Bonum Certa Men Certa

Élodie Bergot Meets Barbra Streisand: Here is the Letter the EPO's Bergot is Trying Really Hard to Hide/Censor

This is the CSC letter which triggered the threatening letter of Bergot

EPO HR paper



EPO HR paper



EPO HR paper



Summary: The brain drain at the EPO is a serious problem which harms not only staff but also EPO stakeholders (past and present); EPO management now fights a battle it cannot win, namely a war on truth itself

THE management of the EPO has sunk to a level of censorship never seen before.



Last night we wrote about the censorship of the EPO's staff representatives (yet again, this is at least the third time this year and we covered this pattern each time it happened). There's now some press coverage about that, namely:

The European Patent Office (EPO) has stopped the internal publication of a Central Staff Committee (CSC) article that criticises the office for alleged misconduct towards its staff.

In a letter to the chairman of the CSC Joachim Michels, director of human resources at the EPO Elodie Bergot, suggested that the CSC should “review the content of the proposed publication and delete or modify the parts that are offensive to individuals”.

According to the CSC publication: “Colleagues in human resources behaved ethically correctly in the past. Nowadays they are discouraged. Existing competence and constructive criticism are suppressed. Instead, networks of compliant followers are being built to ruthlessly implement policies that take no account of corporate social responsibility.”


The 'offensive' letter can be seen at the top. It's not unreasonable. Truth itself scares Bergot.

Bergot is in denial. She is lying to staff about the brain drain she is responsible for. It's worrying that there may soon be not much of an 'asset' in the Office; the asset was always the staff's experience and knowledge. That's what made the EPO so competitive and the price associated with European Patents a lot higher.

"How to lose your best staff in 5 points," as a reader told us today, seems relevant to all this. It's this article at LinkedIn (Microsoft). "It seems to me that Battistelli thoroughly followed the instructions of this guide on "how to get rid of your best staff"," our reader said.

Stakeholders too would walk away, in due course. Patent quality is slipping. Like we said a few weeks ago, Battistelli now openly promotes software patents and so does the Office, which yesterday wrote this tweet. "That is what EPO calls software patents now," I told them, "knowing that software patents are not permitted" (as if rules matter to Battistelli).

Speaking of LinkedIn (Microsoft), remember that Microsoft and the EPO are promoting software patents and based on this EPO tweet from yesterday, the EPO now uses Microsoft to manage EPO budget (sort of). "We publish all available tenders with the EPO on the following LinkedIn page," they wrote. "Follow us there to stay up to date with business opportunities with the EPO..."

To do so they need to give their personal details to Microsoft. What a sham. As if the EPO does not have its own site in which to advertise such information (rather than some for-profit site from another continent).

But worry not, there's a contigency in another continent. Bergot and Battistelli may be driving away staff and stakeholders, but they will always have Cambodia (with zero patents at the EPO) to fall back on. The latest EPO "news" item is all about Cambodia and last night the Cambodian press said

The validation agreement between the European Patent Organization and Cambodia, a pact envisioned to protect European patents in the kingdom, entered into force yesterday.

To mark the event, the ministry held a ceremony yesterday presided over by Cham Prasidh, the Minister of Industry and Handicraft.

Oum Sotha, spokesman at the ministry, said the accord is meant to protect the interests of EU investors in Cambodia.


Battistelli's sham "pact" in a county with zero European Patents (EPs) is more of a testament to the infamous French connections (Cambodia is a former French colony). How many EPO stakeholders even care about this? Can today's EPO charm anyone other than press and politicians that it is literally paying (at stakeholders' expense)?

Recent Techrights' Posts

The UEFI Restricted Boot 'Time Bomb' is About to Go Off in a Few Weeks
Garrett was the first person to face sanctions (like muting) in our IRC channels because of his abuse; worse yet, he hijacked other people's names and then locked them out of their own accounts
Nobody is "Replaced by AI", It's Just a Smokescreen for Jobs Being Eliminated by Lack of Money (Too Much Debt) and Offshoring
It's also why many make the jokes about the "I" in "AI" being "India" or "Indians"
The US Government is Now in the Business (Literally!) of Saving Microsoft and Intel
This means that President TACO/Cheeto now has greater financial incentive to also prop up Microsoft and Windows
 
Links 24/08/2025: Heatwaves Threaten Workers, Maldives Versus Press freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Digital Cameras and Printers
Links for the day
Links 24/08/2025: GAFAM Lie About Pollution and Slop's Carbon Footprint, The Guardian Says Slop ("Hey Hi") is a Bubble That Will Send Stock Markets Into a Freefall
Links for the day
80% of the Sponsored (Fake) Articles in The Register MS Are Promotions of Ponzi Schemes (Unethical Money), the Rest is Banned Chinese Business
Is that an ethical way to make money? No.
Should Currys PCWorld Start Voiding Warranties of Users of Vista 11?
If a person's laptop has a mechanical issue, should this person replace GNU/Linux with Vista 11 for the repair shop? Only to damage the SSD?
Newer is Not Always Better, and It's Possible That 'Peak' is the Past
People creating their own platforms means progress, whereas centralisation (like moving from blogs to social control media) is the opposite of progress
LLM Hype is Sowing Destruction: It Contributes to DDoS Attacks and Makes the Web Less Accessible (JavaScript "R U Human?" Tests)
If it was googlebot, it would be possible to argue that you'd at least then get referral traffic from Google Search. With LLMs, all you get is plagiarised.
Links 24/08/2025: New York Times Talks About Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Upgrading Debian and Mobile-indifferent Design
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 23, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 23, 2025
Richard Stallman's Talk in Buenos Aires Scheduled for 16 November 2025 (a Month After FSF Turns 40)
they've just updated their site and Stallman is listed first
Men Who Abuse Women Should Never Spend Over 3 Years of the UK High Court's Time
This demonstrates that we need a reform in the UK
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, WebProNews, LinuxSecurity, and the Serial Slopper
The bubble needs to burst, but even then the Web will be left with residues of these slopfarms
Links 23/08/2025: Science, War, and Important Win for the British Media Against SLAPPers Who Abuse Women
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Back to Oldschool
Links for the day
"Deserved Victory" for "Women That Suffered"
"GNM defended its reporting as being both true and in the public interest and in a judgment on Friday"
Links 23/08/2025: onmicrosoft.com as Spam Cannon, The Cheeto-Intel Deal Is Official
Links for the day
Wired Complained About LLM Slop Only Days Before It Got Caught Doing That Itself
Never throw stones in a glass house
IBM "Value" Down 14.16% in a Month, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Discussed 12 Days Ago
"IBM is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs get extinct when the don't keep up."
We're Seeing More Countries Where Windows Isn't Even in Second Place Anymore (Third or Worse)
In a way, Microsoft can barely even hold onto second place anymore
Microsoft Workers on Canonical's Payroll
If you want something that's sort of like Ubuntu but is not controlled by Canonical, then look into Linux Mint, Debian, or LMDE
GNU/Linux Climbs to 4% in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone isn't a very rich country (to say the least), but it's better off than some of its neighbours
The SLAPPS Run Out of Oxygen Because They're Abuse of Process
At the end of the day we plan to publish over 1,000 articles explaining what happened
The Register MS Gets Paid by the Employer of the Previous Editor in Chief to Promote the "AI" Ponzi Scheme, Which Does Considerable Damage to the Web and to Online Journalists
The Register MS can 'badmouth' slop all it wants; it gets paid to inflate this bubble. It's actively participating in it.
Soon It'll be Autumn, Time to Repair Things
Where they don't charge an arm and a leg
Doing Our Best to Cover Software Patents When the Mainstream Media Does Not
Even the FSF has its limits
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: August Questions and Network Solutions
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 22, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 22, 2025
Microsoft Has Issues in Guyana
It's not just Guyana
About 25% of the "Linux" News/Results in Google News Today Are LLM Slop, Almost 20% From the Same Rogue Operators of Slopfarms
Google, which tries to market itself as an LLM giant, apparently fails to understand what's wrong with it
Harassing People on Holiday
There are "no-go areas"; but that assumes all laws firms have ethical standards
The Great, Undeniable Value of Paper Trail, Not Purely Digital Systems
Suppose you have nothing but bits on someone else's computer and "word of mouth"...
The Company Behind Ars Technica, Reddit and Wired Caught Publishing LLM Slop (It Also Admits It Now)
Condé Nast busted
Links 22/08/2025: Lagrange 1.18.8, Wired Magazine and Business Insider Caught Resorting to LLM Slop
Links for the day
This Saturday It's Gonna be 3.5 Years* Since Russia Invaded Ukraine. No Microsoft Protests Against Microsoft Having Provided Russia With Services.
Companies do not have consistent policies and enforcement of "corporate values" is somewhat of an egg salad
Slopwatch: Sites Gone Rogue, Google Promoting Lies, and DDoS Attacks by Plagiarism Giants
Charlatans and frauds engage in a war against artistic industries, mislabeling plagiarism as "AI"
Links 22/08/2025: Cisco Layoffs, LA Times Says "AI Hype is Fading Fast"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/08/2025: K for Kentucky and Caddy Versus LLM Slopbots
Links for the day
The "End Software Patents" Initiative of the FSF Explains "WHY [to] ABOLISH SOFTWARE PATENTS"
We hope to cover patent-related issues more and more as the big anniversary of the FSF approaches
Freenode Sniffing
The grown-ups left the building
The Only Thing Worse Than Misinformation is Misinformation Sold to Everyone as "Intelligence"
Misplaced trust is worse than none at all
The Register MS Now Openly Admits LLM Hype Does Damage, But It's Also Being Paid to Participate in the LLM Hype (With Paid 'Articles' and 'Webcasts' for Paying Advertisers)
The Register MS gets paid to do this
End of the Smartphone Era? No.
Maybe the media should focus on producing accurate, factual news
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 21, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 21, 2025
Enshittification of Airports, Airlines, and Airplanes
If people are willing to tolerate standard declines and enshittification (nowadays sold as "pivot to AI" or "replaced by AI" or "AI layoffs") they will pay for it some other way
Latest Is Not Greatest: The Case of "Foldable" Tech
don't be shamed into abandoning old things just because the "fashion industry" of Apple and Samsung tells you to
Airlines and Their Tricks That Only Work in the 'Digital Age'
People sceptical of the direction technology has taken are not "Luddites"
Open Source Initiative (OSI), Which Became a Propaganda Front of Microsoft and "Hey Hi" (Hype, Misnomer), Wants You to Forget These Scandals
A lot of these issues won't be set aside until there's a resolution