THERE IS some separation of powers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which habitually gets sued. There's no immunity. But in Europe it's more or less a joke. A bunch of people with connections to royal families are controlling the judges, who have openly complained that they don't exercise freedom and independence. The judges too, in effect, are pressured to become "yes men" of the monarch. In Europe it is a former banker with questionable political pedigree.

"The judges too, in effect, are pressured to become "yes men" of the monarch."Patents on life? Go for it!

"It is now official," REGIMBEAU wrote in Lexology this week, "the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), Antnio Campinos, has done what he said he would do..."

They can't even spell the name of this Frenchman (António Campinos) right. Moreover, their title started with "Breaking News :" (bad grammar all over the place) and ended with an exclamation point. It’s not breaking news. It’s old news. The EPO is trying to brush aside the EU and instead rely on terrified judges (under its complete control) to greenlight patents on life/nature and software patents in Europe. SUEPO, as it reveals in its recent papers (like the one above), is concerned. It is doing a good job exposing the damage done to quality of patents at the European Patent Office (EPO), but where are the stakeholders? What about the public? Why is almost nobody complaining (as much as about the notorious copyright directive)? Is it primarily due to lack of public awareness? Is apathy caused by poor understanding of patent law? Europe will pay for this. A lot. ⬆