Bonum Certa Men Certa

Laughable and Misleading: What the EPO Has Become Amid an Avalanche of Bad News

The bad news keeps coming in faster than we're above to cover these

Girl on a tricycle
Let's talk about bicycles again?



Summary: By using "Russia" as a distraction (recycled old news) and refusing to even respond to a highly critical survey, in our humble assessment the EPO hopes that reporters won't pay attention to what really happens at the Office

IN THE coming days we shall write a lot about the latest UPC lies. Yes, there's still plenty of fake news and alternative facts out there. The UPC is for software patents and for patent trolls; it's certainly not for SMEs.



Currently, thanks to the appeal boards, the EPO is still somewhat limited in its ability to grant software patents. As even Bastian Best, the loudest European proponent of software patents, has just put it, "[m]aking software quicker is not patentable [...] since the EPO Board of Appeal 3.5.06 had to decide whether the reduction of the execution time of a computer-implemented method is a technical effect and thus potentially patentable."

We have enormous respect for the work of the Boards of Appeal and it hardly surprises anyone that Battistelli attacks them, not just their independence but also their staff. Battistelli has patent maximalism in mind and he wants them replaced by UPC courts, which rumours say he wishes to later preside over.

The EPO is meanwhile distracting from all the negative publicity (we wrote half a dozen articles about the EPO yesterday alone). Today it ended up reannouncing or recycling old news because it's still rogue and failing and there is nothing new to tell the public. More patent maximalism and more litigation got promoted under the headline "EPO launches Patent Prosecution Highway pilot with Russian patent office" (warning: epo.org link). To quote:

"We're pleased to be able to launch this programme with Rospatent," said EPO President Benoît Battistelli. "The fast-track treatment will enable companies and inventors from Europe and Russia to obtain patents more quickly and efficiently, boosting business and innovation in both our regions."


This is not news, it's merely a distraction from real news (more on that later tonight).

"Such cynicism," one person wrote last night in relation to Battistelli's attacks on staff. "I can't really blame you, but I won't respond other than to say that I will certainly be doing what I can."

To rescue the EPO from the tyrant, Battistelli, this person is eager to be "doing what I can" and we invite readers to send us information as we very much depend on information. Battistelli disseminates lies all the time and tries hard to prevent information from reaching reporters; fear and intimidation tactics are routinely used, with even innocent scapegoats to make an example of.

"You call it "cynicism"," responded a person to the above, "I call it realism. But at least we now know thanks to Techrights that "the methods used by the EPO’s Investigative Unit compare favourably with Congo-standards.""

We wrote about that last night. The EPO is a horrifying place these days.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New Interview With Richard Stallman in Italy (Manuel Cuda News)
Due to Google's growing aggression against Free software and proper APIs, this cannot be downloaded and converted to a free format
The UEFI hype and Microsoft's lies
By Sami Tikkanen
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
In Central African Republic Windows Has Pretty Much Fallen to Zero
We need to focus on Software Freedom
Microsoft Windows Down to 8.5% in South Africa
South Africa and Egypt are strategic in Africa
 
Links 04/03/2025: Microsoft Issues Policy Instructions to the Cheeto Mussolini Administration, Cloudflare Engages in Mass Censorship Again
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/03/2025: Athens, Fedora 41, and Yelling at Clouds
Links for the day
FSF Amicus Brief: Aspose.PDF for .NET 24.2.0, OOXML (.docx), and Microsoft Word (Proprietary)
Could the FSF not find any law firm that, in addition to talking about or for Free software, does not use .NET, OOXML, and almost everything Microsoft?
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Belatedly Comments on Case That Tests Copyleft in the United States
"The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced today it has submitted an amicus brief in the case entitled Neo4j"
Paraguay: GNU/Linux Surging to New Usage Levels (7%), According to statCounter
Notice that the gains are at Microsoft Windows' expense
If They Try to Censor You on Some Topic, Then You Should Cover This Topic Even More
OSI is only a small part of it
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 03, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 03, 2025
Thorsten Glaser & Open Source Initiative (OSI) resignations due to AI whitewashing
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 03/03/2025: Copyrights, GrapheneOS, and SpaceBeans
Links for the day
Links 03/03/2025: Europe Rallies Behind Ukraine, Measles Flourishes in US Again
Links for the day
After Fund-raising Campaign the Free Software Foundation Still Raises About $13,000 Per Week (Without Campaigning for New Donors/Members)
Richard Stallman in the Board is not a liability
Links 03/03/2025: 'Monetisation' Myth' and Microsoft's LLMs Helping Criminals
Links for the day
The New Series About the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and the Microsoft Entryism in OSI is Closely Related to the SLAPP Against Techrights
Also based on the leading publication that they want removed
New Series: A Deep Dive Into the Severe Corruption of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), Nowadays a Front Group and Lobbyist of Microsoft
There's a lot to show
Links 03/03/2025: Mass Layoffs in IBM China, Intel Still in Trouble
Links for the day
3 Out of 4 in Cuba Use Linux to Access the Web
Maybe change does come about...
Doing Free Software for a Living in an Era or a Time of Abundance of Code (and Fast Internet to Pass It Around Freely) or Writing When the Web is Attacked by LLM Slop
Tailoring code to needs is the key
Links 02/03/2025: Day Off, POWER9, Console Challenge
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 02, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 02, 2025
Microsoft Windows Falls to All-Time Low in Thailand
We're seeing many all-time records like these so far in 2025
Gemini Links 02/03/2025: Snowdrop Flower and Hostile Leaders
Links for the day
Links 02/03/2025: Microsoft Outlook Goes Offline, Foreign-Owned Social Control Media Interfering With Fair Elections
Links for the day
According to statCounter, Windows Falls Off a Cliff in Maharlika, GNU/Linux Surges to 5%
But mobile is king
New Video Clip of Richard Stallman's Latest Visit to and Talks in Italy
Richard Stallman or RMS giving his latest talk last week
Windows Used by Only One in Six Asians to Access the Web, According to statCounter
maybe more governments in Asia should move away from Microsoft
GNU/Linux Reaches 5% in Brazil, an All-Time High According to statCounter
There are hundreds of millions of people in that country
Google Already Dominates the Global South (via Android/Linux)
If one puts aside Russia and east Europe, not many countries exist that still connect to the Web from Windows more than from Android
GNU/Linux Widespread in Finland, Sweden, and Norway
Sweden has many Chromebooks in schools3 nations
Germany's Incoming Leader Said He'd Seek More Independence from the US, GNU/Linux Soars to 6%
Last month it was 5%
For the First Time GNU/Linux is Measured at Over 4% in Europe (Not Counting ChromeOS/Chromebooks)
Europe, on average, is now estimated to have GNU/Linux on 1 in 25 Web-connected laptops/desktops
Over 2 Years of LLM Hype and Nothing to Show for It
People still use search, not chatbots
Apple's iOS Almost Bigger Than Windows Now (Internationally), Windows Falls to 22% According to statCounter
Without Windows domination, there's not much left going for Microsoft
Putin's Loyal DOGE
We hereby crown Arvind Krishna "Putin's DOGE"
The Media Barely Reported This (Late Friday): IBM Lays Off About 2,000 More Workers, Effective Hours Ago
Maybe some diversity programs can help IBM recruit slaves or grossly-underpaid staff
Microsoft Money Being Spent to Bully Techrights Only Legitimises Techrights
The longer it goes on for, the greater the Streisand Effect
Suing One's Way Out of Real Trouble Won't Work (It Merely Increases the Trouble)
"Guns for hire" in London can only issue "legal" threats
Microsoft Writing Articles About Microsoft, Using Microsoft LLMs
Right now there are many articles about Microsoft Outlook being down completely
Gemini Links 02/03/2025: OFFLFIRSOCH 2025 and Programming
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 01, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 01, 2025