Bonum Certa Men Certa

An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part XII: Captured Delegates on the Administrative Council?

Series index:

  1. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé -- Part I: A New EPO Balkan Affair?
  2. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part II: A Mysterious Fist-Bumping Masquerade in Skopje
  3. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part III: A Longtime Associate of the Doyen
  4. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part IV: A Party Political Animal
  5. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part V: Sharing Out the Spoils of Public Office
  6. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part VI: A Learned Legal Luminary
  7. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part VII: An Academic Institution With a Political Mission
  8. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part VIII: An Inspector Calls
  9. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part IX: “There Are Indications of a Violation of the Law…”
  10. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part X: A “Fall Guy” For the Deputy Minister?
  11. An EPO Administrative Council Exposé — Part XI: Captured States in the EU's Waiting Room
  12. You are here ☞ Captured Delegates on the Administrative Council?


Elvin Lako with Safet Emruli and Goran Gerasimovski
Captured delegates? Elvin Lako (Albania) with Safet Emruli and Goran Gerasimovski (North Macedonia) attending the 2019 European Inventor boondoggle in Vienna.



Summary: António Campinos continues to enjoy 'captured' delegates voting for his highly controversial proposals instead of actually doing their job

By a curious irony of history, three of the West Balkan countries which have so far failed to establish their "rule of law" credentials to the satisfaction of the European Commission have nevertheless managed to enter into the ranks of the EPO's contracting states, namely:



● North Macedonia (1€ January 2009), ● Albania (1 May 2010) and ● Serbia (1€ October 2010).

Their admission into the EPO occurred during the organisation's phase of eastwards expansion pursued under the presidency of Alison Brimelow.

"Both the North Macedonian and Albanian delegations invariably supported Battistelli's despotic and liberticidal agenda at the EPO in an entirely subservient and unquestioning manner."Although those states - or at least their governing elites - have undoubtedly benefited from EPO membership in the form of "cooperation project" funds, it remains an open question as to whether their accession has produced any positive contribution to the governance of the organisation.

In the case of North Macedonia and Albania it can safely be said that they belonged to the "large group of smaller countries" which Benoît Battistelli had under his sway and was able to influence to the detriment of good governance and the rule of law at the EPO, as publicly reported by the Netherlands delegation back in April 2017.

"At the same time, it is by no means inevitable that states which have so far failed to qualify for EU membership will end up being represented by "captured delegates"."Both the North Macedonian and Albanian delegations invariably supported Battistelli's despotic and liberticidal agenda at the EPO in an entirely subservient and unquestioning manner. There is no record of them ever having voiced dissent or expressed criticism or concern in connection with his excesses and abusive treatment of EPO staff.

At the same time, it is by no means inevitable that states which have so far failed to qualify for EU membership will end up being represented by "captured delegates".

For example, on the EPO's Administrative Council, the Serbian delegation frequently took issue with Battistelli's proposals.

Regional rivalry between Serbia and Croatia may have played a role here.

"For example, on the EPO's Administrative Council, the Serbian delegation frequently took issue with Battistelli's proposals."Rumour has it that the Serbian delegation was piqued by the controversial preferment of Željko Topić as EPO Vice-President in 2012.

Following this perceived affront, it is reported that they often opposed Battistelli and even voted against some of his proposals, or at least abstained from giving a positive vote as an expression of their discontent.

Branka-Totic
Non-captured delegate: Branka Totić, head of the Serbian delegation, known to have opposed Battistelli on a number of occasions.



In the meantime, Željko Topić has departed from the EPO and returned to his old stomping ground in Zagreb where he now masquerades as a "European Patent Attorney", despite the fact that official records confirm that he never actually managed to pass the European Qualifying Examination.

As the present series shows, the EPO's "Balkan Express" still manages to chug along merrily, even if there are occasional mishaps with someone ending up under the wheels as happened in the case of Safet Emruli.

Of course, it goes without saying that when attempting to discuss the issue of corruption in the context of international organisations, one should take care to remain as objective as possible and to avoid inappropriate generalisations and prejudices based on national stereotypes.

"In the meantime, Željko Topić has departed from the EPO and returned to his old stomping ground in Zagreb where he now masquerades as a "European Patent Attorney", despite the fact that official records confirm that he never actually managed to pass the European Qualifying Examination."Human nature being what it is, no country or region can be accused of having a monopoly on corruption just as none can claim to be immune. Corruption is present in all societies. The real issues at stake here are what forms of corruption typically exist, and whether the societal mechanisms for countering them are sufficiently robust and effective in practice.

In the case of the EPO and its Administrative Council, the facts on the ground confirm that the problem of "captured delegates" is not restricted to representatives from specific regions or countries.

Delegates from fledgling democracies which lack a functional rule of law, such as the states of the Western Balkans, are likely to be more susceptible to "capture". But as the case of Serbia shows, exceptions to this general rule have been known to exist.

"In the next part, we will take a look at some further instances of "irregularities" which have led to the sudden and unexpected disappearances of Administrative Council delegates."On the other hand, there are plenty of indications that delegates from more developed states with mature democratic rule of law traditions are just as susceptible to "capture", although their sense of entitlement and "asking price" are likely to be significantly higher.

In the next part, we will take a look at some further instances of "irregularities" which have led to the sudden and unexpected disappearances of Administrative Council delegates.

As we shall see in due course, the delegates in question came from a wide range of countries among the EPO's 38 contracting states.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Official SUSE Blog Still Uses LLM Slop (Bots) to Make Fake Articles (Marketing)
The company is all about sound bites
Companies Realise That Slop Doesn't Work as Advertised, Accordingly Dump It
"Hype dims as a country-wide survey of US corporations shows a sudden drop-off in AI use among firms with more than 250 employees."
Microsoft-Funded Lawsuits Against Critics of UEFI 'Secure Boot'
Remember that no company (or law firm) ever survives collaborations with Microsoft
It's Only the Second Week of September and Already Two Waves of Layoffs at Microsoft, Slopfarms and Microsoft-Funded Sites Spin It as "AI Investments" Rather Than Commercial Failure
A very large third one expected next week
If Your Machine Still Has "Secure Boot" Enabled, Then Microsoft Has a de Facto Kill Switch (Even If Your Machine Doesn't Have Windows and Never Had Windows)
It is not incorrect to call UEFI 'secure boot' a "kill switch"
Reddit is Corporate Propaganda
To make matters worse, Reddit ousted many original moderators
Jeff Geerling Shocked to Discover Many Metrics in YouTube Are Fake (His Audience Turns Out to be Much Smaller)
Maybe self-host all videos, don't rely on Google's "FOMO" cheating (addiction based on false assumptions)
 
Links 09/09/2025: US-Korea Tensions and Meta Whistleblowers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2025: Moon Eclipse and ROOPHLOCH Reports
Links for the day
Links 09/09/2025: “Torrents of Hate” and Political Crisis in France
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2025: "Dedigitizing" and Forgejo on FreeBSD
Links for the day
Google News (Not Just Google Search) Lets Itself by Gamed by One Slopfarm - to the Point Almost Half of "Linux" News is Bot-Produced Plagiarism (LLM Slop With Slop Images)
That says a lot about what Google thinks of quality, even in Google News
Bill Gates-Funded Media Inadvertently Refutes the Microsoft Lie That in 2025 Microsoft Had Just Two Waves of Layoffs
There were about 12 rounds of layoffs so far in 2025
From theregister.co.uk to theregister.com (US) to The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives) and theregister.ai
The best way to break this racket (or cycle of hype and harm) is to break the chains of funding
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Culture of Censorship Necessitates More Speech
The OSI bans dissent or people who merely point out that the OSI is abusive
How to Reach Us Discreetly (Other Than Encrypted E-mail)
We're still managing to maintain a 100% source protection record. We soon turn 19.
LLMs Are Vastly Worse Than a Waste of Energy and the Externalities Are Huge
Worse than just higher power bills for everybody
LLMs Versus Search (Not Replacing Search But Engaging in DDoS Attacks Against Web Sites That Permit Searching)
The state of the Web isn't just bad; it's utterly terrible
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 08, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 08, 2025
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IX - Shunning Old Computers (in 2023 the Certificate Was Updated/Overridden, Underlying Aim May Be Herding/Forcing People to Get TPM and Other 'Novel' Restrictions)
the "upgrade treadmill"
Rumour: Second Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in September to Commence Third Week of September
That basically answers questions like, "Any specific date or time of the month?"
Gemini Links 08/09/2025: Reality, ROOPHLOCH 2025, and Writing Another Gemini Client
Links for the day
Updating Firmware is Not the Solution But Only Additional Risk, Disable "Secure Boot" Today
firmware blobs are buggy, secret, impossible to audit, and barely tested
Microsoft Tim's DevClass (Part of The Register MS/Situation Publishing) is Full of Slop
Looking at many sites that are full of slop images is becoming an eye sore and hallmark of text too likely generated by LLMs or 'assisted' (tainted) by them
Microsoft Trying to Fake Demand for Slop. At What Cost?
That's a giant demotion and broken promises
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant and Kryptonite/Garlic to Vampires
Transparency (sometimes described by words like "Sunlight" or "Truth") is paramount
The Register MS Uses Slop in Articles About Slop
we are fairly certain it's slop or CG based on other people's work
Visiting a Web Page or a Public URL Should be Safe, Predictable, and Benign
It's probably too late to "fix" the Web
The Register MS (Situation Publishing) is Paid to Spread Mindless Hype for the "Hey Hi" Ponzi Scheme and That's a Serious Problem
"Sponsored by Zoom."
Links 08/09/2025: Burger King Cracked, Cox v. Sony Analysed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/09/2025: Socialist Computer Museum and GAFAM/ByteDance/TikTok-Dominated Net
Links for the day
Links 08/09/2025: Tim Crook Disappoints Apple Faithfuls and Zuckerberg Lies (Financial Fraud) for Cheeto King
Links for the day
EPO Workers Point Out that the EPO is Destroying the Planet Under the Guise of "Hey Hi" (It Also Grants Many Invalid Patents Illegally
On 12 March and 16 June 2025, staff representation met with the administration in the Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in Munich
Turn Off Microsoft's Restricted Boot ("Secure Boot")
We're still running a series on this issue
Social Control Media Sites Have Become Bot Farms (Not Limited to LLMs and Automation)
linkedin.com was nothing but trouble and losses for Microsoft
Deep in Debt With the Magnitude of Losses Quickly Growing, Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Now Uses Broadcom for Vapourware, Pretending It'll Do OK Next Year
At some stage it'll collapse
You Can Tell Microsoft is in Trouble When Its Own Fans and Staff Blast it
"Microsoft sinks billions into chasing artificial intelligence fads to hype up its share price."
Multiple Undersea Cable Cuts and We're Still OK
Microsoft customers experience problems
Lawyers Who Think They Are Online Assassins Don't Deserve a Licence to Operate
they've become a laughing stock in their "sector"
Microsoft Windows Fell to 3.9% "Market Share" in Bahamas
Based on statCounter
How the European Union (EU) Fell Out of Love With Free/Libre Software
Lots of bribery
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 07, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 07, 2025
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Scanner, Slop, and Chadobear
Links for the day
The UEFI 9/11 is 3 Days Away
Nobody denies that bad things will happen
Google Versus Journalism
Google played a big role in the demise of news sites
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Advertising, Decentralized Archival, and Outsourcing to Bezos
Links for the day
Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Has Almost Gone Down to Zero, Nearly Totally Extinct in Geminispace, the Few Capsules Still Using It Are Spam/Dead/Stagnant
This represents another decrease for Let's Encrypt; the last decrease was last week
Not Much Left in News Cycles
To be very clear, this does not describe "Linux" anything; it's true in just about every facet of news, except the paid-for fake "journalism" about "hey hi" (sites getting paid explicitly to maintain or rekindle hype)
Trying to Silence Techrights Was a Huge Mistake
Peter Thiel attacked a publisher for asserting, correctly, that he was gay. Now everyone knows it.
Throwing Away "Old" Computers (Mozilla and Other Climate Deniers)
Mozilla is not leftist
The UEFI 9/11 - Part VIII - Denial of Service and Selling Us WSL (Windows) Instead of "Risky" (Prone by Breakage by Microsoft) GNU/Linux
Restricted Boot (so-called 'SecureBoot') does not improve security. It is nothing but trouble. It's meant to trouble non-Windows users. In dual-boot setups, SecureBoot is a recipe for disaster because Microsoft keeps erasing or tampering with the boot sector, to paraphrase an associate
Slop is Extremely Rare in Geminispace, Slop Images Are Unheard Of (Despite Images Being Supported)
As long as Geminispace grows in terms of domains it's safe to predict the protocol will still be used in 2029 and hence Geminispace will turn 10
Links 07/09/2025: Robodebt Class Action, Fines, and Copyright Settlement
Links for the day
Links 07/09/2025: Yle Impersonated in Social Control Media, Boat-Attacking Orcas, Midjourney Sued Again
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal, and the Serial Slopper
Google won't tackle the issue because Google participates not only in relaying slop but also in generating lots of it
Links 07/09/2025: Google Fines in EU and "Your Internet Access Is at Risk"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/09/2025: Little Brother and Corporate Theatre
Links for the day
Links 07/09/2025: More Harms of Slop and Anthropic's Nightmare Scenario (Huge Legal Liabilities for Slop)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 06, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 06, 2025