Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part II: A “Unanimous” Endorsement?

Series parts:

  1. The EPO's Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part I: Let the Sunshine In!
  2. YOU ARE HERE ☞ A “Unanimous” Endorsement?


EPO President Benoît Battistelli, Principal Director Elodie Bergot, Vice-Presidents Željko Topić and Raimund Lutz
The EPO senior management team responsible for the drafting of the "Strike Regulations".
Clockwise from top left: Office President Benoît Battistelli, Principal Director Elodie Bergot, Vice-Presidents Željko Topić and Raimund Lutz.



Summary: Battistelli's illegal "Strike Regulations" didn't materialise without help from other people; looking back, we learn how those unlawful provisions came about and who's accountable for them

The EPO "Strike Regulations" which were recently struck down by the ILOAT were drafted by Battistelli's "Human Resources" management team.



At the time in question the EPO's HR Department was controlled by the notorious duo of Principal Director Elodie Bergot and Vice-President Željko Topić.

"...this meeting of the Council was also used by Battistelli to present the delegates with the outcome of an "internal investigation" conducted for the purpose of whitewashing his Croatian bulldog, Željko Topić."But it's important to realise that the "Strike Regulations" drafted by the EPO's senior management team would never have come into effect without the complicity of the Administrative Council at its 136th meeting which took place in Munich on 26 and 27 June 2013.

By a curious coincidence - as previously reported by Techrights back in 2015 – this meeting of the Council was also used by Battistelli to present the delegates with the outcome of an "internal investigation" conducted for the purpose of whitewashing his Croatian bulldog, Željko Topić.

"These documents allow us to obtain a better picture of what went on at the meeting, in particular the details of the deliberation and vote on the proposed "Strike Regulations"."At the time in question, Topić was the subject of a series of allegations connected with his former position as head of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office. A lot of awkward questions were being asked about his EPO appointment and Battistelli was keen to silence the critical voices.

The 2015 Techrights posting about Battistelli's whitewash of Topić includes copies of the official minutes [PDF] of the June 2013 Administrative Council meeting and the associated "Summary of Decisions". [PDF]

These documents allow us to obtain a better picture of what went on at the meeting, in particular the details of the deliberation and vote on the proposed "Strike Regulations".

The composition of the Administrative Council as of May 2013 - i.e. directly prior to the 136th meeting - was published in the EPO's Official Journal (OJ).

In some cases the delegates listed in the OJ did not attend the meeting but were replaced by their alternates. This is normal practice when delegates have conflicting engagements.

The list of actual attendees at the 136th Council meeting can be found in the official minutes [PDF] of the meeting.

It's worth mentioning in passing that António Campinos also attended the meeting as an observer in his capacity as then head of the EU's trademark agency OHIM/EUIPO in Alicante.

From the minutes of the meeting it can be seen that one senior member of Team Battistelli played a key role in persuading the Council to vote in favour of the proposed "Strike Regulations".

"It's worth mentioning in passing that António Campinos also attended the meeting..."This was the Vice-President Raimund Lutz who was head of the Directorate of International and Legal Affairs.

Lutz was regularly used by Battistelli for the purpose of duping the Council delegates into rubber-stamping all sorts of questionable measures and at the same time dissuading them from asking too many awkward questions.

So it was very much "business as usual" when Lutz was wheeled out at the 136th Council meeting in June 2013 in order to assure the delegates that the proposed "Strike Regulations" were good to go and could be waved through without the need for any further discussion.

Lutz informed the delegates that the new regulations "had been proposed considering general legal principles, European rights and ILOAT standards".

"Lutz was regularly used by Battistelli for the purpose of duping the Council delegates into rubber-stamping all sorts of questionable measures and at the same time dissuading them from asking too many awkward questions."It's worth pointing out that he never actually claimed that the proposed measures were in conformity with "general legal principles, European rights and ILOAT standards" – he only said that these principles, rights and standards had been "considered" when drafting the regulations!

It is not without reason that Lutz has been described as a "veritable virtuoso of legal sophistry".

Role of EPO's Vice-President Raimund Lutz
The EPO's "virtuoso of legal sophistry", Vice-President Raimund Lutz, helped to "persuade" the Council delegates to rubber-stamp the proposed measures.



Both the official minutes and the "Summary of Decisions" contain a record of the vote on the adoption of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations".

Record of the Administrative Council vote
Record of the Administrative Council vote on the adoption of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations".



From this it can be seen that out of a total of 38 delegations, only 35 actually voted.

This means that 3 delegations did not even bother to take part in the vote.

"...3 delegations did not even bother to take part in the vote."Of the 35 delegations that participated, 28 voted in favour and 7 abstained.

Article 35 (4) of the European Patent Convention specifies that abstentions "shall not be considered as votes".

"In the coming parts we will take a closer look at the members of the delegations..."This means that - according to the official narrative - the proposed measures were adopted "unanimously" with 28 votes in favour.

In the coming parts we will take a closer look at the members of the delegations and how they did - or did not - vote on that occasion.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Links 17/04/2025: Calling Whistleblowers at Microsoft, Slop Doing More Harm Everywhere
Links for the day
 
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Russian Bot Farms Infect TikTok (Which US Government and SCOTUS Decided to Block January 19), US Hardware Stocks Crash Due to Tariffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Sticking to Free Software, Smolnet, and Counting the Reals
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: In Conclusion and Enforcement Action Proceeds Against OSI at the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
There's too much to cover in one single part
When You Fail to Filter Your Clients You End Up SLAPPing Reporters on Behalf of Bad People From Microsoft in Another Continent
“American Psycho”
Links 17/04/2025: LayoffBot and Tesla Cheats Buyers
Links for the day
Gemnini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Trump Authority (CA) With a Trump NSA is All About Security, But Whose?
A "turnkey tyranny", as the NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake loved to call it
Confirming IBM Shutdowns and Layoffs Today
It's not over yet
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: The 2010s Are Calling and Why "Tools Will Not Liberate Us"
Links for the day
You Should Probably Self-Host Your E-mail and Never Use a Web Browser for Mail
Does anyone still believe Gmail is "free"?
Links 16/04/2025: Cliff Lynch RIP, More Attacks on Science (NASA)
Links for the day
StatCounter Shows the Market Share of Vista 11 is Decreasing in Ukraine This Year
Microsoft abandoning Vista 10 users would be a victory for Vladimir Putin
Google Promotes Fake Articles (LLM Slop) Instead of Originals, Relaying Microsoft's Linux FUD Emanating From Microsoft LLMs
Shame on Google for participating in the slopfest
In Some Countries the Largest OEMs Already Dump Microsoft Windows
Windows at 18.9%, Android 60.2%
The "Gold" Rule: Taking Money for Reputation Laundering and Openwashing Under the "Linux" Banner
Seller of expensive toilet paper, Jim Zemlin
LLM Slop Says Slop is "coming for white-collar jobs. Microsoft’s layoffs are just the start"
Look what the Web has become
Microsoft Down From 100% to 10% in Myanmar/Burma
only about 4% of Web requests in Myanmar/Burma come from Vista 11, soon to be the only "supported" version of Windows
Reporting Facts About Violence Against Women Deserves Awards, Not Frivolous Lawsuits and Threats
What is Microsoft's stance on women's safety?
Linux.com as Spamfarm of the Linux Foundation, Partner of the Gates Foundation
They no longer publish articles
When Fedora Said It Was Looking to Integrate "AI" It Meant Promoting Microsoft's Proprietary Spyware and GPL-Violating Slop
When they say "AI" they mean Microsoft
Slopwatch: The Typical Slopfarms and the 'Brian Fagioli Dilemma'
To the Web and to society (exposed to the Web) LLMs are a net negative
It Used to be IBM, Now It's Microsoft (Why You Need to Fire Microsofters or CIOs Working for Microsoft)
Typically the only effective solution is to identity and remove Microsofters from one's project/organisation (before they can bring more Microsofters in)
IBM Closes Offices and Labs in the United States to Open New Ones in India
It's not layoffs per se; they're substituting/swapping veteran employees for lesser-paid ones
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: IndieWeb Carnival, Tinylog RFC, "Focus, the Web and Gemini"
Links for the day