Bonum Certa Men Certa

Inside the EPO During Corona: The Management of the European Patent Office Was (Fore)Warned About Exploiting a Public Health Crisis

It's a matter of public record now

Health pills



Summary: An "OPEN LETTER" (not open to the public but to EPO staff) correctly asserts -- in a much-needed statement for the record -- that "postponement of reforms is necessary" because EPO staff is already under great and growing stress due to the pandemic (this was in March when lock-downs were extended to countries other than Italy)

"Coronavirus pandemic: postponement of reforms [sic] is necessary" was an open letter from the Central Staff Committee, issued to António Campinos back in March. Like Benoît Battistelli before him, Campinos knew how to exploit crises outside the EPO (e.g. terror attacks) to implement repressive new measures.



Here's the full letter as it was circulated almost 8 months ago (remember that at the time of this letter lock-downs were just days away in the UK and travel between countries was getting difficult for these examiners who work away from their home country).

European Patent Office | 80298 MUNICH | GERMANY Reference: sc20048cl-0.3.1/4.2.2 Date: 19.03.2020

Mr António Campinos President of the EPO Room 1081 - ISAR

OPEN LETTER

Coronavirus pandemic: postponement of reforms is necessary

Dear Mr President,

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, governments in Europe are now concentrating their efforts on ensuring that their citizens are safe and to limit the number of casualties. Some also delay discussions on (important) reforms which are not a priority.

The pandemic severely affects the Office, too, where many colleagues are now staying at home, trying to reconcile work and family obligations, such as caring for (young) children whose schools are closed. The first priority of the Office must be the health of staff and their families. Anything else should be put on the back burner. The specific situation of an International Organisation like the EPO, which acts as an employer but also in many respect takes over responsibilities of a sovereign state, imposes a reinforced duty of care.

For us to perform our duties as staff representatives in accordance with Article 34 ServRegs1 we will need to stay in close contact with staff to exchanges information, sentiments and opinions. Your persistent refusal to permit free e-mail traffic with all staff has already significantly hampered us in efficiently and effectively representing staff. With the COVID-19-induced restrictions on contacts and a de facto shut-down of the Office we now, on top, also cannot gather staff in General Assemblies to inform them and get their feedback. The most important element of consultation, namely the possibility for the elected interlocutors to be able to consult the group they represent, is missing. We therefore currently have the greatest difficulties representing staff in consultations that concern the employment package.

In addition, the pandemic also affects the good functioning of the Administrative Council (AC) and its bodies, notably the Budget and Finance Committee (BFC).

In such an unfavourable context, the far-reaching reforms which you were intending to put on the agendas of the May BFC meeting and the June AC meeting should simply be postponed until halfway normal conditions are restored, especially as there is no urgency to implement a new salary adjustment procedure (SAP) in view of Article 10 of the current SAP (automatic reconduction for one year).

Continuing to rush important reforms in the current circumstances would be rightly perceived as taking advantage of an exceptional crisis and displaying a profound disregard for staff, further eroding the trust in the Organisation. It would also bear the serious risk of making those reforms illegal.

We urge you to postpone your plans for reforming the SAP until the Coronavirus pandemic is contained so as to allow normal functioning of staff representation, the Office and its supervising bodies. Meanwhile we can continue to exchange (in writing or by video conference) and hopefully make progress towards an acceptable compromise on a new SAP.

Yours sincerely, Alain Dumont Acting Chairman of the Central Staff Committee

cc.: AC delegations Ms Nellie Simon; Vice-President DG4

____________ 1 “[The Staff Committee] shall contribute to the smooth running of the service by providing a channel for the expression of opinion by the staff”.


It is already known by now (it has been a long time) that the advice in this letter was disregarded; the Office plans layoffs and it is going ahead with its illegal plans, often under the convenient cover of a public health crisis. Later in the series we'll highlight representatives' response to that.

With decreasing work security (hard to find alternative employment when so many people out there are unemployed) it's cruel for an Office with billions in the bank to crush its sole asset: the staff. But when the Office is run by incompetent autocrats and their longtime friends what else can be expected?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
 
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric