THE EPO's staff isn't getting its way. Those who do virtually all the actual work get disparaged, driven out, leaving in the Office less experienced examiners who aren't as capable of challenging utterly poor if not illegal policies.

Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos want a bunch of obedient workers, not experienced and charismatic scientists who can properly assess not only patent applications but also the overall patent system. The video above concerns the letter we shared last night. With bureaucracy replacing actual science and with no evidence-based policy (just a bunch of patent profiteers and zealots steering the Office as if it was a for-profit corporation) we can only expect that in the coming years the EPO's staffing crisis will deepen. Patents that are actually valid cannot be issued by people who barely understand them. Years ago staff representatives cautioned that examiners were assigned to study patents well outside their field of expertise. Imagine carpenters being expected to install windows or a politician being expected to run a patent office. Oh, wait, the latter is based on a true story... ⬆