Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Trolls in Europe and the Looming Collapse of the UPC

Summary: Imminent election in the UK, as well as several other factors, may threaten to throw the UPC into even greater uncertainty just when patent trolls are beginning to flock to Europe with the intention of capitalising on it

THE EPO is out of control, whereas the US patent system is gradually being reformed by the Supreme Courts (with two more important decisions last month).



“EPO and its patent court will not have that corrective.”
      --Jan Wildeboer‏
As Red Hat's Jan Wildeboer‏ put it the other day, "let's thank $DEITY that #SCOTUS puts shit in its place. EPO and its patent court will not have that corrective."

In Germany, software development professionals such as Wildeboer‏ are growingly concerned about an upsurge of software patents and patent trolls that exploit these. Trolls are coming to Europe, including to London (we wrote about that some week/months ago when the trolls got their way in court) and IAM, funded by trolls and located somewhere in the London area, is satisfied about that. It even wrote a confirmatory article about it earlier this week.

"In Germany, software development professionals such as Wildeboer‏ are growingly concerned about an upsurge of software patents and patent trolls that exploit these."Dr. Luke McDonagh, citing a New York Times opinion piece, notes: "Another unwelcome stat: in 2016 EPO granted 5 times as many #patents to German companies as to British & twice as many to French companies..."

Bristows, the London-based liars (or lawyers) who are perpetually promoting patent trolls in Europe (and of course UPC too, as these go hand in hand), maintain their advocacy of UPC. Germany cannot ratify the UPC unless the UK does (as there would be no point; we covered this before) and Francisco Moreno added: "Countersignature by German gov. (Merkel or a German Minister) is the next step. One step beyond?"

"Germany cannot ratify the UPC unless the UK does..."Well, his source is Bristows, which can't help lying (false predictions all the time). It's this 'gem' from Gemma Barrett, who after the mirage of Germany going ahead proceeds to the next lobbying effort (remember that Bristows staff are deleting messages of those who refute them). There was also Alan Johnson with this puff piece quoting UPC allies like Bieńkowska [1, 2, 3].

Notice how they dodge discussion about the role of the UK, or lack thereof. So did the ToryGraph some days ago when it published this lobbying piece (in the form of an 'article' or 'report').

"It's a front group for just a few giants, just like the US Chamber of Commerce, and it lies or misleads by omission."The headline is very misleading because British businesses oppose the UPC, yet the article pretends that the British Chambers of Commerce can somehow represent "EU businesses" or even UK-based businesses. It's a front group for just a few giants, just like the US Chamber of Commerce, and it lies or misleads by omission. "Not sure if you saw that one," one reader told us about this, but "the only time the ECJ is mentioned is in the comments."

Here are some excerpts:

Britain should join the EU’s patents union and stay in after Brexit, businesses on both sides of the Channel have demanded, arguing that the Unitary Patent system is helpful regardless of Britain’s status in or out of the EU.

[...]

The British Chambers of Commerce and its EU counterpart Eurochambres have written to the UK’s business secretary Greg Clark to encourage him to push ahead with the plan.


IAM, a UPC booster, correctly noted in relation to this article that "The UK government's growing anti-EU rhetoric could make joining the UPC politically impossible after the election."

"Be careful of misleading, agenda-driven 'blogs' or 'reports' from front groups of corporations and self-serving firms like Bristows."Moreover, it's beginning to look like Tories (with Jo Johnson) might lose the election next week. The people involved may already be on their way out.

Be careful of misleading, agenda-driven 'blogs' or 'reports' from front groups of corporations and self-serving firms like Bristows. We're quite amazed at what they manage to get away with. They try to shape some sort of alternative 'reality' where UPC is both inevitable and desirable by all.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
 
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025