Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO Staff Representation: “We Believe That the EPO Should... Invest in Staff and in Quality” (Not Cuts and Worse)

A dangerous cocktail
The current strategy involves a “dangerous cocktail” of low-quality patents (in large quantities) and low-qualified staff being recruited as examiners, equipped with examination guidelines that violate the EPC



Summary: The EPO's attack on its very own staff and on the quality/validity of European Patents is an issue that Office leadership has long been warned about (but it chose to ignore the warnings)

2022 is just around the corner or right around the edge, but it's never too late to glance back at warnings from patent examiners, who repeatedly cautioned António Campinos about his destruction of patent quality -- an endeavour started years earlier by his 'appointing authority', fellow Frenchman Benoît Battistelli.



Today we reproduce, herein, an old document, two years old as a matter of fact, as it very much relates to the present; it speaks about the erosion of patent quality and staff being crushed as if examiners are just some people to be used as "rubber stamp operators" (helping to print money for the 'bank').

06.11.2019 su19021mp – 0.2.1/1.3.1

The Financial Survey: A divisive exercise

Dear colleagues,

[Mr Campinos has asked you] to inform your team managers which of the “measures 1 to 10” have your support. This question is wrong at many levels.

- these "10 measures" presume that huge (5.8 billion) savings are necessary. We do not believe this to be true.

- these savings are to be obtained by cutting staff benefits and a further high (25-30%) increase in productivity. We believe that the EPO should, on the contrary, invest in staff and in quality.

- asking individual staff members which of the "10 measures" they prefer is divisive since many of the measures affect one category of staff more than another.

- only giving staff the choice between measures that target them excludes other options and a wider discussion about the future direction of the Office.

- the proposed consultation procedure is intransparent and open to manipulation. The alleged outcome cannot be verified.

- be aware that replying by selecting a measure may render an appeal against such a measure a certain loser.

At the moment the only measure directly affecting staff that SUEPO supports is the increase in the pension contributions as recommended by the actuaries (CA/56/19) who regularly review the performance of the RFPPS.

All the other measures proposed need further analysis and discussion. Alternatives that have not been proposed (adopting fees to follow inflation, asking a contribution of the Member States, less ambitious building plans) must also be considered.

We kindly ask that you keep the above considerations in mind if you wish to discuss the "10 measures" with your team managers or directors.

SUEPO and the staff representation are currently in deliberations of what is the best way forward for staff. We will publish soon information on each and every measure and the impact these will have upon you.

SUEPO Munich


Earlier today in Daily Links we gave not one but several examples of European Patents being crushed in courts or invalidated upon demand, which is neither simple nor cheap. The long-term costs of granting by default (to enrich oneself) could very well be seen in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) about a decade ago. This is why the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was established over 10 years ago (AIA), and inter partes reviews (IPRs) have since then eliminated many thousands of fake patents, sometimes using 35 U.S.C. ۤ 101 and Alice (SCOTUS, 2014).

Publishers like JUVE, Managing IP, and IAM don't want us to mind the externalities; look who funds those publications, which are also part-time propaganda mills (lobbyists) for Team UPC, i.e. those who 'mentor' Campinos.

The avalanche of fake European Patents will rattle the European economy and meanwhile those who conspired to destroy the EPO are trying to do the same thing to European patent courts, in effect crushing the law and numerous constitution with their falsely-advertised UPC. Earlier today in Daily Links we gave several examples of classic "fake news" about the UPC.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
 
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025