Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO is a Laughing Stock in International Media This Week (Quality of Patents) After Decades-Long Reputation Building

How thoroughly devalued are EPs (older ones too) in the Battistelli era of incredible lies, foul play, corrupted media, unprecedented tyranny and deadly mischief?



Summary: The reputation of European Patents (EPs) is quickly going down the drain, as Battistelli defies the law and the very fundamental principles of patenting

THE EPO, both the Office and the Organisation, may be compromised beyond repair. As we explained yesterday, the Battistelli coup has strong-armed the Council through Kongstad, his protector if not mole (or chinchilla). It's now an unsupervised and unaccountable body, disconnected from the rule of law of any nation (while willfully disregarding also international safeguards like ILO).



One comment said yesterday that Battistelli may attempt to stay forever at the throne, extracting more money from the Organisation (or what's left of it by then). "Trust Battistelli," the comment said, "to use all tricks (do not forget he seats on a yearly budget of 2 billions Euros with zero decent financial control...) to have the selection of a successor postponed until the end of times since he has NOTHING waiting for him in France where he is persona non grata

"He violated the EPC as he see pleased and the Admin Council delegations let him do this so those who expect him to go on 30th June 2018 dream with open eyes."

"To paraphrase the immortal words of playwright Sebastian Barry," continues another comment, "He will live forever ... like a f***ing vampire!"

Battistelli is already embarrassing Europe and fracturing the EU (see comments at The Register for instance). Europe as a whole is being ridiculed over behaviour of EPO management, or European politicians' reluctance to intervene. At the same time, articles such as these [1, 2] continue to be published, making Europe seem like the laughing stock of patent offices (more like 'SIPO Europe'). The BoA will look into it sooner or later (it seems inevitable), but it no longer enjoys any form of independence from the "vampire" (to use the above from Sebastian Barry).

There are several more press releases and financial news about firms associated with CRISPR; it's truly nauseating. What has the EPO sunk to? A lot of people don't know what CRISPR is about (the acronyms are a lot more confusing than helpful), but it's clearly what the Office must object to, for legal reasons as well as economic/practical reasons. Does the EPC turn into toilet paper in Battistelli's private deluxe shower room? Does the EPC matter at all anymore, now that the Office openly advocates software patents in Europe, as demonstrated twice in the past week alone [1, 2]?

Another thread, this one about BoA, speaks about the EPC as follows:

Essentially the question boils down to whether the EPC, in particular Article 72 thereof should be applied to assignments of the right to (refer to the) priority. Here we have currently two standards to consider.

1) The standard of T62/05, the restrictive standard requiring bilaterally executed assignments to demonstrate legal succession, applying Article 72 EPC by analogy to transfers of (national) prior rights, i.e. the problematic one.

2) A more reasonable standard set by decisions T160/13, T517/14 and T205/14. Both T517/14 and T205/14 determine the relevant law that governs the requirements for a valid transfer of the right of priority (to be the relevant national law; Reasons point 2.7 of T517/14, point 3.6 of T205/14) and explicitly dismiss the approach of T62/05 to apply the formal requirements set through Article 72 EPC.

The recent edition of the Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO (8th Ed. July 2016) also rather promotes the more reasonable approach of the later decisions to consider a transfer valid if it was in line with the national law of the parties concerned.

For EP filings, I recommend to have the inventors and the (later) assignee as joint applicants on the second filing (EP) and to record a change to the assignee as only applicant later on. If all parties are comfortable with this course of action, it saves a lot of possible trouble (identity of the parties, change of assignee's name, completeness of signatures on the assignment documents, etc.).


Forget about the EPC. Battistelli doesn't give a damn about the EPC and there's nobody to enforce the EPC anymore.

We don't think that the EPC matters any longer. Not as long as the "vampire" stays. He's so eager to make the UPC a reality that everything including human rights, the rule of law and so on goes down the toilet of the 10th floor. Has Battistelli gotten/secured himself a private lift and a limousine yet? If not, why not? If a bicycle tale is enough to 'sell' millions of Euros in bills for personal bodyguards, another elevator is just slush funds. Maybe some tale about someone farting in the elevator would do. What a laughing stock the EPO has become. I used to actually be proud of the EPO.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
[Video] Dr. Richard Stallman at Technické Univerzitě v Liberci
New/via libre-liberec.cz
 
The Term "AI" is Not New and What Today's Media Calls "AI" Isn't Even AI
Only the hype was new... and totally artificial
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: "Planetary Rings", Steam, and PSU Replacement
Links for the day
Defeating LLM Abuse (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) in the Area of Linux and GNU, Free Software, BSD, Security and So On
The aim is to get them to stop using LLMs to rip off other people's work
Links 18/10/2025: Russell Vought in Charge, US Government Leans to Russia Again
Links for the day
Credit Where It's Due: LinuxConfig.org Quit Doing LLM Slop, Back to Original and Real Articles
We waited for a while to say this, now it seems conclusive
Of Note: UbuntuPIT Aware of Critics of Slop, Adds Disclosure of Use of LLMs
We appreciate the honesty
Links 18/10/2025: Madagascar's President Flees and ICE Arrests Protest Comedian Robby Roadsteamer
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Near the European Patent Office (EPO) in 3 Days From Now
It'll be a good opportunity for patent examiners to listen, ask questions, and maybe greet him in person
From Scholar to Booster of Slop (and Even Slop in His Own Blog)
We're going to keep an eye on future posts of his
End of Vista 10 Also Good News for the BSDs
There are many news sites that recommend trying GNU/Linux this month
What's Wrong With Liking Parrots or Birds as Pets?
They'd demonise people for speaking about freedom, no matter what they say or do
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal (Slashdot Media), UbuntuPIT, and Google News (Noise)
egregious plagiarism
Links 17/10/2025: Better Answers Sought After Air Crashes, "China Fans Patriotic Sentiment as Trade War With U.S. Heats Up"
Links for the day
Security is Desirable, But Not When the Term Security is Misused to Imply Centralisation of "Trust" (Whose?)
'Security' is not an excuse for vendor lock-in
Links 17/10/2025: Fentanylware (CheeTok) Causing Problems, Japanese Government Blasts Slop
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation Seems to Have Turned Linux.com Not Only Into a Spamfarm But Also LLM Slopfarm
it's polluting the Web, even important domains like Linux.com, with spam and LLM slop
Links 17/10/2025: UK’s Largest Breach Penalty and Windows TCO Examples
Links for the day
Go Watch Video About Librephone, Get Microsoft Ads
Very ethical company...
Campaign of Defamation Against the People Who Built NixOS (and Are Now Pushed Out From Their Own Project)
We've already grown familiar with - and resistant to - such tactics
Links 17/10/2025: Nestlé Crisis, Canada Post Versus 'Gig Economy' [sic] and Vista 11 Breaks Itself
Links for the day
Tux Machines Has Helped Separate Opinions/Analysis From News
In September 2023 we decided to split things apart and not repeat links in both sites
Tux Machines Has Improved Navigation of GNU/Linux and BSD News
Some more 'wiring' work
What a World Would Look Like If Everyone Used Free Software Only
Freedom is what matters, not "Open".
The Media Helps Microsoft, Amazon and Others (GAFAM and Beyond) Lie About Mass Layoffs Amid Valuation Bubble
The media, instead of saying that there's an "AI bubble" crashing the economy might instead choose the narrative of "jobs replaced by AI"
Bad Tempered? You Might Have Just Given Away That You're Losing the Argument
Brett Wilson LLP is fully aware that it is being investigated
Richard Stallman (RMS) is a Target of Defamation Campaigns Because of His Views on Software (But Politics Are the Excuse for Defaming Him)
Here in this site we try to refrain from politics, except in Daily Links
End of Vista 10 and Rise of GNU/Linux as Client Side Operating System
It seems certain GNU/Linux will grow in popularity over time
Taking Stock of a Week's Worth of EPO Leaks
We remain committed to exposing EPO corruption as long as it keeps happening
Mathieu Parreaux claims FINMA knew since day one
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Calumny, Libel, Joerg Jaspert & debian-private untouchable cyberbullies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 16, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 16, 2025
Techrights Turns 19 in 3 Weeks
coverage of suppressed topics and protecting all sources/whistleblowers
International E-Waste Day Same Day as End of Vista 10
message from Akira Urushibata
The EPO's Central Staff Committee Presents Evidence That Staff Compensation Lowered While the Office Increases Income by Illegally Granting Invalid Patents
These people become millionaires by doing illegal things
Second or Third Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in October 2025, This Time Portugal
Those are just the ones we know about, there may be several more
'Help Net Security' (helpnetsecurity.com) May Have Become a Slopfarm as Well
Zeljka Zorz, Editor-in-Chief at Help Net Security, was reported to us
Gemini Links 17/10/2025: Rant About Network Solutions, Strange Anomaly on Lagrange
Links for the day
EPO Staff Representation Lacks Social Dialogue With Relevant Management, Controversial and Sometimes Illegal Policies Implemented Without Necessary Input
"In this open letter, the CSC requests that the President submits an agenda item in the next available General Consultative Committee (GCC) meeting on setting up regular meetings between the CSC and the higher management of DG1."
Links 16/10/2025: Political Leftovers and Gemini Protocol Links
Links for the day
Lies Need to be Corrected
the Court never invited us
Slopwatch: Guardian Digital (linuxsecurity.com), Slashdot, Google News, and More
Maybe one day, once the bubble pops completely, Google News will just outright delist all slopfarms
Lufthansa Modern Slavery, Joerg Jaspert (ganneff) & Debian NSB Softwareentwicklung charade
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/10/2025: US Starting More Trade Wars With China, CIA War on Venezuela
Links for the day
SUSE Blog is Still LLM Slop, Marketing Manager at SUSE Cannot Write
Would you buy from a company or seek support from a company that cannot even write (or fakes writing)?
Pretend You're Not Dead: Microsoft Spent Almost Two Decades Rebranding Things as "Cloud, Then "AI", Now "XBox" and "Quantum"
"AI" bubble pops, Microsoft harping about "quantum" already
IBM Allegedly Found New Tricks for Silent Layoffs: LPI, Then MIS (Not PIP)
Remember that "Red Hat layoffs" won't be reported after the bluewashing
Links 16/10/2025: Red Lines and Feeding of Microsoft Trolls
Links for the day
MIT as a Propaganda Mill of GAFAM, Paid by GAFAM
"the news" today
Links 16/10/2025: Lies Euphemised as ‘Dueling Versions of Reality’ and Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Resorts to Porn as No Business Model Was Found
Links for the day
The Local Staff Committee Munich (Representation of the EPO's Staff) Explains When Cluster of Pregnancies May Result in Reduced Pay
"...even one week of part-time working is sufficient to reduce the salary you perceive during the entirety of your maternity leave."
Another Black Eye for 'Secure Boot', Microsoft Media Tries to Blame "Linux"
It enables Microsoft to remotely control computers, even computers that don't run Windows and never had any Microsoft software installed
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, linuxsecurity.com, and Various Slopfarms in Google News Attacking "Linux"
A new survey of the Web said that the majority of the Web is now slop (that's being said in the news this week)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Links 16/10/2025: Increased Use of Social Control Media Surveillance in US, French Rage Over Pensions
Links for the day