Bonum Certa Men Certa

News Sites That Talk About Patents Have Become Shameless Self-Promotion 'Plugs' by Law Firms (and Sometimes Outright 'Spam' for Litigation)

Video download link



Summary: The sources of news about patent affairs have dried up; sites that actually used to investigate and report facts have since then shut down or defected to the Public Relations/marketing industry

THE PAST 20 years I've spent a lot of time reading news sites, with growing focus on patents over time, especially 15 years ago. I grew up on the Web, which was there when I was a teenager. In the early days of the Web (before and during the Netscape days) we'd go to sites like Download.com and News.com (some might know the history of these domains and the ill fate of CNET). There used to be a "golden era" of transition from newspapers to "online news", except the classifieds sections weren't quite there, so business models needed to urgently change. In the late 90s and well into the start of the millennium there was still investment (capital) in online news, but with Web monopolies and social control media (over a decade ago) many news sites languished and ebbed away. They never truly came back. IP Kat and Watchtroll were early at the scene, but they too have languished and the founders of both are no longer there. They're like 'satellite' sites with fluff and sometimes clickbait...

Litigation firms now sponsor Patently-O. It even admitted so openly a few weeks ago.

"IP Kat and Watchtroll were early at the scene, but they too have languished and the founders of both are no longer there."It's saddening to me, it really is...

What works in our favour is that we don't have a 'business model' and we don't need one. We're all volunteers fighting the good fight, even in the face of smears and discreditisation campaigns (corporations have attempted to 'cancel' us since the site was months old).

The video above is a rant about the lack of media participation in covering EPO abuses. EPO insiders are smart enough to know why this is happening (in the Benoît Battistelli days there was still some media left and some of that same media defected and became a lapdog/censor of António Campinos).

"Same publisher, different agenda."In part 13 of the current series we'll show the sorts of puff pieces produced by JUVE for 'access' to EPO management. They just never expose EPO abuses anymore. Same publisher, different agenda. The video shows two 'reports' from this morning; one from Konstanze Richter and another from Christina Schulze, who once upon a time wrote and even exposed EPO scandals. Now, as we noted in the latest Daily Links, we cannot say anything without insulting or offending both of them. Because this isn't journalism, it just isn't. We've been filing many more examples in Daily Links (not meriting a whole article about them; there's really not that much to say) and it's concerning to see JUVE becoming just another IAM. Will the fate be the same as IPWatch and IPPro Patents? I've not seen Barney Dixon online since last year* (some British publisher) and it's a shame because he actually did some good work and he gave a voice to EPO staff, just like the original 'Kats' at IP Kat. _____ * To quote this page: "Recent news related to Asset Servicing Times, Captive Insurance Times, Securities Lending Times, IPPro Magazine (Closed December 2019) or IPPro Patents (Closed January 2019)" (all the articles were lost, too).

Recent Techrights' Posts

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
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
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
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
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