Bonum Certa Men Certa

Ingve Stjerna's Complaint Casts a Shadow Over the Unconstitutional Unified Patent Court (UPC)

Unconstitutional not only in Germany

Summary: The Unitary Patent is un-Constitutional, according to a lawyer who used to work for UPC-friendly firms but can now say the truth about this abomination

THE ENGLISH [PDF] (and also French [PDF]) translation of the first/seminal article about the UPC complainant in Germany was published on Monday by SUEPO, the EPO's staff union.



This report is quite important. It's the basis for a potential series of filings for consideration by the courts (we are assessing eligibility to do this). Here is the translation as HTML:

06.09.2017

UPC: Düsseldorf Lawyer Stjerna lodged complaint under Constitutional Law



There has been speculation for a long time regarding who initiated the proceedings at the end of March before the Federal Constitutional Court against the UPC agreement. JUVE has now learned from sources in the political world that the complainant is Düsseldorf lawyer Dr. Ingve Stjerna.

Ingve Stjerna

At the end of August the Federal Constitutional Court called on a number of the people involved as well as third parties to give their views. These included, as well as the Federal Government, also the Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV, the German Law Society), and Eplaw, the European Patent Lawyers Association. Both bodies of lawyers played a considerable part in the process of bringing the UPC into being.

When approached by JUVE, Stjerna had this to say: “The concession to the EPC arrangement is unconstitutional, and only the Federal Constitutional Court can put a stop to it. I hope this succeeds, because otherwise it will be the users in particular who suffer. They need a more legally secure system, and they need it urgently.”

It was only in mid-August that the grounds for the complaint were made public for the first time. Stjerna is contending that, with the UPC agreement, the Federal Republic is surrendering more sovereign rights than is compatible with the need for democracy (Art. 38 Para. 1 Clause 1 of the Basic Law (GG). In detail, he is complaining, among other issues, that the Bundestag passed the ratification laws by a simple majority. Stjerna maintains, however, that a two-thirds majority is needed. He also insists that the UPC agreement is not compatible with European law.

The question of the voting procedure in the Bundestag is regarded by UPC backers as of little consequence, because in March the Bundestag political fractions passed the UPC laws unanimously. Conversely, Karlsruhe could have called on the European High Court with regard to compatibility with Union law. In this case, there is a threat that there will be a considerable delay to the start of the UPC.

What is still unclear, however, is whether the Federal constitutional judges will allow the complaint at all. The wide range of opinions being gathered is a sign to the experts that the judges in Karlsruhe are looking at Stjerna’s complaint very intensely, and will allow it. As far as anyone knows, the judges are setting a very tight deadline on their reaction, such that an initial decision about approval is still possible this year. If the complaints are rejected, then the UPC could potentially get going next year – provided that Great Britain ratifies the UPC agreement this autumn.

Speculations proved right

Over the past few months there has repeatedly been speculation that the person behind the complaint was Stjerna, not least due to the publications by the UPC-sceptical lawyer from Düsseldorf. As early as July he had been posting detailed documents on his Website, among them minutes of meetings and questions put to the political fractions in Bundestag regarding the way they voted.

And as far back as 2012, in an interview with JUVE, he was criticising the political decision-making process with regard to the EU Patent and the new Patent Court had not been handled transparently enough for the public on a European level. He had repeatedly complained about the undemocratic behaviour by the legislature, and so developed into the main critic of the UPC altogether, even though at the time he had been working for the very UPC-friendly law firm of Simmons & Simmons. Before that he was with the patent legal practices of Bird & Bird and Reimann Osterrieth Köhler Haft (now Hoyng ROKH Monegier) in Düsseldorf.

Today Stjerna works as an independent attorney in Düsseldorf. Among colleagues, who recommend him as an experienced expert in the patent field, he also finds fellow-feeling and praise for his critical stand. “He’s putting his finger right on the spot, and he’s saying what a lot of people wouldn’t dare to say, bearing in mind the people they have as clients”, says one Munich patent attorney, for example. With regard to the new Patent Court, the German patent scene is regarded as split. For a long time, not all the attorneys have been fans of the UPC.

Hungary raising the issue too

In the meantime it has also become known that the Hungarian government has also called upon the constitutional court in Budapest for an expert opinion as to whether the UPC laws are compatible with the Hungarian constitution. This could delay the integration of the agreement into national law. This would have no effect on the start of the UPC, however, because in order to be binding it would only need France, Germany, and Great Britain to ratify the agreement. Ten other EU states are needed. In total, 14 states have already concurred with the agreement.

As soon as Germany and Great Britain have ratified the UPC agreement, the court can get going. The UPC should actually already have started in April, and a European-wide Patent Court should have been established, with a uniform protective right, the EU Patent. But Brexit, and then the constitutional complaint in March, have delayed the launch indefinitely.

(Mathieu Klos, Christina Schulze)


Techrights will soon publish more information about this UPC complaint. It's probably the beginning of a big fight between Team UPC/Team Battistelli and the rest of society, i.e. hundreds of millions of Europeans (only few of them are aware of what's going on behind their backs and behind closed doors).

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
 
After Shutting Down Studios, Divisions, Applications (e.g. Skype) Microsoft is Also Shutting Down 'Apps'
Cuts all around as layoffs persist this month, Microsoft tries to get many people to resign, and debt skyrockets
Most of Geminispace Can Probably Fit on a CD-ROM or a DVD (the Textual Part)
If one excludes very large capsules and ones that contain non-textual contenty
Eventually UEFI 'Secure Boot' Will be Dropped (Users Will Demand Its Removal and Boycott Its Pushers)
we expect OEMs will just listen to users
The Register MS: We Know Slop is a Bubble and Mindless Hype, But We Get Paid to Participate
Call out the culprits
There Are Probably Over a Million Pages in Geminispace
there are two many limitations which merit a mention when it comes to assessing magnitude
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025