Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO's War on Justice and Assault on the Law -- Part 10: A Faustian Pact?

Previously in this series:



Carl Josefsson and Benoît Battistelli
Carl Josefsson's "deal" with the EPO seems to be a Faustian pact.



Summary: Benoît Battistelli's rubber-stamping judge from Sweden saw his salary growing four- or five-fold and he has meanwhile lowered his public profile, fearing that people will see what he sold his soul for

As we noted in the last part, since Josefsson's arrival in Haar in March 2017, there haven't been many signs of a lively Habermasian discourse in the corridors of the EPO's Boards of Appeal in Haar.



"EPO insiders also report that Josefsson studiously avoids getting involved in any "political" discussions about the EPO's glaring governance deficits, including those affecting the Boards of Appeal."The only things the new President of the Boards of Appeal seems to care about nowadays are production figures and "timeliness". His carefully honed reports and PR releases are full of the usual insipid, self-congratulatory managerial waffle and utterly devoid of any kind of inspiring content.

EPO insiders also report that Josefsson studiously avoids getting involved in any "political" discussions about the EPO's glaring governance deficits, including those affecting the Boards of Appeal.

"In addition to this there are other perks and benefits, such as top-notch private health insurance, travel expenses and generous daily allowances for duty missions."But what exactly does Josefsson get out of the Faustian pact which he has concluded with the mafia-like entity that controls the EPO?

The answer to this question seems to lie in the lucrative tax-free salary that he receives as President of the Boards of Appeal.

This is estimated to be of the order of EUR 20K a month by the time that all available fringe benefits such as an expatriation allowance are factored in. In addition to this there are other perks and benefits, such as top-notch private health insurance, travel expenses and generous daily allowances for duty missions. And of course, for good measure, there are also the EPO's gold-plated pension arrangements for senior managers.

Carl JosefssonBy anybody's standards that's quite an attractive compensation package and one that compares very favourably with the average judicial salary in Sweden.

According to available information, the average salary for a senior judge in Sweden is estimated to be of the order of SEK 690 000, which is approximately equivalent to € 68 000 at current exchange rates.

"Based on the available data, it is estimated that Josefsson's career move to Haar may have enabled him to boost his take-home salary by as much as a factor of four or five, perhaps even more."That's a gross salary figure and it should not be forgotten that Sweden is a relatively high-taxation jurisdiction.

Based on the available data, it is estimated that Josefsson's career move to Haar may have enabled him to boost his take-home salary by as much as a factor of four or five, perhaps even more. Nice money if you can get it.

By way of comparison, back home in Sweden journalists - including Josefsson's old buddy Per Wirtén - were sounding the alarm in 2015 about the low levels of remuneration for freelancers: "Freelancer rates have fallen so much that much of quality freelance journalism is under threat and its practitioners with it."

According to a report in the Swedish press, the post-tax income of many freelance journalists left them under social security benefit levels.

Translation into English [PDF] below:

SOURCE: https://www.svt.se/kultur/medier/flera-frilansars-arvoden-pa-socialbidragsnivaer

Alarm: freelancers' remuneration at social welfare benefit levels



Swedish journalism
Per Wirtén, Annina Rabe and Dan Josefsson are among those taking part in the appeal.



Published 6 November 2015

20 freelance journalists in a joint protest against the industry's conditions.

Many are now working on remuneration rates below social welfare benefit levels, according to a new survey.

"Freelancer rates have fallen so much that much of quality freelance journalism is under threat and its practitioners with it."

So write 20 freelance journalists, including names like Dan Josefsson, Per Wirtén and Annina Rabe, in a joint appeal in Expressen.

The call comes in connection with a new Sifo survey from the Journalists' Union, which shows that four out of ten freelancers in the union now have extra jobs on the side to make a living.

Wages at subsistence level

The average income for a freelance journalist is SEK 15,000 after tax, according to the survey. But many members fall below the social security benefit level (SEK 3,880 + rent), when they declare what they are left with after taxes and contributions.

29% have less than SEK 10,000, and 12% less than SEK 5,000.

According to the survey, more and more journalists are changing professions, while many are considering it because of increased stress and tougher conditions. At the same time, the pressure to deliver quickly is affecting quality, according to the majority of respondents.

"It is difficult to argue that the meticulous, ethical and responsible freelance journalism is cut off from ordinary economic logic. We want media owners, financial managers and publishers who have power over freelance budgets to take responsibility," the freelancers write in their statement.

The survey is based on a Sifo poll commissioned by the Journalists' Union.

622 out of 1,832 registered freelance members responded to the survey.


One is left to wonder what Josefsson's former buddies in Swedish left-wing circles would make of the manner in which he has cast aside his youthful idealism and prostrated himself before the power of the purse.

Like his Nordic confrère Kongstad, Josefsson seems to have succumbed to the lure of easy tax-free money from the EPO.

"Whatever "Calle" may have sold his soul for, the general consensus among EPO insiders is that it certainly isn't rock 'n' roll."In fairness to Josefsson, it should be pointed out that he receives his tax-free salary through lawful channels rather than under the table as in Kongstad's case.

Josefsson himself appears to have become rather reclusive since taking up his position at the EPO. He no longer uses his Twitter account and he has not been seen to participate in any public discussions about legal or political affairs.

The only personal presence which he still maintains online these days is on the Internet music platform Bandcamp, where he reveals himself to be a heavy metal fan.

Whatever "Calle" may have sold his soul for, the general consensus among EPO insiders is that it certainly isn't rock 'n' roll.

Heavy metal fan Josefsson
Heavy metal fan Josefsson may have sold his soul – but not for rock 'n' roll…



And with that we conclude our in-depth profile of the Chairman of the Enlarged Board.

In the next part, we turn our attention to the rapporteur in case G 1/21, Wim van der Eijk.

Recent Techrights' Posts

For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
 
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025
August Hits Microsoft Hard: Dead Divisions, Dead Products, Layoffs Again (on Week 1)
Microsoft's debt is soaring
Slopwatch: Slow Day for LLM Slop, Serial Sloppers Still at It in Their Slopfarms
The Web would be better off if those sites went offline
Red Hat Layoffs Expected in 5 Days (Monday)
"They will announce and proceed with the cuts on 08/11."
Links 06/08/2025: Substack in Trouble, Slop Sceptic Shira Perlmutter Seeks Emergency Injunction Pending Appeal
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Pinephone, Reverse-Engineering, and More
Links for the day
Links 06/08/2025: Faked Values of Slop Companies and Government Bailouts
Links for the day
FOSSY 2025 Conference Safety
The GAFAM-funded FOSSY 2025 is over
Microsoft's Favourite Pay-to-Say 'Analyst' Firm Has Just Collapsed
'Analysts' that helped propel Microsoft to fictional values akin to Ponzi schemes
Ask Google (Jeeves)
What does Google "know", not know, or would rather forget (or embellish)?
They Want You To Talk About Trump or 'The Other Bill' in Relation to Trafficking of Underage Girls for Sexual Exploitation
Just something we wanted to say...
How to Quadruple Your "Goodwill" Value and Grow Your (Wall) Street "Value" From $152B to $4000B Without Producing a Single Successful Product/Service
The longer it goes on for, the bigger the implosion will be
Staying Productive
Two very reputable institutions recently told us they now reckon Microsoft is somehow funding those SLAPPs against us
A Blow for Patent Ambitions of Bill Epsteingate
It's about money
66 Countries Where More People Use iPhones (or iPads) Than Microsoft Windows, According to statCounter Data
a list of countries where iOS now exceeds Windows
Apple's iOS Bigger Than Microsoft Windows in Many Countries
This ought to alarm Microsoft
The Mainstream Media Talks About Spotify Share Price and Price Hikes, Not Its Debt Increasing by About 33% in Just 12 Months
Spotify isn't a company in good shape
New "US Editor for The Register" is 80% Microsoft and Windows
they typically just treat Microsoft like the "Holy Grail" of "IT"
Microsoft is Apparently Sending Gag Orders or NDAs to Staff That Got Laid Off (“We were told not to post on LinkedIn. Not to say anything.”)
The main lies we keep seeing
Richard M. Stallman Has Published AI Memos Since 1980 (45 Years Ago)
Back when the term AI actually meant something
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: BitTorrent and Feedly Bots
Links for the day
Windows All-Time Lows, Android All-Time Highs in Kuwait
New lows for Windows can be found in many countries this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 05, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 05, 2025
Openwashing Slop... Using Slop!
So get ready for "open" "hey hi" with its proprietary models to engage in openwashing, helped by serial sloppers who use the LLMs to produce fake 'articles'.
On "Tragedy of the Commons in the Production of Digital Artifacts"
There's a better way to do things. None of that should involve GAFAM.
Gemini Links 05/08/2025: Opel Zoo near Frankfurt and Alhena 5.2.5
Links for the day
The Inflammatory Influence of Social Control Media Giants
CPC's ByteDance says it's cool
Microsoft v Planet Earth
Is Microsoft profitable?
IRC Turns 37
Internet Relay Chat (short: IRC), which started in 1988, turns 37 this month
Shortly After a Microsofter Took Over The Register as Editor in Chief Microsoft Tim (Tim Anderson) is Back and It's Still Microsoft Propaganda, Sometimes Funded by Microsoft
Notice his focus
Stricter Enforcement of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is Sorely Needed
Who's keeping track anyway?
Calling Plagiarism "Intelligence" is Pure Genius, Brilliance!
One thing to "like" (or dislike) about LLMs is how they're falsely marketed using various buzzwords
Geminispace Promises Simplicity But Also Provides a "bunch of forums that get flood-filled by agitation against the very essence of Gemini itself"
claims of stagnation in Geminispace started because of a person who spent a long time agitating against GNU/Linux as well
Zimbabweans Aren't Into Windows or Microsoft
This cannot be good news for GAFAM
Microsoft's Washington Layoffs Aren't Everything, They're Definitely Not Happening in Just One State in the US
Washington is just more strict with WARN notices
Gemini Links 05/08/2025: Lagrange v1.18.6, No Stagnation in Geminispace, and Fake Coding (Slop)
Links for the day
The Register's Editor in Chief (Who Left for Google) Told Me "AI" Was a Bubble, But Now The Register Gets Paid to Participate in Inflating This Bubble
A lot of the online media is a scam
The Register is Desperate for Money, According to The Register
I decided to check how they're doing as a business
Some Cola Formulas Aren't Secret, But the Barrier is the Branding
That's the power of the channel/distribution, marketing, and brand recognition (accomplished through endless marketing)
Introducing Mission:Libre and FreeXR (and BreakXR)
efforts that accompany the foundations put there by the Free Software Foundation in 1985
Slopwatch: WebProNews, LinuxSecurity, and Some Success Stories
Google News still has a slopfarm issue
Links 05/08/2025: Hey Hi (AI) Passing Fads and GAFAM "Embracing the Military"
Links for the day
Links 05/08/2025: Samsung and Microsoft Layoffs
Links for the day
Rumours of Mass Layoffs at Red Hat Next Week (August 11th, 2025)
The eleventh means next Monday
IBM is Shutting Down (Piecewise)
IBM is basically being liquidated
The Debian Language Police Department (PD)
"there has never been complaints about anyone that was offended by this -off package"
Tesla's Debt More Than Doubled in 2 Years and the Company Will Operate in the Red (at a Loss) Quite Soon
If your first-quarter net income is $409 million and you borrow billions from banks, plus interest to pay on those loans, then you're not far from returning to losses
When The Register MS Says "Linux Backdoor" It Actually Talks About Malware
The leading story in The Register US/MS this morning is Microsoft
Microsoft Windows Fell to 19% "Market Share" in Montenegro
Microsoft must be well aware of this trend
Why We Also Include Gopher Links in Our Gemini (Protocol) Links
There are still many people who use Gopher to relay their messages (like blog posts). They're mostly technical people.
Shouting is an Indication of a Lack of Convincing Argument
Beware what they are attempting to distract from
Mongolia: Microsoft Windows at All-Time Low
in 2009 when Windows was at 99.45% in Mongolia the company was "worth" less than 200 billion dollars
About a Quarter of Today's "linux" News in Google News Came From One Domain and It's a Slopfarm
Not kidding!
Gemini Links 05/08/2025: Zombie Threat and Switching to NixOS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 04, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, August 04, 2025
ChatGPT in Trouble
Watch out for the newer buzzwords
The Register MS Links to the Wrong statCounter Page
They link to older data
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains How Google Turned From "Librarian" Into "Oracle", Telling Us What to Think Instead of Where to Look
Google was always a lousy librarian
Microsoft Layoffs Continue in August 2025
If Microsoft is doing so well, how come about 10 rounds of layoffs in about 7 months in 2025?