02.25.16
Posted in Europe, Patents at 7:21 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Media in Germany, France and the UK is writing about the serious scandals at the EPO — scandals which may soon culminate in a serious overhaul
THE issues at the EPO have spun out of control and the media too is now covering these issues.
“The French “Novethic” document is bound to be translated by SUEPO,” a reader told us. “I think it’s just a question of time.” In that case, it might be best to wait before working on a translation.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” this reader wrote to us, “Vulture Central is sending you traffic” (Vulture Central being The Register, which covered these matters before… same investigative journalist). The EPO's PR team did not even respond to The Register (in its defence), which is usually quite revealing.
The decent article at The Register (see the comments as well) says: “A leaked version of a letter from the board of the EPO’s Administrative Council (B28) highlights the depths to which the organization’s relationship with its executive has fallen.”
“Juve is also reporting what you and the IPkat have already divulged yesterday,” a reader wrote to us, linking to an article in German (Juve is one of the few publications in Germany that actually bother reporting properly on these serious matters).
A reader of ours is already working on a translation. Sometimes such articles contain some new and very important information, hence it’s important to get an accurate translation. Stay tuned as we still have a lot to publish about the EPO, mostly telling apart confirmed facts from rumours. █
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Posted in Europe, Patents at 6:51 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Also see: "The European Patent Office Has Become Militarised"
Summary: Continuing a trend, the European Patent Office (EPO) hires many people with army background because there is brain drain and aggression is sometimes seen as the solution to everything (hiring people from battle zones like Afghanistan)
Days ago we mentioned H.R. issues at the EPO and based on our sources, which are rapidly growing in number, the EPO continues to hire people with military background. We have given previous examples of that and here is the latest, albeit it says nothing about the military background (warning: by clicking this while logged in to LinkedIn he may be able to see your name). Several readers have been telling us that it makes no sense just how many people from the army the EPO has been adding to its team as of late. There are examples that we didn’t cover here because we rarely name lower level staff (executive ranks are another matter). Here is Topić’s somewhat sanitised announcement (transcribed, hence there may be minor errors):
New Director in PD 4.3
22.02.2016
New Director HR Operations
I am pleased to announce the appointment of
Mr Jan Boulanger
as new Director HR Operations with effect from 1 March 2016.
Directorate 4.3.2 HR Operations provides expert services in the areas of salary and allowances, pensions, duty travel as well as time and leave, welfare, home loans, medical insurance matters a.o (more information on the unit can be found here).
Mr. Boulanger joins us from MasterCard Inc. (Waterloo, Belgium) where he was Senior Director HR Shared Service Centre Europe.
The DG 4 management team and I are very pleased to welcome Mr. Boulanger and we wish him every success in his new function.
Željko Topić
Vice-President DG 4
22.02.16 | Author Željko Topić – Vice-President DG 4
He was also a “Commanding Officer of an elite combat entity,” based on his description.
Why does the EPO keep recruiting so many people from the military these days? No wonder it became militarised. Like Philpott and a lot of the I.U., when there’s harsh action (or reaction) one might be led to assume that military background accentuates it. █
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Posted in Europe, Patents at 5:53 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
English/Original
Publicado en Europe, Patentes at 10:52 pm por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Como el referéndum de Putin a punta de pistola
Sumario: Los empleados de la OEP critican los intentos de Battistelli (y Minnoye al parecer) de presionar a los gerentes de línea a firmar una declaración de apoyo de Battistelli
Los últimos informes de la OEP, especialmente dos de hoy [1, 2], verdareramente afirman que Battistelli pueda estar de salida y es únicamente esperando por compensación y otras ´nimias´ tecnicalidades. Hemos recibido información adicional. Esto fue momentos atrás.
Gerentes de alto y bajo nivel en la OEP no estan felices de firmar una carta en apoyo de Battistelli, basándonos en el número de filtraciones que hemos estado recibiendo acerc de ello (un montón). Lo de arriba es una captura de pantalla y aquí esta el texto que vino con ella: ¨Petición como último recurso: Después de haber consistentemente ignorado peticiones provenientes de los empleados, Mr. B ahora empezó a hacer peticiones el mismo: ¿Pero seriamente cree que obligando a sus gerentes a firmar esta tontería va ayudarlo? La alta gerencia de la OEP consistentemente humilló, despreció a sus subordinados durante años. Pero ahor como su querido Presidente esta de malas, se acuerdan de su existencia. Queridos Gerentes de Linea de la OEP: Por favor firmen y apoyen a la alta gerencia de la OEP en su Guerra Santa! Y les prometemos que cuando esto pase, continuarán ignorándolos, despreciándolos y humillándolos por que ellos pueden, y por que ellos creen que ustedes se lo merecen.¨
“Los directores de alto y bajo nivel de la OEP no están dispuestos a firmar una carta en apoyo de Battistelli, basado en el número de filtraciones que hemos estado recibiendo de él (un montón).”La carta es auto-humillante porque son como las supuestas cartas de Željko Topić en las que amenaza matarse (cubiertas aquí la semana pasada), tales acciones sirven para reforzar amplias alegaciones de bajo carácter. ¿En qué estaba pensando Battistelli? ¿Estaba borracho en algún ¨coctel peligroso¨? Esto es similar pero no idéntico al Efecto Streisand.
Como uno de nuestros lectores lo puso: ¨Parece que la alta gerencia de la OEP esta tratando de coercer a todos los gerentes de linea a firmar una petición a la AC. Entre otras solicitudes, la petición reafirman ¨permanecer firme en etica y no tolerar mala conductas¨. Esto asunto es una referencia a las Guías de Investigación, las cuales son ahora abiertamente criticadas por la delegación del Jurado 28. Pero Battistelli necesita mantenerlos ya que las Guías de Investigación son clave en su gerencia por intimidación. Todos los gerentes de linea estan esperados a firmarla. Deben mostrar que son leales a la línea del partido. Ellos no estan felices porque saben que el Titanic de su ´capitán´ B se está hundiendo. Muchos de ellos probablemente experimentaron el acto de ser obligados a firmar esta RÍDICULA pieza de papel como otra humillación. Aquellos otros que firmen perderán el respeto de sus empleados.¨
Hagan saber a sus delegados esta haciendo manióbras para formar una falsa percepción acerca de su liderazgo y supuesta popularidad. █
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Posted in America, Patents at 5:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
English/original
Publicado en America, Patents at 3:38 am por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Como si las patentes son materia de seguridad nacional
Sumario: Un par de nuevas historias y lo que sirven para resaltar con respecto a la teoría y práctica de patentes
LA USPTO es probablemente el más agresivo sistema de patentes del mundo. En vez de fomentar la innovación, hace lo contrario dañándola, beficiando usualmente (ENRIQUECIÉNDO) a sólo unas pocas mega corporaciones que reciben la parte del león por ´sus´ patentes así como bloquean/suprimen la competición de esta manera.
Como un nuevo ejemplo de la agresión de la USPTO consideren el artículo de Joe Mullin que dice que una ¨compañíá de Archery enjuicia a LARPer sobre patentes, luego solicita una moción para silenciarlo¨ (supresión de información acerca de una acción agresiva es algo que la OEP me hizo meses atrás). Para citar Mullin:
Cuando Jordan Gwyther comenzó Larping.org, un sitio web que promueve su hobby favorito, no esperaba que esto lo llevaría a ser enjuiciado por infingimiento de patentes de arrows de espuma. Cuando hablo acerca de este juicio, ni el ni su abogado vieron lo que vendría: el dueño de las patentes lleno los papeles en la corte pidiendo una orden de restricción (TRO) para acallarlo.
Curiosamente, casi en el mismo dia (como el articulo de arriba), la EFF publicó ¨la EFF Defiende el derecho de Acción Viva a Participantes en un Juicio de Patentes,¨ donde dice ¨La Primera Emmienda garantiza que los dueños de patentes estén sometidos a las hondas y flechas del criticismo público. Hoy la EFF ha sometido una moción y un amicus breve pidiendo a la Corte rechazar los intentos de un dueño de patentes de silenciar criticismo de su juicio.¨
Otro nuevo artículo por Joe Mullin habla de la redada de ¨hoverboard¨ que cubrimos aquí hace unos dias porque despues de la redada la litigación fue misterisamente retirada. ¨El acusado Chino se informó en leyes, se defendió a sí mismo y requiere pagos por abogados,¨ de acuerdo al sumario de Mullin.
La original idea detrás de las patentes fue muy diferente de esto. ¿Si hubieran previsto lo de arriba los fundadores de patentes, hubieran creado tales nuevas leyes? █
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Posted in Apple, Courtroom, Patents, Samsung at 5:15 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
English/Original
Publicado en Apple, Courtroom, Patentes, Samsung at 3:25 am por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz
El arrogante de Apple esta seguro que invento todo
Sumario: La imparable guerra de patentes contra Android no muestra signos de para, incluso después de varios años de la muerte de Steve Jobs, quién empezo esta guerra de patentes
Hace media década, después de vergonzósamente enjuiciar a HTC, Apple comenzo a enjuiciar Samsung, quien ya era un lider Android OEM, usando patentes y diseños de patentes las que frecuentement son indistinguibles de las primeras. Recuerden quien comenzó esta guerra. Siempre recuerde que no estaba hablando con Samsung para que licenciar patentes. Fue Apple bajo la megalomanía de Steve Jobs. Este caso pronto alcanzo a la Corte Suprema, SCOTUS, pero no hay confirmación todavía.
“La section final de la petición de Samsung [a SCOTUS],” Florian Müller escribió el otro día, ¨resalta la ¨enorme importancia nacional¨ de la petición. Esto suena a mic como ¨esto debería ser revisado, pero por lo menos debería haber una llamada por la opinión del Solicitor General (CVSG).” O tal vez tiendo a leer mucho entre las líneas.
¨Aprecio que ambos Samsung y Apple estan con voluntad de pelear esto hasta las últimas consequencias,¨ escribió esta persona. ¨El proceso es importante como el resultado¨ (y hasta ahora muy oneroso).
Apple ha sido atraído pesadamente a PTBA últimamente; escribimos acerca de PTAB a principios de mes en numerosas ocasiones. De acuerdo a este nuevo post de un blog, una patente biotecnológica esta cerca de ser revisada. Recuerden que muchas patentes, incluso algunas en Europa, fueron invalidadas en el proceso. ¨Un quinto de todas las peticiones a IPR fueron rechazadas de acuerdo a este reporte de PTAB del año 2015,¨ dice IP Watchdog. Para citar el post anterior, la dicha familia de patentes son las más famosas patentes de biotecnologíá. Con reclamos que cubren pasos básicos en generar antibióticos therapeúticos, estas patentes son porteras en la industria que han mostrado inprecedente crecimiento, más de la mitad de las 10 drogas más vendidas en el mundo son antibióticos terapeúticos. A traves de licensiatura a fabricantes de antibióticos, Genentech-one uno de los dueños de Cabilly patentes espera ganar un billón de dollares en regalías por ellas para el 2018.
Bueno, seguramente parece que Apple esta esperando ganar billones, no sólo un billon de dólares simplemente por regalías de patentes. Apple esta esperando en convertirse en una firma de patentes, mientras Android sigue creciendo, y es díficil de detenerlo sin inflar los precios de Android devices artificialmente. █
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02.24.16
Posted in Law, Patents at 9:59 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
EPO parallels aplenty
The thug in chief, Francis Gurry. Photo source: WIPO
Summary: The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) comes under attack for ignoring US law and attacking those who report issues with that, as told by people from the inside just hours ago
THE latest WIPO scandal has been covered and debated in many Web sites by now. It’s not a subject we follow closely (although we covered WIPO in the distant past), but we do occasionally mention it in daily links. At the core of the matter (or issue) there is lack of transparency, as it serves to hide abusive practices. But moreover, as this is a United Nations body at hand (i.e. no friend of the US), there’s the issue of loyalty to North Korea, which the UN does not exclude. Servers and routers from the US were being sent to North Korea, so the House Foreign Affairs Committee mostly worries about this for political reasons, notably fear of countries that don’t bend the US’ way, both militarily and when it comes to so-called ‘IP’ policy (not just patents). Then there’s a similar issue arising from cooperation with Iran. We put aside the political matters (Francis Gurry is from Australia, not the US) and deal mostly with the response to staff which expressed concern/dissent. WIPO had no whistleblower policy in place at the time, so Dr. Brown, for example, was operating based on gut feeling when she spoke to her boss, Gurry. Brown wrongly assumed that the US would protect her actions, but this was not the case. A lot of what happened inside WIPO is similar to what’s happening at the EPO, where the crisis has some resemblance if not also connections to WIPO. We watched it live and made notes about the video. Here is the full (raw) broadcast:
Among the issues raised: gross human rights violations, attacks on unions, intolerance of whistleblowers, “theft of DNA” (whatever that means), infringement of property rights (or approaching without authorisation and then confiscating personal belongings), DNA-level or other Orwellian forms of surveillance, and (re)election of a head without any sane democratic process. WIPO resorted to threatening or demonising people using journalists too, all while threatening to “take down the article and issue an apology” when the reporters didn’t suit WIPO’s agenda (similar to what EPO had done to me). Pooley mentioned the person who had “committed suicide” like in the EPO, amid all the scandals and the vicious attack on those who spoke about it. For people who work at the EPO the above video might be of interest. It’s only hours old. █
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Posted in Europe, Patents, Videos at 9:35 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The EPO’s staff union, SUEPO, shares an English (by subtitles) version of a recent interview with SUEPO’s lawyer
THE unrest at the EPO and the protests organised by staff have gotten plenty of coverage from Dutch media. That was at the end of last month. We have some English translations of articles in Dutch, e.g. [1, 2]. Here is the video posted a week ago and made public on YouTube (and accessible as Flash from SUEPO’s Web site). It’s reposted below in WebM format in order to help bypass software patents, DRM, JavaScript, cookies etc.
Due to the way YouTube works, one must open the video in YouTube in order to see the English subtitles. Mind the part which speaks about the EPO’s Investigative Unit [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
Hopefully the above can help broaden the reach of this important, is not historic, information. █
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Posted in America, Europe, Fraud, Patents, Rumour at 12:33 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Investigative journalism from Croatia and this week’s probe into WIPO misconduct (and subsequent attack on the whistleblowers, including legal threats against bloggers) help put together a broader picture
Having spent some time separating facts from rumours (there are plenty which we still investigate) about the EPO, we are now ready to proceed to something new, or rather a new kind of scandal that nobody seems to have paid attention to.
Based on what we are hearing (and that’s not just a rumour), there is immense pressure on managers at the EPO to pretend that they support the President, even if deep inside they don’t. As one anonymous comment put it yesterday: “Certainly the letter will be signed by the various Minnoye, Topić, Casado, Lutz, Bergot, Hannard, McGinley, Requena et al. and by a bunch of fearful PDs and directors. But the letter will not help them. On the contrary, it will prove that the staff was right in their protest. If Kongstad’s letter is not a joke, the crisis is unavoidable and BB must either give in or go. Of course, with cooperation money and with secret deals BB convince some delegations to vote against the draft letter and create new obstacles. But the conflict will remain unsolved and explode again after few weeks. A good advice to BB: Monsieur, pack your luggages and go back to Saint-Germain-en-Laye.”
This mirrors something that we saw before with Željko Topić (letters of intent and perhaps forced ‘apologies’ under threats). One reader told us: “I am hearing interesting rumblings about the senior management “petition” to the AC. Some PDs are giving the Directors a “free vote” as to whether they sign or not, others are telling them that if they don’t sign it there will be grave consequences.”
Yet another comment said: “It should also be investigated whether Mr Kongstad received monthly payments from a secret budget of department 4.3 if proven, it would be scandalous! Mr Del Pozo, PD Finances, should finally come out with the truth about all that he had to sign. Soon or later all the dirty tricks and manoeuvres will be uncovered!”
This is not yet known to us, so it should be classified as a rumour. There is definitely some kind of an H.R. crisis at the EPO right now. There’s no denying that [1, 2]. Tomorrow we are going to show a leaked message from Topić, relating to H.R. Today, however, we wish to share something different, also relating to Topić.
As vigilant readers may have already noticed (it’s everywhere in the news right now), WIPO is in big trouble. As EPO-funded media put it: “The long saga that has unfolded since then WIPO deputy director general James Pooley made a number of serious allegations against the organisation’s director-general Francis Gurry in a report of misconduct filed in April 2014 may be drawing to an end. News stories from several sources – including the Fox News website and The Register – state that a report into the claims undertaken by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has been submitted to Gabriel Duque, the chair of WIPO’s General Assemblies.”
Here is how WIPR put it
A joint subcommittee at the US Congress will hold a hearing this week on whistle-blowers and accountability at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The hearing, scheduled for tomorrow, February 24, is expected to reference the results of a pending UN investigation into WIPO and hear from ex-employees at the organisation.
James Pooley, a former WIPO deputy director, Moncef Kateb, ex-president of the staff association, and Miranda Brown, an adviser to WIPO’s director general Francis Gurry, will be witnesses.
So what does it have to do with EPO? Glad you asked. Apart from the fact that Battistelli may be the next Gurry, there is something interesting about Topić. A reader sent us the details. Another newly-translated Croatian article from 2012 helps support this reader’s claims.
“Referring to the recent Techrights posting,” wrote this reader, the “Dnevno article from 5 February 2016 includes a mention of the role of the former Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ms. Vesna Vuković, as part of the “diplomatic network” of the former Croatian President Ivo Josipović who failed to secure re-election in 2015.
“The English translation of another older article from 2012 which describes the role of Ms. Vuković in more detail. In view of the recent speculation about a link between Battistelli and the “Bygmalion affair” in France, it would be interesting to know whether any EPO funds got diverted to Croatia to support Josipovic’s re-election campaign in Croatia during 2014/2015.”
Here is the Dnevno article in English with our emphasis in yellow:
A DIPLOMATIC CHAMELEON
Vesna Vuković hosts Mr. Topić in Geneva despite having systematically reported him to the State Attorney’s Office and the USKOK*
[*The Croatian State Prosecutor’s Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption]
Author: Darko Petričić
Wednesday, 4th April 2012 – 11:19
The new government is persistent in its strange attempts to bolster Mr. Željko Topić, against whom a dozen serious criminal charges have been filed. These charges not only appear to tally with each other but are dispersed over a broad timeline and encompass many diverse sections and articles of the Criminal Code. Neither the State Attorney’s Office (DORH) nor the Croatian State Prosecutor’s Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK), have taken any action so far for reasons known to only to themselves.
During the last month, we witnessed the attempts of the new government to make bizarre appointments starting with the cases of Mr. Ferenčak at JANAF and Mr. Kovačević at HEP and culminating in the notorious case of Željko Topić at the State Intellectual Property Office (DZIV).
The DZIV – identified but not yet fully explored as an international epicenter of corruption in Croatia
There would be nothing strange about all this, if it wasn’t for the small but interesting detail that a dozen serious criminal charges have been filed against Željko Topić which not only appear to tally with each other but are dispersed over a broad timeline and encompass many diverse sections and articles of the Criminal Code. For reasons known only to themselves neither the State Attorney’s Office nor the Croatian State Prosecutor’s Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK) have taken any action so far, although many insiders who are familiar with the affairs of the DZIV and its operations as well as with the activities of Željko Topić believe that the USKOK urgently needs to move into that state institution with their best agents in order to carry out a thorough investigation of the allegedly serious wrongdoings.
Among the criminal charges filed against Mr. Topić, and in this case also the representative of the international company Lufthansa in Croatia, are two complaints filed by the owner of the international AirPlus trademark. It is interesting to note that the current Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the UN in Geneva is the co-signatory of these criminal charges against the Director of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, and the representative of Lufthansa in Croatia, the attorney Andrew Matijević. In addition, over the phone, she advised some legal representatives of the owner of the Airplus trademark about what needed to be done. It might have been concluded that her main concern was to have these charges relating to the most prominent unlawful activities at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office dealt with.
Furthermore, in the summer of 2010, Mrs. Vesna Vuković personally contacted the Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Dubravko Palijaš with urgent requests to accelerate the processing of the previously reported criminal acts. So it is patently obvious that Ms. Vesna Vuković was involved in the pressing of charges against of Mr. Topić and that she was personally motivated to do so. But that’s not the end of the story. Together with the owner of the Airplus trademark, in the summer of 2010 she co- signed the letters addressed to the USKOK and the National Council for Monitoring and Combating Corruption in Croatia and provided the legal framework of the complaint which requested the dismissal of the Director of Croatia Airlines, Mr. Ivan Mišetić, based on the published news that he simultaneously occupied two positions of control – one of which was in Buzin [near Zagreb], and the other on the Lufthansa Supervisory Board in Frankfurt am Main. The story about this case was first covered by the journalist Joseph Bohutinski in the weekly magazine “Business” and was later republished in several other media.
Following that complaint, Mr. Ivan Mišetić was dismissed in the autumn of 2010 and everything else, especially his public statement concerning the termination of his employment relationship with Croatia Airlines, is a trite and fabricated story for public consumption. However, nothing has happened since then in the competent institutions of the Republic of Croatia regarding the issue of criminal liability for damage to the national airline and there is still no information as to whether the person in question paid taxes in Croatia for the unlawful supervisory position which he held for many years in the German Lufthansa or whether his income from that source has remained “invisible” to our tax administration. To this day there is still no answer to the following scandalous question with its manifold implications for issues relating to politics, corruption and privatization: Is Lufthansa the hidden owner of Croatia Airlines and, if so, who facilitated this?
Vesna Vuković – moral and professional diplomatic ‘chameleon’ of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP)
What is particularly striking is the highly unusual behavior of our Ambassador in Geneva and her official position in relation to the above matters. As a matter of fact, from the date of her appointment until now, she has received the above mentioned Director of the State Intellectual Property Office, Mr. Željko Topić, as her guest on at least two occasions because her job description and activities include following the activities of an international institution called the “World Intellectual Property Organization” (WIPO) whose headquarters are located in Geneva and of which the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office is a member. The evidence of this can easily be found on the official websites the of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office and the WIPO.
She knew – or at least she must have known – who Mr. Željko Topić was immediately after his first visit to Geneva. In accordance with the structure of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) as well as from the point of view of security and information exchange with Zagreb headquarters, she should have been obliged at that point to write an official note and officially send it to the competent minister, with a copy to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) Sector VII in charge of information and safety.
According to the Croatian Foreign Affairs Act, the general regulations of the MVEP and the professional obligations of any ambassador, they have to function as State Attorneys. For example if, when traveling by public transportation, they accidentally overhear a conversation describing actions which threaten the security of the Republic of Croatia or learn of a criminal offence and the names of persons associated with it, immediately upon arriving at their office or embassy, they must report this in writing to the competent state bodies according to their internal organization. The proof of this can be found in the thousands of diplomatic dispatches which are currently being published by Wikileaks in a manner which illustrates the aforementioned problem by means of the publication of confidential emails between the embassies of various countries around the world and the capitals of their countries of origin and vice versa.
Why did Ambassador Vuković failed to act in the appropriate manner? Considering that a key role in her irregular and unlawful appointment to the position of the Croatian Ambassador in Geneva at the beginning of last year was played by one of the advisors to President Josipović to the detriment of other candidates and considering that, according to the information available to us, the President of the Republic of Croatia is one of the main patrons of the incriminated DZIV Director, Ms. Vuković may very well have concluded that she should be at the disposal of her new “boss” even though he is only one of the shapers of Croatian foreign policy. This supposition is supported by the fact that the legal representative of the Director of the DZIV, Mr. Željko Topić, in one of the aforementioned criminal proceedings is Silvio Hraste from the Zagreb law firm on whose premises part of election headquarters of Ivo Josipović during his Presidential campaign was located, according to some unofficial sources.
For the moment it remains unclear as to how Minister Željko Jovanović was dragged into this dirty game and why, for more than a month now, there have been no official reports of the inspection of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office by the competent ministries which was conducted more than a month ago on 2 February 2012. It took only one day to complete the inspection of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office which was conducted under the control of Mr. Saša Zelenika, Deputy Minister to Mr. Jovanović. We do not know whether or not the leaders of the WIPO in Geneva are familiar with this first-class corruption scandal and its epicenter in Croatia. However, according to our sources this case may soon acquire an international dimension.
Before his election as President, Ivo Josipović was a frequent guest at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office and in the office of the Director, Mr. Topić. Since he relied on the staff of the Croatian Composers’ Society (ZAMP) to fill the most important positions in the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, he was certainly very interested in making sure that the international component responsible for intellectual property in Geneva was “covered” by a reliable person in the ambassadorial “network” as he himself likes to call it. All of this is the obvious proof of the operation of a parallel system of government inside our country and on an international level.
One has the impression that the current relations between the Pantovčak [the President's Office] and Geneva are based on the same pattern as the already famous “Čačić’s axiom” [attributed to the former Deputy Prime Minister Radimir Čačić]: “No Government, from now on you talk only to me! – and involve bypassing the official protocol at the Zrinjevac [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. There’s nothing new about this. As the first President of the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, used to say: “Tie the horse where I tell you.” This sentence usually referred to Croatian foreign policy actions and the inter-Governmental appearances of the then Foreign Minister Mate Granić who was never completely trusted by Tudjman.
EPO H.R. must have been utterly poor for quite a while if it actually hired a man with dozens of criminal cases against him, according to the above article. On numerous occasions we already covered the UN and the Lufthansa aspects, though not WIPO. Readers can find coverage on these in older articles.
Our reader has remarked on the above article as follows:
As the article about Ms. Vukovic refers to the WIPO in Geneva, the links about the shenanigans in that organisation which are appended below might also be of interest:
There should be a live webcast here for anybody interested starting at 14:00 Washington time on 24 Feb (that’s later today):
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/joint-subcommittee-hearing-establishing-accountability-world-intellectual-property
Some reports:
Congress to quiz WIPO whistle-blowers
http://www.worldipreview.com/news/congress-to-quiz-wipo-whistle-blowers-9608
Where is the Report on the Allegations From WIPO Whistleblowers?
https://www.whistleblower.org/blog/122922-where-report-allegations-wipo-whistleblowers
Secret UN report finds against controversial WIPO chief
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/22/wipo_whistleblower_report/
Pressure grows on WIPO DG Gurry after submission of UN report and further explosive Pooley claims
http://www.iam-media.com/blog/Detail.aspx?g=b7e820d7-ba8f-4e30-a385-0aadd2315000
Pooley’s written testimony can be found here:
“Based on my experience I can report to you that the vast majority of the people at WIPO are competent, dedicated and deliver as required, many of them well beyond that. But this belies a profoundly serious problem with governance. The agency, in my opinion, is run by a single person who is not accountable for his behavior. He is able to rule as he does only with the tacit cooperation of member countries who are supposed to act as WIPO’s board of directors. And he is ultimately protected by an anachronistic shield of diplomatic immunity.”
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA16/20160224/104528/HHRG-114-FA16-Wstate-PooleyJ-20160224.pdf
Miranda Brown’s testimony is here:
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA16/20160224/104528/HHRG-114-FA16-Wstate-BrownM-20160224.pdf
Interestingly enough, we found two of the above reports ourselves (IAM and WIPR), but didn’t quite imagine that other people also noticed them. There is now another interesting dimension to explore; if there a connection (even if slight/meager) between what happens in WIPO and what happens inside the EPO (except the legal threats sent to bloggers in order to silence them)? Željko Topić might be just one link among several more that we just don’t know about (yet). █
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