegations supported the proposal of the Office concerning the reform of the Boards of Appeal, which aims at increasing the perception of independence and the efficiency of the Boards, based on five pillars: a structural reorganisation of the BOA, with the setting-up of a Boards of Appeal Committee (BOAC) as a subsidiary body of the Administrative Council and a unilateral act of delegation of powers from the President of the Office to a newly created President of the BOA; a new career system for members and Chairmen of the BOA; the relocation of the BOA to a separate building in Munich; a better cost coverage for appeals; specific rules on the prevention of conflict of interest for members and Chairmen of the BOA. After two attempts of reform which failed in 1995 and 2004, this is an historic achievement. Budgetary and financial items The AC unanimously approved the account of the 2015 budget. The financial statements 2015 received an unreserved opinion from the Board of Auditors in compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is the sixth year in a row that this positive qualification has been obtained. The Board of Auditors expressed their positive comments in relation to the EPO Quality Management System, the project for the New Main building in The Hague and the good management of the IT roadmap. The delegations also gave a unanimous positive opinion on the initial budgetary orientations for 2017, showing their continuous support for the strategy of the Office. The Council appointed Mr Groffmann as the new Administrator for the RFPSS, on a proposal of the President of the Office, in agreement with the Supervisory Board of the RFPSS. Social topics For the fourth year in a row, the Office presented a comprehensive social report, highly appreciated by the delegations. For the first time, the Office also submitted an environmental report. In relation to healthcare matters, the proposal of the Office to switch to a self-insurance scheme as of 1 January 2017 and the new contract awarded to Cigna for the administration of the healthcare reimbursement scheme, following an international tender were unanimously approved. Because of the time necessary to finalise the reform of the BOA, it was not possible to address the two proposals on the revision of investigation guidelines and disciplinary procedures which are postponed to the October session of the AC.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wayland is About Less Choice, About Removing Choices, It's Not About Freedom
IBM insists that it cares about "diversity"
Keeping Things Accessible
Gemini Protocol seems to be growing
Not Much Better Than LLM Slop: Linux Foundation-Funded 'News' Site Writes Linux Foundation 'News', Composed by Linux Foundation Operative, Quoting Linux Foundation Staff
...they get paid (sponsored) to produce this spam. Then they call it "journalism".
Annual Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE 22x) 'Bought' by Microsoft and Microsoft Exceeded Sponsorship Limits by Giving Double the Maximum Permitted Amount
When people get bribed they tend to forget how to utter a simple word: "No."
 
Start X
Just because something is old does not mean it is bad
Slopwatch: Linuxsecurity, Google News Slopfarms, and Linux Journal (LJ)
Today we take a quick look at 3 slopfarms
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 27, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, June 27, 2025
Links 28/06/2025: "CC Signals" Virtue-Signals to Slop Ponzi Schemes, North Korea Aims for Tourism
Links for the day
Links 27/06/2025: International Tensions and Contentions Over Plagiarism Perfumed as "Hey Hi" and "Fair Use"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/06/2025: Poetry and Censorship by Social Control Media Centralisation
Links for the day
Links 27/06/2025: Journalists Under Fire and Microsoft Has Serious Slop Problems
Links for the day
X is Dying, But Not XServer/X11. Twitter X.com is Dying.
People or businesses or government officials (and departments) that still rely on Social Control Media are playing Russian Roulette with their future online
Escaping Colonialism (or 'Hegemony') Requires Abandoning GAFAM, Microsoft in Particular
Europe is already in the process of abandoning Microsoft
Microsoft Will Shut Down More Studios This Week, Its Media Operatives Will Tell Lies About the Magnitude of the Shutdowns and Layoffs (They Always Do)
Many people who get counted as "workforce" are "temps" or similar
What Linux Foundation 'Research' is: Paid Marketing
What is Linux Foundation 'Research'?
No, IBM Does Not Care About People With Disabilities
"Aktion T4" did not seem to bother Watson
Microsoft's Financial Problems Mean Shutdowns, Not Just Mass Layoffs
If the original rumour is true, then expect almost 30,000 Microsoft workers to be let go this year
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 26, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 26, 2025
The Netherlands: GNU/Linux Measured at All-Time High
Are any Dutch cities going to announce dumping Microsoft?
Gemini Links 27/06/2025: "Interstitial Existence" and Autocorrect
Links for the day
EPO Examiners Point Out to the Heads of Delegations in the Administrative Council of the EPO That the "AI Policy" of the Office is Illegal
"the Central Staff Committee (CSC) asks the Administrative Council to exert its supervisory role and instruct EPO management to enter into genuine dialogue with the staff representation on the AI Policy, to revise the “Leverage AI” target of 90% AI-automated classification in the SP2028 and to put in place the measures supported by staff in the resolution."
Technical People Need Technical Lawyers
Technical Litigants in Person (LIPs) have many real and concrete advantages
10,000+ Articles in About 20 Months (and How We Got Here)
More bloat does not beget efficiency and "bells and whistles" tend to have a hidden cost
French Cities Dumping Microsoft Because They Recognise Software Freedom, Open Standards, GNU/Linux Autonomy
We hope that more French cities - maybe Paris - will follow Lyon.
Links 26/06/2025: Illegal Kangaroo Court (UPC) Failing Scandinavia, K-Pop Agencies Abuse People
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/06/2025: AuraGem Twitch Proxy is Back and UI Sluggishness
Links for the day
LWN is a Voice of GAFAM (Through Linux Foundation, Their Front Group or Occupying Force Inside Linux)
remember who the chief editor works for and who sponsors many of the articles
Links 26/06/2025: Noise Pollution Considered High in Europe, Mass Layoffs Next Week in Microsoft Confirmed, Very Large in Scale and Scope
Links for the day
The 'Case' of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft is a Lot of Copypasta (Maybe Also LLM Slop) From the Matthew Garrett 'Case'
5RB deserves to know and the matter shall be properly reported in due course (when the time is right)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part II - Office Breaks Rules, Ignores Courts, Defies Justice
False promises everywhere
No, I Don't Want Your Latest XYZ, ThankYouVeryMuch...
Wayland is finally ready?
China Keeps Breaking Into Microsoft Systems, So for True Sovereignty, Nations Wary of China Need to Dump Microsoft
Looking at data from Taiwan (not China) and Maharlika (not Philippines, the king is dead and Spain is out), there are encouraging signs
Linux Journal Wants Ads on Its LLM Slop or Ads as 'Articles'
it's basically another BetaNews
How to Kill a Monopoly
in 10 simple steps
IBM - Like Microsoft - is a Dying Company and Perishing Brand ("AI" is a Lie and Decoy)
"Arvind is cutting costs (layoffs, PIPs, forced RTO, etc...) like crazy. IBM offices are closing all over the place in the US."
"Code of Conduct" Invoked When Fedora and Red Hat Users (Since the 1990s) Don't Want to Use Wayland
That is IBM "DEI"
Mozambique: GNU/Linux Rose From 0.5% Last Year to 3% This Year
what (or how) statCounter is measuring
Microsoft Layoffs Next Week: About 10% to be Laid Off in Microsoft Gaming (2 Days Before Independence Day), About 20%+ of XBox Staff
Microsoft is rapidly collapsing
Next Month Marks 11 Years Since Our In-Depth EPO Coverage
The same is happening to Microsoft right now
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Campaigns Against Vista 11, Adds 4 New Associate Members Per Day
If more people understood the underlying principles, more of them would flock to Free software overnight
Canonical Seems to Have Culled Some Sources of LLM Slop From Planet Ubuntu
It's like "junk food", it's not information
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 25, 2025
On "Weak Claims"
For the record, they sent me unjustified threats, repeatedly tried injunctions (censorship)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part I - Burnout and Family Health
more exceptional circumstances
This Month's Mail (MX) Server Survey Shows Microsoft at 0.20% "Market Share"
We need to remind people that desktops and laptops decline (in proportion to other client devices) and at the "back end" GNU/Linux is already dominant and has long been dominant
Links 26/06/2025: Filespooler Guide and Learning to Code
Links for the day