Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO is Demolishing European Law With Terms Like ICT, CII, AI, and 4IR

Running over the law

Battistelli with Scud



Summary: The EPO continues granting patents in defiance of parliamentary directives, the European Patent Convention (EPC) and common sense; it's like the EPO openly and arrogantly spits on the very laws which govern it

THE EPO's promotion of software patents in Europe has become pretty blatant and obvious. At the same time the USPTO accepts that such patents lack merit and rejects many of them (we shall cover that separately). Software patents in Europe do exist, but they're not supposed to exist. Openly promoting them, moreover, is another new low for the EPO.



"Software patents in Europe do exist, but they're not supposed to exist. Openly promoting them, moreover, is another new low for the EPO."So-called 'AI' is just software, so the EPO basically organises (and people attend) the lobbying event of nefarious entities like pressure group (e.g. EPI). They push hard for software patenting (illegal in Europe) and reactions include:

I'm attending the conference 'Patenting Artificial Intelligence' organized by the European Patent Office @EPOorg in Munich, as member of the @patentepi EPI commettee EPPC-ICT pic.twitter.com/HnlR2g4zDx


The EPO was retweeting things like these yesterday. Also this one: "Participating @EPOorg Conference on Patenting Artificial Intelligence. Good discussions on what is patentable in Europe and on how to apply patents."

More photos shared by the EPO: ""Patenting Artificial Intelligence" at European Patent Office @EPOorg pic.twitter.com/AZzuXFWBVx"

"So-called 'AI' is just software, so the EPO basically organises (and people attend) the lobbying event of nefarious entities like pressure group (e.g. EPI)."There's more from that same account, e.g. here: ""Patenting Artificial Intelligence" Challenges and opportunities for #patent Offices @OEPM_es @EPOorg pic.twitter.com/KKXKF5XCRl"

The slides tell the general 'spiel' and the EPO itself wrote about it: "Clare Dillon speaking at EPO's Patenting AI conference: " #Patents and the EPO have a huge role to play in developing and accelerating the economic viability of #ArtificialIntelligence " pic.twitter.com/BRHQQt0ceJ"

Dillon was later mentioned in the official 'press release' from the EPO (warning: epo.org link), which name-dropped "4th industrial revolution" and "ICT", i.e. the usual. To quote:

The morning session focused on the current situation of patenting AI, with three keynote speeches, chaired by US patent attorney Rob Sterne. Technology "evangelist" Clare Dillon set the scene by outlining the latest trends and scope of the current "AI explosion" which is not restricted to the ICT industry but "impacts the scale and speed of innovation in every area". Citing the main elements needed to make AI a success, she said: "Patents and the EPO have a huge role to play in developing and accelerating the economic viability of AI."


Grant Philpott is, quite frankly as usual, mentioned quite a lot. He's one of the loudest pushers for software patents and he also threatened to sue me. Here's a tweet just about him: ""Patenting Artificial Intelligence" #patents Grant Philpott from @EPOorg : "Machine learning is already being used at EPO but it's not the subject of this meeting". pic.twitter.com/GmfbgLvoiW"

"Grant Philpott is, quite frankly as usual, mentioned quite a lot. He's one of the loudest pushers for software patents and he also threatened to sue me."Surely he knows that it's all about software. I wrote Machine Learning algorithms 15 years ago.

Here is the EPO pimping Casado: "Vice President Casado opened the EPO's 1st conference on patenting #AI: "The aim of today's conference is to have an open exchange of views around the patenting of AI inventions." pic.twitter.com/Y2sN9MK4iC"

These all come with photos by the way. Here's another: "Over 300 IP experts gathering in Munich today for the EPO's 1st conference on #ArtificialIntelligence http://bit.ly/epoAI2018 pic.twitter.com/tLh91gu5xF"

"Surely he knows that it's all about software. I wrote Machine Learning algorithms 15 years ago."Judging by the slides, they barely even hide their agenda. It's just another one of those 'orgasmic' events wherein a bunch of patent maximalists celebrate software patents and come up with tricks for 'dressing them up' (e.g. "ICT", "AI", "4IR"). We suppose that managers like Casado and Philpott later demand -- in a top-down fashion -- that examiners grant patents if these buzzwords get used. This is institutional abuse.

Speaking of this whole "AI" hype, IP Watch has just said "AI software". That was yesterday. They're basically part of the problem, selectively calling algorithms "AI" when it suits them to essentially help patenting of virtually every algorithm (just say it's "intelligent").

"The EPO has been doing this blatant promotion of software patents (even while calling these "software patents") for quite some time."Earlier this week spoke to an old IBM employee, who worked there back when everything was done manually (when the EPO only got off the ground). "AI" is nothing new; it's as old as computing. But this stupid hype keeps resurfacing everywhere this year; it's like a disease now, and it's exploited in various ways, including yesterday by Managing IP. We already wrote many articles about this whole "AI" hype, usually in relation to the US. Now it has officially come to Europe. The EPO basically tells people that if they pretend some "clever" algorithm is "intelligent" (as in "artificial intelligence"), then it's a patentable "invention". Who will enforce the EPC and the directive/s? The EPO has been doing this blatant promotion of software patents (even while calling these "software patents") for quite some time.

Recent Techrights' Posts

GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in Europe (at 6%)
many in Europe chose to explore something else, something freedom-respecting
Techrights' Statement on Code of Censorship (CoC) and Kent Overstreet: This Was the Real Purpose of Censorship Agreements All Along
Bombing people is OK (if you sponsor the key organisations), opposing bombings is not (a CoC in a nutshell)
 
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part VIII
By Dr. Andy Farnell
Patents Against Energy Sources That Reduce Pollution
this EV space (not just charging) is a patent mine field and it has long been that way
DARPA’s Information Innovation Office, Howard Shrobe, Values Compartmentalisation But Loses the Opportunity to Promote GNU/Linux and BSDs
All in all, he misses an opportunity
Wayland is an Alternative to X
the alternative to X (as in Twitter) isn't social control media but something like IRC
BetaNews, Desperate for Clicks, is Pushing Donald Trump Spam Created by LLMs (Slop)
Big clap to Brian Fagioli for stuffing a "tech" site with Trump spam (not the first time he uses LLMs to do this)
[Meme] Social Control Media Bliss
"My tree is bigger than yours"
Links 24/11/2024: More IMF Bailouts and Net Client Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/11/2024: Being a Student and Digital Downsizing
Links for the day
[Meme] The Most Liberal Company
"Insurrection? What insurrection?"
apple.com Traffic Down Over 7%, Says One Spyware Firm; Apple's Liabilities Increased Over 6% to $308,030,000,000
Apple is also about 120 billion dollars in debt
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 23, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, November 23, 2024
[Meme] GAFAMfox
Mozilla Firefox in a state of extreme distress
Google Can Kill Mozilla Any Time It Wants
That gives Google far too much power over its rival... There are already many sites that refuse to work with Firefox or explicitly say Firefox isn't supported
Free (as in Freedom) Software Helps Tackle the Software Liability Issue, It Lets Users Exercise Greater Control Over Programs
Microsofters have been trying to ban or exclude Free software
In the US, Patent Laws Are Up for Sale
This problem is a lot bigger than just patents
ESET Finds Rootkits, Does Not Explain How They Get Installed, Media Says It Means "Previously Unknown Linux Backdoors" (Useful Distraction From CALEA and CALEA2)
FUD watch
Techdirt Loses Its Objectivity in Pursuit of Money
The more concerning aspects are coverage of GAFAM and Microsoft in particular
Links 23/11/2024: Press Sold to Vultures, New LLM Blunders
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: "Relationship with Oneself" and Yretek.com is Back
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: "Real World" Cracked and UK Online Safety Act is Law
Links for the day
Links 23/11/2024: Celebrating Proprietary Bluesky (False Choice, Same Issues) and Software Patents Squashed
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 22, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, November 22, 2024
Gemini Links 23/11/2024: 150 Day Streak in Duolingo and ICBMs
Links for the day
Links 22/11/2024: Dynamic Pricing Practice and Monopoly Abuses
Links for the day
Topics We Lacked Time to Cover
Due to a Microsoft event (an annual malware fest for lobbying and marketing purposes) there was also a lot of Microsoft propaganda
Microsofters Try to Defund the Free Software Foundation (by Attacking Its Founder This Week) and They Tell People to Instead Give Money to Microsoft Front Groups
Microsoft people try to outspend their critics and harass them
[Meme] EPO for the Kids' Future (or Lack of It)
Patents can last two decades and grow with (or catch up with) the kids
EPO Education: Workers Resort to Legal Actions (Many Cases) Against the Administration
At the moment the casualties of EPO corruption include the EPO's own staff
Gemini Links 22/11/2024: ChromeOS, Search Engines, Regular Expressions
Links for the day
This Month is the 11th Month of This Year With Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (So Far It's Happening Every Month This Year, More Announced Hours Ago)
Now they even admit it
Links 22/11/2024: Software Patents Squashed, Russia Starts Using ICBMs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 21, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, November 21, 2024