Image courtesy: campact.de
The European Patent Office (EPO) barely says anything about the UPC. It used to. A lot. But it rarely mentions it anymore. The closest thing to a mention was today's tweet that said: "Read more about the impact of #patent protection on trade & FDI in innovative industries in this study..."
"The EPO not only corrupts the media but also academia; and guess who's paying for all this..."EPO staff is said to be prepared for 'chopping' while the management corrupts the press and universities. It's not cheap. It also pays something like 5 million euros for events that last just one afternoon (that alone is a year's salary of about 50 examiners). As the EPO implicitly acknowledges (by mention of two Twitter accounts), it paid money to LSE (UK) and the University of Colorado Boulder (US) for UPC propaganda. Sadly for them, however, the Unitary Patent is dead regardless. How dead? Check out what happened today (it's in German by the way). The 'unitary' patent regime is over. It is dead. Team UPC will not admit this, obviously.
We have spent a lot of energy and almost 10 years to help end it, so this is a relief. We expect press coverage in German and then in English quite soon. Will the press be heavily influenced by the spin of Team UPC, as usual?
"We expect press coverage in German and then in English quite soon.""UPCtracker" (a UPC booster, as even his username serves to suggest) wrote: "BREAKING: The complaint against the German UPC ratification law made it on the list of cases to be decided by the BVerfG. No details available yet (see linked list, Justice Prof Huber, # 11)."
Richard Pinckney from Bristows stopped short of sober analysis of it. No analysis at all. Here's what he wrote: "The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) has today published here a list of cases which it intends to decide in 2018. The complaint against the legislation enabling Germany to ratify the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC), case reference 2 BvR 739/17, is included in cases to be decided by the Second Senate, with Justice Huber as rapporteur."
Fair enough. Not much spin there for a change.
"Previously JUVE said it would likely take years, not even a single year, to decide on. There's no deadline."Christopher Weber (Team UPC) said that the "German Constitutional Court plans to decide within 2018 on #UPC and EPC complaints..."
IAM responded: "But when in 2018? If it is relatively early in the year and the complaint is rejected, there is an outside chance of German and UK UPC ratification before Brexit. Later on in the year and whatever the decision the UPC is dead in the water."
Weber said: "Your guess is as good as mine. It's No. 11 on a list of 26 for the 2nd Senate and No. 7 of 9 for reporting Judge Prof. Dr. Huber."
"The very fact that IAM is pessimistic says a lot because IAM was actually paid to promote the UPC."Previously JUVE said it would likely take years, not even a single year, to decide on. There's no deadline.
I told IAM that UPC "has been dead in the water since a year ago, except for those who were asleep..."
The very fact that IAM is pessimistic says a lot because IAM was actually paid to promote the UPC. It's like a lobbying group disguised as a publisher. Earlier today IAM published a self-promotional piece (that's their business model) for Carpmaels & Ransford LLP in which the firm spoke of "Patent Box". This sponsored 'article' actually trotted out an instrument of corporate tax evasion. To quote: "A wider awareness of the benefits of the Patent Box (a reduction in corporation tax available on the profits from patented inventions in the UK) may help to boost the number of patent applications filed."
UPC is a scam. Patent Box is a scam. Earlier today we received new material about the EPO and INPI; that scam too will soon be covered here. ⬆