Bonum Certa Men Certa

Growing Suspicions of Planned Obsolescence at the European Patent Office

UPC (patent) trolling and EPO (budget) looting in transit

Planned Obsolescence
Reference: Planned Obsolescence (the monopoly the EPO has on granting patent monopolies is part of the problem, with UPC as the new 'product' to be sold when the EPO becomes obsolete)



Summary: The EPO is being rendered obsolete by Battistelli, but the eventual vocation remains uncertain, with some suspecting that Battistelli is willing to altogether destroy patent examination and swap that with a lot of litigation, preferably within a framework that's designed to benefit large (deep-pocketed) multinational corporations

WE GENERALLY do not disclose who we speak to (nationality, gender, affiliation) and how many people we speak to regarding the EPO as that would only help the horrific, Nazi era-esque Investigative Unit (I.U.) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], which seems to be the only thing that is growing at the EPO.



"Some don't believe that there is a future to the EPO and Battistelli as an "agent of change" (so-called 'reforms') is more like an angel of death."People whom we speak to have been concerned about the EPO for quite some time. Some don't believe that there is a future to the EPO and Battistelli as an "agent of change" (so-called 'reforms') is more like an angel of death. If his goal is total destruction of the Office and the Organisation too, then he is doing a terrific job. Bravo, Bennie! But such destruction would in no way serve Europe's interests; instead, it would devastate the continent's economy for decades to come.

In the last post about the EPO from pseudonym "Merpel" (several different people use this name) it was acknowledged that things had gotten worse. There was a glimmer of optimism over intervention, but as one who covered this closely for nearly 3 years I know that the biggest battle -- if battle is a suitable word in this context -- is still ahead. Information is crucial in this battle because the EPO lies so routinely that it's embarrassing to Europe. It's the standard I expect when traveling somewhere like Turkey (not that I would travel there any longer).

"Information is crucial in this battle because the EPO lies so routinely that it's embarrassing to Europe"As EPO insiders have already explained, the writings are on the wall and layoffs can be expected as early as next year. Not a few layoffs here and there but a massive avalanche of redundancies. What would then happen to examiners with their highly restrictive contracts? What would happen to EPs? Who would be left to properly examine applications rather than package and dispatch them like hot crème patissière? While calling these 'products' and arrival of applications 'demand' (as if these are invoiced in some ordinary business or production line)?

"You bet the EPO is heading for the closure of its expertise as we know it," the following comment noted as the weekend kicked in. We thought it's worth reproducing below because it looks like an insider wrote it:

Running out of work Just follow the management decisions since the last 5 years and try to explain what they are up to: - remove almost all extra-activities, projects from examiners. - remove all time budget for medical visits. - reduce holidays. - pressure increase on sick workers. - reduce time budget for classification, second examiner and chairman duties. - remove the time budget for industry visits. - reduce the time budget for learning and development. - limiting the part-time workers by forbidding it or penalising the worker. - forbidding all sort of leaves, even unpaid leaves. - recruiting in large numbers creating an over-capacity. all of these to increase the number of hours man-power, and, - pushing into a higher productivity, results in: increased number of man-power and increased productivity equals a great increase of Production. Now, after this tremendous call for the "war front line" , when we have almost all man-power devoted to the core-business, what does the management decide? - the management decided to refund 75% of the fee for examination if the applicant withdraws the request. the management is even considering refunding 100% of the fee. - let me remind all that we are running out of files/work! Can anyone find an explanation? Would a car factory wanting to stay in business refund the money for ordered cars? Do you believe that the stakeholders of this factory would be happy to return the money even though the factory C.E.O. argued that there was/is a backlog? Wouldn't you as a stakeholder investigate what's happening? Wouldn't a worker question what the hell is going on? ... and if something is really "going on" wouldn't the C.E.O. do anything possible to quiet all contradicting voices? You bet the EPO is heading for the closure of its expertise as we know it. Now, if examiners are digging their own grave, isn't the whole IP world just washing their hands? perhaps in a couple of years the EPO won't be around and there won't be Search reports and examinations by this office. My question is: does this suit the european industry? Is it fine with the attorneys with the EQE? Are the countries happy with this? You see, examiners do digg their own graves, but we are so used to make a good job and wish to keep always the inventors happy, that if you want to give as a hand, just stand quiet and watch us go down. Just food for a though!


This provocative long comment attracted quite a few responses, including one that asked, is the "EPO on the path to become the EU WIPO?"

Running out of work

you write : My question is: does this suit the european industry? Is it fine with the attorneys with the EQE? Are the countries happy with this?

well the answer is obviously a YES since they are all aware and do nothing

The EPO on the path to become the EU WIPO ?


Maybe SIPO Europe is a better analogy. Or another INPI, where examination is barely in the lexicon. It's almost mortifying to see what the EPO has become. As a software professional I worry that the EPO is granting software patents by the thousands each year and when/if the EPO goes under, the trolls will cross the Atlantic 'bridge' and come knocking on our doors, with or without a UPC-like regime. It is a real possibility -- one that we have warned about for a decade.

"As EPO insiders have already explained, the writings are on the wall and layoffs can be expected as early as next year."Another new comment was posted to that effect. "Running out of work" is the heading/signature and it says that "the title on this post aptly says: "it's curtain time. The new structure that replaces Minnoye will sweep the floor for the big change which is planned for 2018."

Staff representatives have already explained that it's against the EPC, but who is going to enforce the EPC? Certainly not this chinchilla of a man.

"As a software professional I worry that the EPO is granting software patents by the thousands each year and when/if the EPO goes under, the trolls will cross the Atlantic 'bridge' and come knocking on our doors, with or without a UPC-like regime."Well, the latest comments suggest that several EPO workers certainly know that EPO is collapsing and believe it's all intentional, or simply planned. "That is precisely what I told 5 years ago," an EPO insider wrote, "but back then nobody believed me..."

"Weekend call," one of the commenters joked about Battistelli's extravagant habitat by saying: "Yesterday security was called in for the 10th floor Isar, apparently a pair of BB's shoes went missing. Were the royal suits burglared?"

Well, security was sent to chase away a bailiff, so the above sounds almost believable.

"This gross kind of abuse can happen because nobody is left to supervise Battistelli and his clique."Commenting on Battistelli's latest money grab, this latest comment jokes about embrace of a new 'calender' -- one with which to help Battistelli and his cronies loot the EPO even faster. "Since this month of March," the commenter joked, "the EPO introduced a new (and inventive) Calendar. No, no! EPO does not follow the Gregorian Calendar , and the Julian Calendar is old news; The EPO implemented the Benotian Calendar, this is one calendar with 14 months and it goes like this: Janvier, Fevrier, Mars, Benier, Batisttil, Avril, Mai, Juin....., corresponds to 2 extra salaries, but Benier and Batisttil applies only for certain managers and it only works in French."

This gross kind of abuse can happen because nobody is left to supervise Battistelli and his clique. 0% of stakeholders support Battistelli, yet somehow -- miraculously -- he keeps his job.

Speaking to some EPO insiders, we must conclude that at least some of them seem to believe that Battistelli won't necessarily leave his job but instead he will bury the office under him (in his seventies), or sink with the ship that he is actively sinking. It's quite scary a thought. It's like a movie plot about a Mafia. The EPO is embroiled in many legal disputes and in many of them the EPO simply disregards the rulings of judges (ILO for example), then lies about it.

"Speaking to some EPO insiders, we must conclude that at least some of them seem to believe that Battistelli won't necessarily leave his job but instead he will bury the office under him (in his seventies), or sink with the ship that he is actively sinking.""I have spoken with my lawyer about the issue of going public," one reader once told us. "In principle he agrees we might go public, but he begged to avoid it now right in these days: we actually start to get [to] actively pushing on them and they are going defensive. So when things are to go public we would like to have it going big -- an embarrassment that they cannot patch up."

That's just one case of many we are aware of. We have a lot of documents and sooner or later all that 'dirty laundry' of the EPO is bound to be smelled. But will there be any EPO left by then? Something to actually salvage?

Quite a few people out there wish to go public with their cases, but seeing how Battistelli gets away with anything, they are reluctant. "Doing it now," one person once told us, even "in a still rather limited section of the public, will surely irritate them but it will push EPO into some kind of (hysteric) reaction, irrational and typically self-indulgent yet enough to mess about and give us additional trouble, something we don't need right now."

"We have a lot of documents and sooner or later all that 'dirty laundry' of the EPO is bound to be smelled."It's no secret that Battistelli holds as ransom/hostage people's pensions, so even employees who are unjustly dismissed are afraid to talk. That's the strategy of tyrants, along with collective accountability, collective punishment, harassment of spouses (yes, Battistelli's office has done that too), and so much more.

The reason protections (such as ILO) exist in the first place is prevention of such scenarios, which allow a tyrant to simply 'take over' (entryism or coup) in a destructive and irreversible fashion. But these protections too are being abolished, ignored, etc.

One day, perhaps after the regime of Battistelli is toppled, a lot of shocking stories are likely to come out. Given the nature of the regime at the moment (like the Battle of Berlin) we reluctantly agree that the time is not right for publishing any of the personal accounts (unless anonymity can be preserved). I keep my complete notes on various cases for some form of publication in the future, as soon as it seems safe enough a thing to do.

"Is Battistelli willing to totally crash the EPO in order to make the UPC a reality? We certainly think so."Many people think that big changes may be coming to the EPO (like dismissals of managements), but UPC progress -- if any is made -- may help determine the outcome. If Battistelli fails to deliver the UPC this year (even with the UK excluded, necessitating a massive rewrite), then his big business buddies (almost like bosses) will be upset and he will have lost popularity in these circles too. The only reason we believe Battistelli can survive right now is a bunch of low-profile billionaires who view Battistelli as the man to forcibly feed Europe the UPC, granting them all sorts of powers to bully their competitors (something like a 'micro' ISDS, wherein companies are collectively sued instead of states).

Is Battistelli willing to totally crash the EPO in order to make the UPC a reality? We certainly think so. The goal is to 'manufacture' as many patents as possible while preparing for mass litigation, fermenting a war on Europe from the outside (including from China, which already does this strategically in East Texas).

Recent Techrights' Posts

Pushers of systemd Rewrite History (Richard Stallman Said UNIX "Was Portable and Seemed Fairly Clean")
Unlike systemd
Trajectory of The Register: From News Site/s Into "B2B"... and Into Microsoft Salespeople
Something isn't right at The Register
Doing My Share to Tackle Online Slop and SPAM
Trying my best to 'fix' the Web
Slopwatch: Fakes, FUD, Duplicates, and Charlatans Galore
The Web as we once know it is collapsing. Some opportunists try to replace it with low-quality slop.
The Register UK Seems to Have Become American and Management is Changing (Microsofter as Editor in Chief)
The Register 'UK' is now controlled by the Directions on Microsoft guy
 
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: DAW Mixer Chains and Simple Software
Links for the day
The Register MS is Inventing or Giving Air Time to New Conspiracy Theories so as to Distort the Narrative As High-Profile Agencies Fall Prey to Microsoft Holes
But the problem is holes, i.e. Microsoft making bad products; the problem is Microsoft
When You Tell You It's Free, Does That Mean No Charges (If So, Who's Paying and Why)?
there's "no free lunch"
Most Editors at The Register Are American, Including the Editor in Chief, a Decade-Long Microsoft Stenographer (Writing Prose to Sell Microsoft)
It's not easy to tell where the site is based (we tried) because it's hiding behind ClownFlare and CrimeFlare hasn't been well lately
"New Techrights" Soon Turns 2 (A Few Days Before the FSF Turns 40)
We have a lot more to say about LLM bots
When Silence Says So Much
Garrett, a 'secure' boot pusher, will need to defend himself in the UK High Court
The Register in Trouble
There is not much that can be done at this point
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 26, 2025
Misinformation in Social Control Media
Social control media passes around all sorts of tropes
Slopwatch: Fake Linux 'Articles' and Slopfarms With "Linux" in Their Names/Domains
throwing bots at "Linux" to make some fake articles
Links 26/07/2025: Amazon Shutdown in China, Russian Economy Slows
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: History of Time (1988) and Gemini Games
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2025: 50 Percent Tariffs in Amazon, Dying Intel Offloads Network and Edge Group (NEX)
Links for the day
Blaming Programming Languages for Users' and Developers' Bad Practices
That's like blaming cars for drivers who crash into things
Many People Still Read Techrights Because It Says the Truth, Produces Evidence, and Does Not Self-Censor
Unlike so many other sites
The Register is Desperate for Money, According to The Register
I decided to check how they're doing as a business
Microsoft Finally Finds a Use Case for Slop?
Create low-quality chaff to shift the media's attention?
Microsoft Windows Lost 400 Million Users in a Few Years, Why Does The Register Double Down on Windows With New US Editor?
days ago they hired a new US editor
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 25, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 25, 2025
For Libel Reform One Must First Bring (or Raise) Awareness to the Issues and Their Magnitude
I myself know, from personal experience
Links 26/07/2025: Rationed Meals in the US and TikTok Repels Investments (Too Toxic)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: "Bloody Google" and New People in Geminispace
Links for the day
Response to Solderpunk (Father of Gemini Protocol) About the Gemini Community
Solderpunk responds to non-sequitur
HTML and the Web Used to be Something a Child Could Learn, "Modern" Web is a Puzzle of Frameworks, Bloat, and Worse
When the Web was more like Gemini Protocol
New US Editor in The Register is 84% Microsoft/Windows Booster
It'll be worrying if it carries on like this
Links 25/07/2025: Slop Blunders and China Has Code of Conduct for Lawmakers in HK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Some Books and Babies and Capital
Links for the day
Links 25/07/2025: NOAA Cuts Endanger Lives, "Europe's Self Inflicted Cloud Crisis"
Links for the day
They Try to Lecture Us on Ethics
They even removed "master" from Microsoft GitHub
The Future of the Web is One Rendering Engine or 'Flavours' of Chrome
The future of the Web does not look bright at all
Best Sites Are Not Optimised for Any Browser, They Work Equally Well With All of Them
Red Hat (IBM) is making rubbish sites
YouTube is a Spamfarm, Slopfarm, and Clickfarm (a Lot of Numbers There Are Fake)
Those who don't fake look unpopular and unimportant
We Don't Do JavaScript and Pages Are Small
Thankfully Gemini Protocol has nothing like JavaScript
'Tech' is Not Technology
Some people use terms like 'Old Tech'
IBM's Debt Rose by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in the Past 6 Months Alone
The "hey hi" circus is coming to an end
Yes, Master
Gaslighting by actual racists
Microsoft Bribes and Buys Politicians to Tell Europe What to Do About Free Software (Which It's Attacking)
Microsoft: we speak for the thing that we are attacking! Follow the money...
Making Backups Quickly and Reliably
Backups are imperative, more so in an age of uncertainty, unpredictable weather, and worsening standards (quality of products going down while prices go up)
Techrights Investigation: Estimating the Point in Time LinuxIac Turned Into LLM Slop (Part of the Time)
Bobby Borisov got lazy
10th Month, Ten Weeks From Now, at Ten AM
In Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 24, 2025
A Nadella Memo Distracts From Microsoft's Cheapening Of the Workforce
Right now the "MSM" (mainstream media) is flooded/overwhelmed by garbage pieces that relay lies for Nadella
Vanishing Faces of GNU/Linux
Free software projects do not depend on any one person or company to still exist
Microsoft Says It Lost 400 Million Windows Users, Now It's Waiting for GNU/Linux to Stop Booting on 'Old' PCs
When it comes to Windows, Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and statements it made earlier this summer suggest it lost 400 million Windows users
Slopwatch: LinuxTechLab, linuxsecurity.com, LinuxIac, and More
Also: The Register's Microsoft agenda (new editor)
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Gemtext Aware Titan Editor and Gemini Protocol Comeback
Links for the day