Bonum Certa Men Certa

Danish Press Coverage of the European Patent Office and the Problems Explored by Techrights

For those who conveniently refer to style, not substance

Style over substance Reference: Style over substance



Summary: Jesper Kongstad does virtually nothing to deny the arguments (or "accusations") and instead alludes to the style of the writings about him

Recent articles from Techrights have inspired Danish mainstream media coverage regarding the EPO, notably this recent series of Danish stories. We have asked some Scandinavian people to explain to us what was said in the press and we are still trying to digest the message, along with any other new information that it brings up.



"The first one gives details about the "harassment" to which Kongstad is allegedly being subjected.""For your information," one reader told us, "Berlingske has just published three pieces about the EPO referring to recent Techrights articles.

"No translations yet but Google Translate gives some idea of the content."

Here is an overview of the stories:

1. The first one gives details about the "harassment" to which Kongstad is allegedly being subjected.

Chikane mod dansk topembedsmand: Hængt ud for skattesnyd (Danish link) ("Harassment of top Danish official - denunciation for tax evasion")

"The next one cites some comments from the Danish patent expert George Brock-Nannestad who is critical of the direction being taken by EPO management."Direktøren for Patent- og Varemærke€­styrelsen, der ogsÃ¥ er formand for det europæiske patentkontor EPO, tæppe€­bombes med beskyldninger om smarte investeringer og dyremishandling. ("The Director of the DKPTO who is also Chairman of the EPO [Administrative Council] has been carpet-bombed with accusations about smart investments and cruelty to animals")

2. The next one cites some comments from the Danish patent expert George Brock-Nannestad who is critical of the direction being taken by EPO management.

Dansk patentekspert: Ledelsen på forkert kurs (Danish link) ("Danish patent expert: The management is on the wrong course").

En kontaktperson fra den centrale fagforening hos EPO, SUEPO (Staff Union of the European Patent Office), afviser i en mail over for Berlingske, at SUEPO samarbejder med den kritiske internet-blog Techrights.com om chikane mod EPOs bestyrelsesformand Jesper Kongstad, som er direktør for Patent- og Varemærkestyrelsen. Den pÃ¥gældende har ifølge eget udsagn været udsat for repressalier fra ledelsen og €­ønsker derfor ikke at fÃ¥ sit navn frem. Det er en mangeÃ¥rig europæisk patentagent (European Patent Attorney) til gengæld ikke bange for. EPO-ledelsen er pÃ¥ vildspor og er ved at ødelægge den europæiske patentorganisation, mener George Brock-Nannestad.

"This one refers to "anonymous activists" who have complained about Kongstad and called for an investigation."("In an email to Berlingske a contact person from the central trade union at the EPO, SUEPO (Staff Union of the European Patent Office), denies that SUEPO has cooperated with the critical Internet blog Techrights in the harassment of EPO chairman Jesper Kongstad, who is the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office. Those questioned are according to themselves exposed to reprisals from management and therefore do not wish to be named. On the other hand, a longtime European patent agent (European Patent Attorney) is not afraid. EPO management is on the wrong track and is destroying the European Patent Organisation, says George Brock-Nannestad.")

3. The last one seems to be a bit of a puff piece where they give Kongstad a bit of column space to explain the necessity for the "reform" process at the EPO and how wonderful the working conditions there are...

Lønninger og goder €»uden sidestykke i Europa€« (Danish link) ("Salaries and benefits "unparalleled in Europe '")

De ansatte demonstrerer EPO har et budget pÃ¥ omkring 15 milliarder kr. og behandler Ã¥rligt flere hundrede tusinde €­ansøgninger om patenter fra europæiske virksomheder. Konflikten i EPO har de seneste par Ã¥r ført til voldsomme anklager om magtmisbrug, brud pÃ¥ retssikkerheden og beskyldninger om undertrykkelse af fag€­foreninger. Jesper Kongstad var i sidste uge til bestyrelsesmøde i EPOs hovedkvarter i München, hvor ledelsen, som det er sket flere gange før, blev mødt med demonstrationer fra de ansatte.

"It's typical to accuse the messenger or the style rather than the substance."("The staff demonstrates The EPO has a budget of about 15 billion DKK and each year it processes hundreds of thousands of applications for patents from European companies. The conflict in the EPO has in recent years led to fierce accusations of abuse of power, breach of legal certainty and accusations of repression of trade unions. Last week Jesper Kongstad attended a board meeting in the EPO headquarters in Munich, where as has happened several times before, the management was met with protests from the employees.")

As of today, there is an additional (fourth) article. This one refers to "anonymous activists" who have complained about Kongstad and called for an investigation.

€»Professor Gadget€« og €»Freiherr von Bimbes€« om smædekampagne: Dansk topembedsmand bør undersøges

"Den danske topembedsmand Jesper Kongstad er genstand for massiv chikane i forbindelse med en konflikt i det europæiske patentkontor. Anonyme bagmænd uddyber her hvorfor."

("The Danish top official Jesper Kongstad is attracting a lot of harassment in connection with the conflict in the European Patent Office. Anonymous activists explain why here.")

"It's not easy to find native English speakers that are fluent in Danish, which is what a quality translation would entail."We have asked for some feedback from people who can comprehend a bit of Danish. "Kongstad complains about the personal attacks and refers to Techrights," one person told us. "Your style is accused of not being 'Danish', also the €»Professor Gadget€« and €»Freiherr von Bimbes€« are mentioned. I hope they / he are keeping it civilized and more 'Danish'.

"You're quoted in that one," the person said about the second article and regarding the third we have been told that "[i]t's good that its in the Economics section of the paper. Though I take issue with their use of the term 'chikane' but it's not directed at Techrights explicitly."

It's typical to accuse the messenger or the style rather than the substance.

"Are we going to see an actual debunking from Kongstad or is he just hoping that nobody will bother finding out what he has been up to?"We hope to get translations of these soon. It's not easy to find native English speakers that are fluent in Danish, which is what a quality translation would entail.

Are we going to see an actual debunking from Kongstad or is he just hoping that nobody will bother finding out what he has been up to? Our Web site has been barely accessibly today because too many people do try to figure out what Kongstad is doing in his home.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
 
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Google News, and LinuxSecurity
They carry on polluting the Web with fake articles
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: Kubernetes With FreeBSD and robots.txt
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October