Bonum Certa Men Certa

Administrative Council of the EPO Must Recognise Critical Brain Drain, Loss of Talent, Loss of Patent Quality

If it's not too late already to save the EPO from collapse...

Hugo Chavez is Scaring Away Talent Reference: Hugo Chavez is Scaring Away Talent



Summary: Tyranny and an authoritarian management style at the EPO is taking its toll and the entire workforce is now at risk

THE severe actions from EPO management have made the working place exceptionally unpleasant, even to senior staff. We have never heard of (or from) a satisfied EPO worker and judging by the staff survey that was not sponsored (and controlled) by Battistelli, it's the fault of Battistelli and his ilk. Things were nowhere as grim shortly after he had taken over. Judging by the number of departures (including early retirements), we can expect a severe loss of skills/experience inside the Office. This can be fatal.



IAM, which never cared about patent quality (it's an impediment to trolls that sponsor IAM and IAM itself pushes for software patents even in India while covering up the obvious issues at the EPO), describes a similar manpower issue in India right now. The USPTO, which is generally improving right now (after decisions like Alice and Mayo), brags about improved patent quality. Lee, whom Trump reportedly plans to replace, has just spoken about the subject. To quote IP Watch:

Opening a conference on patent quality today, United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Michele Lee highlighted efforts of the administration in improving the quality of patents and addressing backlog of patent applications. Patent backlog is down by one-third since the start of the Obama administration, she said.


We intend to write more about the USPTO separately (later today), but let's just say that with PTAB, CAFC, Alice and so on there are growing hopes among reformers (less so among the patent microcosm/patent maximalists who lobby Trump already).

At the EPO, patent quality is declining and earlier this week the EPO tried to hide this (probably in preparation for today's meeting). Battistelli is demolishing the appeal boards (more of less the equivalent of PTAB in the US) and this article by Christian Balcer (Marks & Clerk) has just been reposted again to highlight shortened windows for appeal (one of many ways Battistelli has been using to crush/weaken the boards).

Yesterday the EPO wrote: "We have vacancies for engineers and scientists."

What they mean to say was that they have experienced brain drain, as the Office is in a crisis due to Benoît Battistelli and his thugs. Those who can, with some exceptions, are leaving. "Join the Praktika Intern programme," the EPO wrote yesterday, "if you have experience in drafting & prosecuting European patent applications..."

They just want low-cost labour to compete with the senior staff, forcing them into depression, under-capacity, or simply a rushed process of examination that resembles assembly line rather than proper research (e.g. prior art) which their qualifications, such as Masters and Doctorates, enable them to carry out.

The EPO wants to become another SIPO. A million patent applications per year is something they'll never attain given the high cost associated with EPs and the growing realisation that today's EPO is a sham.

The following new comment relates to a comment we saw and mentioned the other day in relation to FFPE-EPO:



Administrative council meets in 2 days. An attempt to head off any opposition within the AC as BB shows how fair he is? I'm pretty certain there would also be a divide and rule about this as have all the members of the staff reps been awarded something? The ones I know will not be bought.


Battistelli is accustomed to wasting the EPO's money just buying the media and potentially buying votes too (a sackable offense). Some people allege that he is trying to pull it off again.

"Will the AC , partners in crime, become tomorrow a group of refined thinkers," one person wrote yesterday. Here is the full comment:



Will the AC , partners in crime, become tomorrow a group of refined thinkers and doers who deal freely and easily with the Eponians academic reflexes , unhindered by the often overwhelming foreknowledge of those in BB’s close circles?... A group armed with a critical , constantly alert outlook , with antennae and feelers reaching out in all directions, with ears permanently pricked and implausibly intelligent hearts. To look at the EPO differently , dispense with the obvious, communicate more deliberately with the Eponians and place their trust in them. Do they dare to take this leap in the unknown? A Wahlverwandschaft. There is no such thing as coincidence!


As we stated a couple of times earlier today, if the Administrative Council does not take firm action against Battistelli, then it will most definitely be viewed as complicit. There is no excuse left at this stage. The management, to quote EPO staff, is a disaster because "[t]rust in the European patent system has been seriously eroded" and "Mr Battistelli is causing immeasurable damage to the Office; he is now untenable."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Under the Guise of "MIT Technology Review Insights" the Site MIT Technology Review Posts Corporate Spam as 'Articles'
Some of the articles aren't even articles but 'hit pieces' against Free software and some are paid advertisements
Brett Wilson LLP Has Track Record in Scam Coin Cases (e.g. Craig Wright and More), Now It Works for 'Crypto' Scam Purveyors
But wait, it gets worse
Will Brett Wilson LLP Handle Its Own Winding Up Petition or be Struck Off for Overt Abuse of Process?
Today we sue not only the first Microsofter
Ubuntu Becomes Microsoft GitHub, Based on Decision Made by British Army Officer
You're hopeless, Canonical
Sharing Code and Recipes
It helps explain the triviality of software freedom
How Many Women Has Microsoft's Alex Balabhadra Graveley Already Strangled and Where Does That End?
If you too are a victim of this man and wish to share information, contact us
"We Might Save Somebody's Life"
I follow the example of my father
 
UK Media Under Threat: Cannot Report on Data Breach, Cannot Report on Microsoft Staff Strangling Women
The story of super injunction (in the British media this week, years late)
Victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, Wanted to Sue Him But Lacked the Funds (He Attacked Their Finances)
Having spoken to victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
Links 17/07/2025: Science, Hardware, and Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: Staying in the "Small Web" and Back on ICQ
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Exclusive: corruption in Tribunals, Greffiers, from protection rackets to cat whisperers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/07/2025: Chip Bans and Microsoft’s “Digital Escort” Program
Links for the day
Revolving Doors: One Day You're a Judge, the Next Day You're an Attorney Paying Public Officials and Working for Violent and Dangerous Microsoft Employees
how the US justice system works
Slopwatch: Noise, Plagiarism and Even Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation
What are we meant to do to prevent a false association or misleading connotations? Game the LLMs? No. Boycott slopfarms.
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Simple Web Browsing with TLS
Links for the day
Links 16/07/2025: Fascist Slop Takes "Intelligence" Clothing, New Criminal Case Against MElon
Links for the day
Why I am Suing the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, in the UK High Court This Week
Out of respect to the process and to the Court, I shall not share any pertinent details about the case
Links 16/07/2025: China’s Economy Grows Steadily, France Takes Action Regarding Harm to Children by GAFAM and Fentanylware (TikTok)
Links for the day
It is Not About Politics
Beware the people who try to make this about politics
Good Journalism Saves Lives
a shocking number of women die or get seriously hurt every day due to violence from a partner
Recognition of Women's Contributions to Free Software
Being passive is not an option when bad things are happening
Slopfarms Are Going to Perish Because Public Opinion is Changing
Many slopfarms will simply go offline
19 Years of Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Truth
This week we shall take it up a notch
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: Tmux and OCC25 Working TLS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Links 15/07/2025: LLM Pollution and Pushback in Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: xkcd, New Cert, and Alhena Gemlog
Links for the day
Links 15/07/2025: Press Freedom at Risk and New Facebook Blunders
Links for the day
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day