THE NINTH part is out (published minutes ago) and it's time to discuss the nepotism that can disgust. Somehow, over the past decade or so, Europe's top authorities for granting trademarks and patents have been overrun by nepotism, rooted in pretenders (or two dictators [1, 2]) with ambitions of power, not public service. It is accordingly disappointing and even the bodies entrusted to handle justice (or compliance with the rules for consistent application and thus predictability) are morphed into subservient paper pushers. This means there's no structural/organisational separation of powers -- it's just virtual and shallow -- and 'public' institutions are run for no purpose other than accumulating money (at the expense of adherence to the law). ⬆