Summary: Sources that are very reliable say that Patrick Corcoran is coming back to work, however it's now clear when and how long for

"I hear house ban is lifted", a source told us, but "I do not know when how who."

We wrote nearly 10 articles about it last week (see the chronological EPO index, which now exceeds 2,000 articles).

Will his contract also be renewed or will he be back at the job only until Christmas (i.e. less than a fortnight)?

This is becoming a political battle. Last night (Sunday evening) the Irish Times published this followup article that said:

An Irish judge at the European Patent Organisation (EPO) who was accused by his employers of bringing weapons and Nazi memorabilia to work and defaming the organisation’s president has written to the Irish government urging them to assist in his case.

[...]

On Sunday, Mr Corcoran’s solicitor said he denies the accusations and that they were based on “assumptions and assertions, but not on evidence”.

[...]

He said Mr Battistelli acted with speed to suspend him from work in December 2014 when the allegations first came to light. Mr Corcoran said he hoped he would act with similar speed to implement the judgment reversing this action.

He wrote that he hopes the “lamentable charade and travesty of due process which has been going on inside the EPO in the present case is finally brought to its long overdue end”.

Mr Corcoran’s central complaint before the ILO was that Mr Battistelli played a key role in the decision to suspend him and to later continue the suspension. He argued that Mr Battistelli was not a “neutral and disinterested party” because he was the subject of the alleged defamatory attacks.

We need feedback and information from insiders. Will the Judge be back to work (at Haar) today? Is he already back? Has Dr. Ernst assured renewal of his contract? If not, he should. That is, if Ernst is interesting in ever restoring the EPO's reputation -- however monumental a task it can be... ⬆