Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO in 2019: Pushing (and Bribing) for Buzzwords to Bypass/Cheat the Law Whilst Abolishing the Court System

Turmoil in the litigation 'industry' and a complicit EPO that's pushing the litigation agenda at the expense of public interests

AI hype at EPO



Summary: The disturbing push for abstract patents on mathematics and algorithms continues unabated in Europe; scholars and journalists are being paid (EPO budget) to play along while judges and courts get muzzled and marginalised as they're the public's last line of defense from corporate greed

BOTH THE European Patent Office (EPO) and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) nowadays use buzzwords aplenty. The buzzwords are sometimes identical. The EPO intentionally misinterprets the EPC (courts have already said so), whereas the USPTO tries hard to dodge 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 (SCOTUS precedents). Isn't it incredible? Patent offices that we're constantly being told exist to serve the public ever so shamelessly break the law and harm the public.



"Patent offices that we’re constantly being told exist to serve the public ever so shamelessly break the law and harm the public."We no longer focus on the USPTO (a strategic choice, seeing that patents on software are still perishing there, especially in courts), so let's look at the latest from the EPO. The management of the EPO keeps calling fake patents on software "AI" and "4IR" (among other things). It tells applicants to use these misleading terms (a bunch of buzzwords promoted by EPO to advance illegal patents on algorithms under the guise of "novelty" or "miracles"). It gets even worse! The EPO literally paid the mainstream media for 'studies', in order to promote these buzzwords in relation to software patents in Europe. We covered this before. Some very big publishers in the UK and in Germany were among the recipients of this money. Good use of stakeholders' money? Bribing media and academicw? It is still being done by António Campinos (it actually started under Battistelli) and the EPO's Twitter account promotes this kind of bribery almost every single day (it did yesterday as well). Here is a tweet which was retweeted by the EPO this week: "Mr Gerard Owens of the European Patent Office @EPOorg giving the #standardays participants an insight of new trends in the European #patents system #4IR ..."

Yes, "4IR". Ask the EPO's 'economist' what that even means...

The EPO then tweeted: "The next opportunity to visit the EPO will be in Munich. If you want to know more about the EPO's approach to #artificialintelligence ..."

Yes, "AI". Nowadays a synonym for "computer" or "machine" or "algorithm" (provided it has some "logic" like if/else statements).

We've decided to add the above modified cartoon. It's not only us who are mocking the hype wave. When I write about it online I typically call it "HEY HI!" (AI). Because it's everywhere, ascribed even to things that have no statistics or anything sophisticated in them. Much of the same can be said about "IoT", "blockchain", "cloud", "smart" and so on...

The EPO has also just said: "We welcome your input. Submit your feedback on our goal of delivering high-quality products and services efficiently here..."

The EPO is not "delivering high-quality" anything. Neither "products" nor "services". Its own staff union, SUEPO, refuted this lie as recently as weeks ago. The EPO is very well aware of what's going on, yet it keeps misleading (lying to) the public about it. How long or how much longer can this carry on?

"How do you find out if your idea is novel? You do it by searching for prior art," the EPO wrote this week. Does the EPO give examiners sufficient time to search for prior art? No. And to make matters worse, the EPO actually blocks technical sites such as Techrights, artificially limiting examiners' ability to find/identify prior art. We have about 25,200 articles in Techrights and some of these are technical. Some shed light on old works in the areas of hardware and software. There are also like a million links in the blog and IRC logs (pointing to other sites).

Currently, the EPO is counting on being able to mask the collapse of patent quality. It's attacking the judges and the courts. That's an assault on justice itself. It's going to get really ugly.

Today's EPO (Team Campinos) is trying to bypass the courts themselves, sending the Boards of Appeal to 'exile' (as punishment and/or threat) and visiting ILO officials as if justice for staff isn't the goal, only some fake 'peace'. The judges internal to the EPO cannot function and World Intellectual Property Review has just cited their report, summarising with:

The number of cases settled by the Boards of Appeal at the European Patent Office increased by 22% last year, a new report shows.


Settlement. The new justice?

See the new comment by "Haar is not Munich" (approved last night by IP Kat, which censors some EPO criticism). It's about the 'exile' of the Boards of Appeal at the European Patent Organisation/Office:

It does not really help to start splitting hairs. The city of Munich and the Munich Landkreis are two different legal entities. They have their own, different administration units.

If you are resident in the Landkreis, and let's say you need a driving license or a passport, if you go to the city of Munich administrative unit, the so-called Kreisverwaltungsreferat, you will be send away. This is a reality which does not compare with London and its 32 boroughs.

Another comparison comes to light. At the well-known Oktoberfest, only breweries from Munich are allowed to sell their beer. If a brewery would relocate outside the boundaries of the city of Munich, i.e. in the Landkreis, they would be excluded from the Oktoberfest. Lots of breweries have moved partly from the centre of the city, but they always took great care not to move one inch over the boundary, exactly for this reason!

You may want to interpret the EPC, but nowhere in the mind of its fathers, had they ever envisaged to send part of the EPO outside the boundaries of the city of Munich. The decision was to locate the EPO next to the German Patent Office, in the so-called Isar building. There even used to be an underground passageway between the two buildings!

When the original EPO building became too small to take into account its growth, it has never been envisaged to lease or build anywhere else than within the boundaries of the city of Munich. You find nowadays the bulk of examiners in the vicinity of the main station. The mechanics principal directorate was temporarily relocated in a suburb, Neu-Perlach, but still within the boundaries of the city of Munich.

There would have been plenty of other buildings within the boundaries of Munich to relocate the Boards of Appeal, should the Isar building proved to be too small. It was pure retaliation to send the Boards of Appeal away to Haar, and in order to add insult to injury to claim that the move would increase the perception of their independence.


The EPO is meanwhile attempting to also replace the Boards of Appeal, basically putting them out of work. Illegal? Surely. Will the Constitutional folks realise this? The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in Germany still assesses a complaint about it; there are no signs of progress, but Team UPC can always make something up (as it has done for years). Yesterday we saw a chronically-lying UPC account pretending UPC is still on, citing a blog post by Team UPC (Bristows), adding: "[Asked about the future of the UPC] “According to Robin [Jacob] “it is still on at the moment. Unless it becomes impossible, it will happen.” Robin further stated “I predict you will have it on the program next year. It is this year or not at all.”

"We'll all be raptured before UPC happens," I replied to him jokingly. He's a Munich-based patent parasite, looking to profit from UPC litigation galore. Benjamin Henrion, who took note of the above, added this quote from Team UPC: "Klaus Grabinski (Federal Court of Justice) noted that he is “still confident that the UPC is going to happen.” He expects a decision about the complaint launched at the Federal Constitutional Court to be rendered this year..."

Now trace it back to the source. He spoke at an event of patent maximalists, telling the crowd what it wanted to hear. That's also citing a blog post by Team UPC (Bristows), relaying words from Alexander de Leeuw (Brinkhof). Here's the whole portion:

After congratulating Sir Robin Jacob (former Lord of Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal, London) on his birthday – and after Robin Jacob informed Hugh that a collection of judges is known as "a wisdom’ – Hugh asked him about the future of the UPC. According to Robin “it is still on at the moment. Unless it becomes impossible, it will happen.” Robin further stated “I predict you will have it on the program next year. It is this year or not at all.” During a later part of the session Klaus Grabinski (Federal Court of Justice) noted that he is “still confident that the UPC is going to happen.” He expects a decision about the complaint launched at the Federal Constitutional Court to be rendered this year.


Well, but the Federal Constitutional Court isn't his court. If there's true separation between courts, how would he know? The same sort of guesswork and false rumours that promised a decision by last Christmas? Probably. On another note, what the heck are judges doing in a corporations-funded think tank of patent extremists? It makes it looks like the courts are 'in bed' with industry and aren't working for the public. The previous chief judge of the Federal Circuit lost his job over it.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Next Month 'New Techrights' Turns Two
Next month, on the fourth week, it'll be 2 years since the migration
Online Safety Act Tries to Accomplish the Impossible
All I can say is, "good luck with that!"
Microsoft Windows "Market Share" Measured Around 2.7% in Iraq, Plunges to 6.5% in Saudi Arabia
Microsoft isn't on the agenda in Iraq
 
Brittany Day Entered LLM Slop Into LinuxSecurity.com and Something Hilarious Happened: The Site is "Exploited"
The brainless, effortless copypasta of "slop artists" shows its limits
Links 03/08/2025: Microsoft Exchange 0-day Exploited and Avoidable Nuclear Escalation
Links for the day
Definitely Not a Ponzi Scheme
Bitcoin v Microsoft
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a Billionaires' Lobby
Billionaires that control tech companies
Microsoft Borrows 3 Billion Dollars Per Month, a Company Truly Worth Trillions Would Not Do This
if Windows (and Office) "market share" fell from about 90% to barely 30%, how come Microsoft is now "valued" at 20 times more?
It's Even Worse Than Microsoft Lunduke Puts It; GNOME is SLAPPing Journalists
In our experience, GNOME is so malicious - some elements of it in particular - that it would launch multiple simultaneous SLAPP campaigns not only against journalists but also their spouses
GNU/Linux Adoption Reaches All-Time Highs in Chile, statCounter Indicates
This month marks 4 years since Vista 11 came out (as a fake "leak") and some surveys still measure its adoption at less than 40%
Slop Will Not Change the World
Some of us grow up sooner and leave that nonsense behind (or altogether avoid/skip it)
Gemini Links 03/08/2025: Nostalgia and TOFU
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 02, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 02, 2025
Google Throwing Out the Search Engine With the Bathwater is a Complete and Utter 'Shi---ow' as the Company Drowns in Debt, Layoffs, and Worse
The mainstream media almost never mentions GAFAM debt
Operating Systems' Statistics in New Zealand: GNU/Linux Up, Windows Down to All-Time Lows
Remember all this when the media says that Microsoft became like 10 times more valuable in those 15 years (from 400 billion to 4,000 billion in alleged "worth")
GNU/Linux Share in Sweden Has Doubled Since PewDiePie, A Swede, Recommended It
months ago he moved to GNU/Linux, then told others to consider doing the same
GNU/Linux Hits Record High in Portugal
GNU/Linux picking up in Portugal
Gemini Protocol is Not Dying, It's Growing
When people say things like "Gemini Protocol is dying" the data does not support them
GNU/Linux is Thriving This Summer
It is meanwhile acknowledged, even by Microsoft pushers, that many GNU/Linux PCs will get sabotaged next month
The End of Microsoft's Reign in Spain: Windows Falls to All-Time Lows in Spanish Web Traffic
Windows sank to new lows in Spain
The Bots Never Sleep: In The Weekends, Slopfarms Dominate Google News, Majority of Entries in Google Are Fake Articles About 'Linux'
Google is fast becoming an ocean of plagiarism; the same goes for Google News, which was supposed to have extra quality control
Russia's Yandex Has Caught Up With Bing in Terms of "Market Share"
Microsoft has been firing loads of Bing workers for over 2 years already
Canada: GNU/Linux Up to Records Highs, Windows Down to Record Lows
Microsoft already announcing some plans to shut down Vista 11
Gemini Links 02/08/2025: Transducers in Typed Racket and American ISPs
Links for the day
Links 02/08/2025: Microsoft Already Kills Vista 11 SE, Smartphone Sales Down, Truth Gets "You're Fired!" in the US
Links for the day
Video: The Rise of GNU/Linux and Free Software as Seen by RMS in 2004
DTP's founder argued that when Windows goes below 85% "market share", it'll lose its grip in the monopoly sense
Russia: GNU/Linux Rises to Highest Adoption Level Since Invasion of Ukraine
Moving up in the north
Microsoft's Latest Financial Report: We "Gained" 300 Million Dollars in "Goodwill" and Liabilities Grew by 32 Billion Dollars
Microsoft's debt has reached an all-time high
The Register US = The Register MS
Formerly The Register UK
Weeks After Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan Windows Falls to All-Time Lows
Only less than a month ago it was quietly revealed, based on laid-off staff, that Microsoft shut down in Pakistan
Criminal Behaviour is the Standard Operating Procedure at Microsoft
In the future I'll be able to tell how, when dealing with SLAPPs from Microsofters, their Microsoft services failed me and sometimes even blocked my contacts
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time Highs in Europe
many people will get fired for buying Microsoft
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux on the Client Desktop/Laptop, Based on Steam Survey
GNU/Linux rose to 2.89% in Steam
Links 02/08/2025: Blaugust 2025 and "Russia Declares Navalny Memoir ‘Extremist’"
Links for the day
Free Software is Not a Business Model
Go ahead, ask your friend, "how do you plan to monetise your children?"
When (Almost) One-Man Operations Are Disguised as Medium-Sized Companies
the CEO hides in the US (hiding from his ex-wives, 4 daughters from those wives, and Sirius staff that he defrauded)
LLM Slop Harms Real Literature, Real Web Sites, Real Journalism
LLM slop is a parasite and it'll run out of legitimate outputs
Upcoming OSI Scandal Series
The OSI is a rogue actor because it serves Microsoft in exchange for money
Slopwatch: The Issue Persists, But the Consensus in the Media Changes as Google Enrages It With LLM Plagiarism
We've meanwhile assessed the latest output from Linuxiac
Microsoft Actually in Trouble, Microsofters Unable to Obey Judges' Orders
For the second time in a week, Microsofters are unable to obey orders
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 01, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 01, 2025
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Links 02/08/2025: İstanbul Retail Inflation Reaches 42.48%, US FBI Opens Office in New Zealand
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/08/2025: ZFS, LLM Hype, and Fake Modules
Links for the day
Links 01/08/2025: Health, Conflict, and Attacks on Freedom of the Press
Links for the day
Microsoft's Debt Exploded by 15.4 Billion Dollars in the Past 9 Months Alone (Despite All the Layoffs)
As of minutes ago, at 6PM on a Friday, the numbers are made public
Meeting (Webchat) With Maria Arranz Gomez, Florian Grundies, Jürgen Janda and Konstantinos Kortsaris Confronts EPO Management About Breaking Promises and Crushing Workers
The lack of consistent messages suggests plans other than what's advertised and the lack of consultation (secrecy) likewise
Links 01/08/2025: "The Great British Firewall" and U.S. Army Sponsors Palantir
Links for the day
For Second Day in a Row, Top Story in The Register MS is "Microsoft Says"
The editor in chief exercises control over everybody else
LLMs as Attack Method Against Free Software and Programming
DDoS in "hey hi" (slop) clothing
Stability and Reliability, Backward Compatibility
I don't fancy relying on social control media as "sources"
What "the News" Looks Like in 2025
The "says" (or "sez") phenomenon
History Will Be Distorted, Sometimes Intentionally, Under the Guise of Intelligence (Manipulated/Curated Slop)
Militarised misinformation or military-grade chaff is a national security threat, even domestically
Financial Engineering Companies: A Company Worth 4 Trillion Dollars Would Not Borrow 100+ Billion Dollars at Interest Rates Like Today's
Many headlines perpetuate the lie Microsoft had just 2 waves of layoffs
Microsoft is Googlebombing "Linux" While Paying Former News Sites to Publish SPAM
How much lower will IDG sink?
Google as a 'Bullshit Generator' Disguised as Intelligence
It'll probably cause Google to get sued a lot, both by individuals and companies
As Expected, Google in the UK Now Experiments With Slop Instead of Web Search
At this point more people ought to stop and think: Does Google's search engine deserve trust?
The Data You Don't Give Away is Your Advantage
stop sharing data that does not need to be shared
Being Obedient or Doing the Right Thing
The world always changes for the better because of people who think "Outside the Box", not the cogs
Gemini Links 01/08/2025: Happy Hacking Keyboards and New Gemini Arrivals
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 31, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 31, 2025