Bonum Certa Men Certa

Mainstream Media in Germany Covers Battistelli's Corruption at the EPO Just as He Leaves

"Corruption" isn't a word many people use anymore, simply for fear of SLAPP (not because evidence is insufficient)

Wirtschaftswoche



Summary: Mainstream German media writes about Battistelli's scandals that nobody seems eager or wishes to discuss, let alone bring up; law-centric German media covers the now-famous open letter from German law firms (Grünecker, Hoffmann Eitle, Maiwald, and Vossius & Partner)

IN ONLY about a week António Campinos becomes the new President of the EPO. He was quoted again in the media (in English for a change) just before the weekend in relation to his job as the EU-IPO's chief.

"Belatedly, mainstream media in Germany covers not only Battistelli's passage of EPO money to his other employer but also the financial scandals (potential corruption as well) -- a subject that we dedicated about half a dozen long posts to."Campinos will never hold Battistelli accountable for anything (he's indebted to him), but will others hold Battistelli accountable? We certainly hope so.

If nobody associated with the Office (EPO) can do anything to Battistelli because of his immunity (we're not legal professionals, but it's possible that his immunity -- at least for what he did as President -- extends beyond his term), then someone in Paris can perhaps do something because Battistelli has been doing some profoundly dodgy things; he and his political allies may benefit from it (financially and more), but there are opposition parties still; we wrote about a dozen articles about this issue alone, only to see the corporate media totally ignoring it. Well... until now. Belatedly, mainstream media1 in Germany covers not only Battistelli's passage of EPO money to his other employer but also the financial scandals (potential corruption as well) -- a subject that we dedicated about half a dozen long posts to. As an insider put it yesterday:

There is an article in today's edition of Wirtschaftswoche about the EPO, discussing the scandalous investment guidelines and that President Battistelli celebrated the inventor of the year in Saint Germain, in a theatre he manages privately.

Our Munich and Berlin readers may want to get their own copy.


The technical harm of what Battistelli has done, as Grünecker, Hoffmann Eitle, Maiwald, and Vossius & Partner recently explained in an open letter, was covered by German media, quoting Dr. Thorsten Bausch, who wrote a great deal about Battistelli's financial 'instrumentation'. Yesterday SUEPO's translation [PDF] was published and we've produced an analogous HTML version of it below:

Open letter: Patent attorneys see quality problems at the EPO



Four patent attorney firms are becoming concerned about the quality of the issue of patents by the European Patent Office (EPO), prompting them to send an open letter addressed to current President Benoît Battistelli and his designated successor António Campinos. The letter originates from attorneys at Grünecker, Hoffmann Eitle, Maiwald, and Vossius & Partner. The accusation that the efficiency strategy adopted by the Office is leading to poorer quality patents has been voiced for a long time. Now the attorneys are demanding action.

Other recipients of the letter are the Chair of the EPO Administrative Council Dr. Christoph Ernst and EPO Quality Management Director Niclas Morey.

The four authors of the letter are among the largest patent attorney firms in Europe. By their own estimations, they are behind more than 9,500 of the 166,000 applications made annually to the EPO. Their clients include many of the big international names in the pharmaceutical and mobile communications industries, but overall the four firms cover a very broad technical spectrum indeed.

“For a number of years we have been viewing with growing concern the developments at the European Patent Office,” the attorneys write. In their view, the new incentive scheme for the examination of patent applications in particular, as well as the internal instructions issued, appear to reward a rapid conclusion to examination procedures, leading to higher productivity at the Office.

The number of patent applications rose over the past year by 3.9 percent to around 166,000. Hoffmann Eitle & Co. do indeed welcome the “increased average speed of the procedures”, but they also point out that the exaggerated drive towards higher productivity has led to problems with patent examinations, in particular to poorer quality with the procedures. They criticise the fact that the patent examiners have too little time for individual examinations, and that, set against this, the fees imposed by the Office are too high by international comparison.

They also express concern about the issue that this is leading to defective patents, and thereby to distortion of competition within the economic area of the 38 EPO states. As well as that, the proprietors could no longer enforce their patents in their full extent against competitors. And ultimately they fear dwindling attraction for the EPO among their clients, which in turn will have effects on the European patent system.

Indirectly, the four firms are calling for a reduction in the fees in the light of the surplus which the EPO achieves. Since the system is self-financing, there is no particular need for a further increase.

The attorneys recommend that the EPO management adopt a new incentive scheme for the patent examiners which will guarantee the quality of searches and examination, a reputation for which the EPO was well known before the most recent reforms.

So far, no reaction

The EPO has so far made no comment. At the 2017 annual balance sheet conference, Battistelli declared that the EPO had boosted productivity. As well as the internal reforms, the increased number of patent examiners, to just on 4,400, had contributed to this. A recently published assessment of his 10 years in office pointed out that production had risen by 36 percent in the last three years, with the number of patent decisions still outstanding down by 27 percent.

Sustained criticism

Over and over again in the past the criticism has been voiced from all quarters in the patent attorney sector, but also from industry in general, that the efficiency strategy of the Office has led to deterioration in quality. The Office and its representatives have always rejected this. “There have never been any demonstrable figures to support this”, the Chair of the EPO Administrative Council Dr. Christoph Ernst insisted in 2017 in an interview with JUVE.

In a non-representative survey by the JUVE editorial board at the beginning of the year, 59 percent of the patent experts from industry said they were satisfied with the quality of the issues of patents by the EP. 31 percent were not.

In the JUVE Patent Survey 2018, industry representatives also formulated specific demands for the new President Campinos. Around 21 percent want Campinos to ensure “more thorough searches instead of rapid issue procedures”. Conversely, only 6 percent favoured the fast application approach.

Although Battistelli is the first person addressed by the letter from the attorneys, the open letter is to be understood as aimed especially at Campinos and Administrative Council leader Ernst. Battistelli is going at the end of the month, after eight years at the Office. His period of power has led to some very mixed views by patent experts throughout Europe. On the one hand, the Frenchman has introduced a series of important reforms, which according to sources among EPO member states in particular have made the Office fit for the future. On the other, in the view of many patent experts from the patent attorney sector and industry in general, this has led to a decline in quality in the issue of patents, bitter disputes with some groups of staff members and with the main staff union, SUEPO, as well as serious encroachments on the independence of the EPO’s own courts. The Boards of Appeal have become largely detached from the Office over the past year, and now govern themselves, although their budget continues to be subject to the President of the Office.

Battistelli’s departure was not a determinant factor in the timing of the publication of the letter to the EPO management, according to one of the initiators, Dr. Thorsten Bausch of Hoffmann Eitle. The letter represents a broad consensus within the four firms. The signatories have been in contact with other firms, asking for their input. (Mathieu Klos)


Klos has been covering these matters for a very long time; to maintain 'access' to EPO officials (like Ernst or Battistelli) he was always quite gently worded, mincing his own words perhaps even when the blunt truth was right there. As for IP Kat? It covered none of these latest developments; that silence says all one needs to know about today's IP Kat. It's very different from the 'old' IP Kat -- the one predating the departure of IP Kat's founder.

"Stakeholders now say openly what SUEPO has been saying and warning about for years."What can possibly fix the EPO right now? "Save the EPO from destruction" had this idea yesterday, saying "it must be hoped that among the several priorities, President Campinos will want to redress the situation for ALL abusively sanctioned staff representatives (and among them many SUEPO Officials) since they were chased being opponents of Battistelli and sanctioned after extravagant procedures.

"How else do you want to send a positive signal to both EPO workforce (whose representative were attacked brutally) and the world (since the EPO reputation has a brutal employer is now spread around the globe).

"This would send a positive signal. Mr Campinos has to act – and be seen to act – to restore Social Dialogue AND the Rule of Law..."

Don't expect this to happen but it would be nice (and just) if it did happen. Stakeholders now say openly what SUEPO has been saying and warning about for years. _______ 1 "In the period of 2001-2002 Wirtschaftswoche had a circulation of 187,000 copies," Wikipedia says. "For the first quarter of 2005 the circulation of the magazine was 183,156 copies, making it the best-selling weekly business publication in Germany."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman About to Give More Talks in Europe, Some Confirmed Already
In Göteborg
Justice for Wildlife
animals cannot speak to humans who hate animals
GNU Was Right 42+ Years Ago
Since then the abusive, user-hostile technology has spread like mushrooms
Almost Half of the FSFE's Money (the Fake 'FSF', Misusing the Brand) Comes From Vodafone
That money always comes with strings, even if they're invisible to most of us
 
Links 30/09/2025: Death Sentences, Internet Censorship, and Internet Shutdowns
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Social Control Media and ROOPHLOCH
Links for the day
Links 30/09/2025: CERN in "Have I Been Pwned" and More Windows TCO Blunders
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical is Selling Mass Surveillance and Back Doors as "Security for Ubuntu"
If you are looking for a GNU/Linux distro to use, just remember that Microsoft has Ubuntu in the bag
Cowboys Gonna Be Cowboys (on the Internet, They're Not a New Problem)
Boys will be boys
Cowboys of the "Left" and Cowboys of the "Right"
Don't believe the lie that this is some "leftist" thing
When Codes of Conduct Serve to Protect Criminals From Much-Deserved Scrutiny
CoCs are typically unfit for purpose because enforcement lacks context and suitable understanding of the full background (the "full story")
It Took the Open Source Initiative (OSI) 4+ Years to Address the 'Data Breach' or Data Protection Violation Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) in March 2025
We may never know the dialogue or its nature
Even Microsoft's Biggest Boosters (and Media Operatives) Are Turning Against Microsoft
Expect many more layoffs before the fake "results" next month
Old Isn't Always Inadequate
How many gadgets manufactured today (in 2025) will still work in 2075?
The Monkey Business of Rust People
Compatibility won't matter
Microsoft Lunduke Spreads Deliberate Lies to Incite Online Mobs
Has he lost his reading comprehension skills?
Our 19th Birthday (in Just Over 5 Weeks From Now)
We meanwhile have ongoing, solid plans to cover patent-related issues when the FSF turns 40
British GNU/Linux Distro FydeOS Tops DistroWatch
That seems like a decent site and decent effort to keep an eye on
We'll Soon Have 75,000 GemText Pages
avoid many perils of today's Web
Google Used Free Software to Build a Monopoly. Now Google Kicks Free Software to the Curb
The "G" in "Google" does not stand for GNU. It never did. It's just another greedy company.
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Retro Hardware, Federated Fragmentation, and Nex Server Written in C
Links for the day
4 More Days Till "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users"
We are now just 4 days away from the rare anniversary
Two Months After Merging to Hide GitHub Losses Microsoft is Doing It Again (This Time Windows)
Merging those two together is not a sign of strength but a tightening of budget
Speculations About the Next Large Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs
the mass layoffs are likely to happen on week 3 or 4 in October
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 29, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 29, 2025
Links 29/09/2025: Opposition to Surveillance Giant Google and Conflicts Worldwide (Moldova Sides With EU)
Links for the day
Why the EPO Never Managed to Silence Us (After Over a Decade of Trying)
Firms like Mishcon de Reya and Brett Wilson LLP contribute to a bad stigma, staining the entire occupation
Links 29/09/2025: Datacenter Fires and "Too Much Internet Use Is Changing Teenage Brains"
Links for the day
Almost a Couple of Years After Microsoft Hijacked the Name 'Sudo' (to Describe Unrelated Windows Stuff) Microsoft Canonical Breaks Sudo in Ubuntu
These are vandals in "goodwill" or "security" clothing
Does the Good Law Project (GLP) Know the Director of Brett Wilson LLP Deems It OK to Endorse Violent Actions Against Trans People?
We were miffed to see this morning's report
Names Are Not Unique IDs and the UK Government's "Digital ID System" Would be a Nightmare
Digital surveillance, "apps", and worse (all the time)
What is Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader?
A news reader that uses OPML files and parses RSS feeds
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 in 5 Days
We should be talking about software freedom, not "Open Source"
It Feels Like Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Tacitly Admitted That It Defamed Me
It arguably admitted many other things by refusing to deny or address them (altogether)
Stefano Maffulli's Front Page Mentions "AI" 11 Times
They're more focused on slop (plagiarism) than sharing or Software Freedom
CMS Rot
With "modern" (bloated) content management systems (CMSs) there is a long chain of dependencies
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 28, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 28, 2025
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About Linux 6.17 and Microsoft Meddling in Linux Development
today's Slopwatch is short because the picks are from Sunday
Gemini Links 29/09/2025: The Labor Wars and Retro
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Windows TCO, Security Breaches, and Deutsche Bahn Woes
Links for the day
Datacentres Aren't Reliable for Backups
bad practices cause immeasurable levels of permanent data losses each and every day
Links 28/09/2025: Science, Censorship, and Security Incidents/Advisories
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/09/2025: Golem and Cybertrucks
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Moldova Elections, LLM Slop Failing Again to Accomplish Anything
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Slop Does More Harm, Newly Released Epstein Estate Documents
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Going Private' (the Dictator's Media Allies) and UK Mirror Lays Off More Journalists
Links for the day
A Year Ago, Only a Few Weeks After We Countersued the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI', Our Webhost Came Under Attack
At the end of September 2024 our webhost received several threats
If Only Someone Warned Us About This...
Ubuntu is committing suicide with Rusty code
The Register - Kissing the hand that feeds it
hired to manage the publication several people connected to Microsoft, including the new Editor in Chief
The Myths of "Linux" and of "Intelligence"
As noted this morning
People Remembered GNU's Birthday (Which Helps Remind People It All Started in 1983, Not 1991)
Have the FSF and GNU earned the respect they deserve?
Slopwatch: Ponzi Schemes Promoted by Media Companies, Linux Journal Turning Its 30-Year Reputation to Dust, and Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli Plagiarising, As Usual
This bubble will end up very badly
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 27, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 27, 2025