"Software patents are hindering innovation. Patents should be granted when there is real innovation and real investment in innovation." —Niklas Zennström, CEO, Skype

TO insiders at the European Patent Office (EPO), especially examiners, times are volatile and the future rather uncertain. For patent lawyers in the US, the future of litigation is at peril because of 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 (which the USPTO is unable to change; the courts decide). The US has moved further away from patent maximalism, whereas the Battistelli-appointed (he pretty much rigged the whole process) António Campinos swallows patent maximalism like a shark swallows small fish. This is why software patents have lost their legitimacy in the US (especially the courts), whereas the EPO keeps handing out software patents in Europe. This is a problem.

"They're admitting it's about maths; the EPO puts that under "SDV" and treats it like an exciting new trend which deserves a lot of patents in spite of them being algorithms."Citing the latest nonsense from Watchtroll, Benjamin Henrion said of the EPO's management: "At the EPO, we prefer the term "computer implemented inventions" over "software patents" because our law clearly states that software as such cannot be patented...

"Now they have "hey hi" (AI), "SDV", "4IR", "blockchains", "ICT", "Industry 4.0" and lots lots more," I told him. The list keeps expanding. Yesterday we saw law firms dropping tips on how to get illegal, fake patents on software (e.g. "Connected autonomous vehicles — how to patent technologies underpinned by maths" by UDL Intellectual Property's Terence Broderick in Lexology). They're admitting it's about maths; the EPO puts that under "SDV" and treats is like an exciting new trend which deserves a lot of patents in spite of them being algorithms.

"We don't suppose that Campinos and Battistelli care about the law; they worked very hard to ensure a judge does not become the President of the EPO and both just do photo ops with all sorts of questionable people in countries known for autocratic tendencies."We've also just noticed the patent trolls' propaganda mill, IAM, promoting illegal patents using buzzwords and hype waves. Here they go again: "Bitcoin has once again attracted attention because of its recent revival. As the earliest application of blockchain technology, it is facing an uncertain future due to its wild fluctuations; however, other blockchain applications are emerging quietly. Some of them could potentially have profound effects on people's lives."

Those are algorithms, but IAM promotes patents in this domain, as does the EPO (which admits openly that those are software patents).

We don't suppose that Campinos and Battistelli care about the law; they worked very hard to ensure a judge does not become the President of the EPO and both just do photo ops with all sorts of questionable people in countries known for autocratic tendencies. Campinos has just found someone can speak the same language (a former colony of Portugal) and did this puff piece (warning: epo.org link) which said: "The European Patent Office (EPO) and the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil (INPI) have agreed to work towards enhancing their co-operation. EPO President António Campinos and Claudio Vilar Furtado, President of INPI, signed a Joint Statement in this direction following a bi-lateral consultation that formed part of a series of meetings between the EPO and IP offices from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. They also signed an agreement renewing the INPI's access to EPOQUE Net, the EPO's dedicated patent searching tool that contains more than 1.3 billion database entries."

"Sometimes one has to wonder if proper journalism is dead; if so, it is clear who benefits from this death."Watch this copy-paste job by Ben Wodecki (IPPro Magazine). This isn't journalism but churnalism. Then again, that same site is doing plenty of churnalism whenever it doesn't seek input from actual EPO staff (other than PR people). This particular new example is not news. It’s marketing spam ever so typical when it comes to such sites. It makes them look rather foolish. The software patenting boosters from Bardehle Pagenberg hired someone and IPPro Magazine makes that sound like noteworthy news. Sometimes one has to wonder if proper journalism is dead; if so, it is clear who benefits from this death. ⬆