THE YEAR has barely started for the European Patent Office (EPO). No press releases, only rather mindless and unoriginal 'tweets', no press articles...
"Patents aren't a physical thing but a monopoly, granted temporarily in exchange for publication/disclosure."This does not mean that the EPO is no longer mentioned anywhere. It's just that nothing at all is mentioned about internal affairs and scandals. They pretend it's all "business as usual". Even IP Kat does that. AIPPI's and patent maximalists' event has just been promoted by Bristows (one of the IP Kat editors now, after the 'great shuffle') and by other patent zealots. There are also some press releases such as "Cellmid (ASX:CDY) midkine patents granted in the U.S. and Europe" and "Cellect Biotechnology Strengthens IP Portfolio; Receives "Intention to Grant" Patents from European and Israeli Patent Offices" [1] ('Intention to Grant').
There's also this article (self-promotional) [2] about "Protecting AI at the EPO – Two dimensions of technical character" and it's about getting software patents in Europe by disguising them or their true nature with buzzwords.
This is the kind of thing we've been seeing lately; there's also this widely-circulated press release [3,4] about EPs. It uses lots of misleading propaganda terms such as “property” and “assets”; they’re lying even to themselves. Patents aren't a physical thing but a monopoly, granted temporarily in exchange for publication/disclosure.
Is there not a single journalist in Europe interested in EPO scandals? Have they all been muzzled? The EPO is Europe's second-largest institution. ⬆
Related/contextual items from the news:
Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (Nasdaq: APOP), a developer of innovative technology which enables the functional selection of stem cells, received official communication from two jurisdictions, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Israeli Intellectual Property Office, regarding their intention to grant European Patent Application No. 14851547.1 and Israeli Patent Application No. 244982, respectively. These patent applications include a cell-based product and a method of manufacturing a stem and progenitor cell population with enhanced activity by short incubation with an apoptotic ligand.
Many users of the European patent system rarely use the appeals procedure. However, a recent revision of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal ("the RoP") that comes into effect on 1 January 2020 has implications which extend beyond the appeals procedure into examination and opposition proceedings, and therefore is of importance to all users.
[...]
The European patent office (EPO) is keen to let applicants know that it is open for business when it comes to protecting inventions around AI. This may at first sight seem surprising: much of AI can be considered to be solutions to problems embodied in mathematical models, and Article 52 of the European Patent Convention tells us that mathematical methods are not patentable, at least to the extent that a European patent application relates to the mathematical model as such. So, how can you prevent your AI invention being considered as a mathematical method as such?
Microbot Medical Inc. (MBOT) has received an official communication from the European Patent Office (EPO) regarding its intention to grant European Patent Application No. 11795301, covering the Company’s Self-Cleaning Shunt (SCS™). Globally, the Company now has 36 patents issued/allowed and 16 patent applications pending worldwide.
“We have always maintained that a strong and growing intellectual property portfolio is one of our strongest assets and will enable us to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage while establishing barriers of entry to future competitors” said Harel Gadot, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman. “We will continue to expand and seek protection for our unique innovative platforms. This provides the foundation for the establishment of a multi-generation product portfolio, including our latest introduction of the LIBERTY™ Robotic System, the world’s first fully disposable robotic system for use in neurovascular, cardiovascular and peripheral vascular procedures.”