Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Trolls in Europe and the Looming Collapse of the UPC

Summary: Imminent election in the UK, as well as several other factors, may threaten to throw the UPC into even greater uncertainty just when patent trolls are beginning to flock to Europe with the intention of capitalising on it

THE EPO is out of control, whereas the US patent system is gradually being reformed by the Supreme Courts (with two more important decisions last month).



“EPO and its patent court will not have that corrective.”
      --Jan Wildeboer‏
As Red Hat's Jan Wildeboer‏ put it the other day, "let's thank $DEITY that #SCOTUS puts shit in its place. EPO and its patent court will not have that corrective."

In Germany, software development professionals such as Wildeboer‏ are growingly concerned about an upsurge of software patents and patent trolls that exploit these. Trolls are coming to Europe, including to London (we wrote about that some week/months ago when the trolls got their way in court) and IAM, funded by trolls and located somewhere in the London area, is satisfied about that. It even wrote a confirmatory article about it earlier this week.

"In Germany, software development professionals such as Wildeboer‏ are growingly concerned about an upsurge of software patents and patent trolls that exploit these."Dr. Luke McDonagh, citing a New York Times opinion piece, notes: "Another unwelcome stat: in 2016 EPO granted 5 times as many #patents to German companies as to British & twice as many to French companies..."

Bristows, the London-based liars (or lawyers) who are perpetually promoting patent trolls in Europe (and of course UPC too, as these go hand in hand), maintain their advocacy of UPC. Germany cannot ratify the UPC unless the UK does (as there would be no point; we covered this before) and Francisco Moreno added: "Countersignature by German gov. (Merkel or a German Minister) is the next step. One step beyond?"

"Germany cannot ratify the UPC unless the UK does..."Well, his source is Bristows, which can't help lying (false predictions all the time). It's this 'gem' from Gemma Barrett, who after the mirage of Germany going ahead proceeds to the next lobbying effort (remember that Bristows staff are deleting messages of those who refute them). There was also Alan Johnson with this puff piece quoting UPC allies like Bieńkowska [1, 2, 3].

Notice how they dodge discussion about the role of the UK, or lack thereof. So did the ToryGraph some days ago when it published this lobbying piece (in the form of an 'article' or 'report').

"It's a front group for just a few giants, just like the US Chamber of Commerce, and it lies or misleads by omission."The headline is very misleading because British businesses oppose the UPC, yet the article pretends that the British Chambers of Commerce can somehow represent "EU businesses" or even UK-based businesses. It's a front group for just a few giants, just like the US Chamber of Commerce, and it lies or misleads by omission. "Not sure if you saw that one," one reader told us about this, but "the only time the ECJ is mentioned is in the comments."

Here are some excerpts:

Britain should join the EU’s patents union and stay in after Brexit, businesses on both sides of the Channel have demanded, arguing that the Unitary Patent system is helpful regardless of Britain’s status in or out of the EU.

[...]

The British Chambers of Commerce and its EU counterpart Eurochambres have written to the UK’s business secretary Greg Clark to encourage him to push ahead with the plan.


IAM, a UPC booster, correctly noted in relation to this article that "The UK government's growing anti-EU rhetoric could make joining the UPC politically impossible after the election."

"Be careful of misleading, agenda-driven 'blogs' or 'reports' from front groups of corporations and self-serving firms like Bristows."Moreover, it's beginning to look like Tories (with Jo Johnson) might lose the election next week. The people involved may already be on their way out.

Be careful of misleading, agenda-driven 'blogs' or 'reports' from front groups of corporations and self-serving firms like Bristows. We're quite amazed at what they manage to get away with. They try to shape some sort of alternative 'reality' where UPC is both inevitable and desirable by all.

Recent Techrights' Posts

"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure)
This was a few hours ago
We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.
To hell with UEFI 'secure boot'
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft
"This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop
Well done, Google News. Google itself can flourish as a slopfarm mashup.
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC
"Linux does not want to install"
 
Slopwatch: Google News Infested With Slop (About Half of the Results for "Linux" Today)
This is the sort of junk one finds when looking for "Linux" in Google News these days
Links 14/09/2025: Ricky Hatton Dies and McDonald's Declares War on Tipping Culture
Links for the day
Links 14/09/2025: Disasters for CEOs Obsessed With Slop and Slop Companies School Like Fish
Links for the day
"Bad Shim Signature" (Microsoft 'Secure' Boot)
"Fresh install not booting"
What Microsoft Garrett and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar tactics, different "wings"
Links 14/09/2025: US "Economy Sagging", "Michigan Economy Wobbles From Tariffs"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: Minimalist Snippet Manager and Omarchy Linux
Links for the day
The Face of the Digital Far Right: Microsoft Lunduke
Microsoft Lunduke is an online extremist that belongs to and panders to the far right
20 Years Later and Academia Isn't the Same
"I never dreamed of being a professor"
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired
Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 13, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025
Microsoft is Rapidly Dropped From Web Servers, Shows Survey
Microsoft lost about 8% "market share" in just 3 months
Many GNU/Linux Users Report MOK (Machine Owner Key) Issues in Recent Days
many people don't report this online and never post in Reddit
Links 13/09/2025: Escalations in East Europe and POTUS’ Health Cover-Up
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/09/2025: Lagrange Turns 5 and Lagrange 1.19.2 Released
Links for the day
Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot."
2 hours ago
A New Low for "Linux Journal": Promoting MICROSOFT WINDOWS Using LLM Slop
They've just jumped the shark entirely
The Register MS Still Takes Money to Hype Up "AI" in Articles by Microsoft Resellers With the Term "AI" 30+ Times in Them
Notice how many times they mention "AI"
The Apache Logo News is VERY Old, Racists and 'Anti-Woke' Bigots Look for Something to Incite Other Bigots With
Nothing to see here, move along
Linux Mint 9/11: "4th One Today..." (in Reddit)
Remember that not everyone having an issue reports it to social control media like Reddit
Nepal Will Fall Without a Single Shot Fired, Thanks to Social Control Media
Or very few shots (by the authorities)
European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture
"In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
European Authorities, Already Bribed and Infiltrated by Microsoft, Won't Help You Find BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi
Because they're paid by Microsoft and are Microsoft 'addicts' themselves
UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012)
in the media
Debian 9/11
people report this issue
Gemini and Web Links 13/09/2025: MElon's Slop Grift and "Autonomous Trains"
Links for the day
Moving From Content Management Systems (CMSs) to Static Site Generators (SSGs) Saves You Time, Makes You a Lot More Productive
try to reduce the cost (financial and computational) of running your site
Pursuing Peace Through Violence
You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs
corruption has become the norm and scientists are robbed of any dignity
Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?
"An important point to hammer on is that CoCs were never intended for uniform or symmetric application"
Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders)
"the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
Geminispace is Growing Faster in 2025 Than It Did in 2024
What matters is that corporations haven't ruined it and LLM slop is extremely rare
Links 13/09/2025: China Punishes for 'Negative' Posts, US Police Unable to Find Shooter
Links for the day
Who's the Mystery Financier of SLAPP Against Techrights and Is That a Millionaire/Billionaire?
Whose idea was it to fund meritless lawsuits against my wife and I?
Slopwatch: Slow Slop Day
This distracts from or may take traffic away from the original articles, actually written by actual people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 12, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 12, 2025
CoC Gone Wrong: Celebrating Murder OK, Complaining About the Celebration Gets You Banned
Hopefully the NixOS Foundation will have a word with (maybe replace) the moderator/s
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Familiarity and Secondary Dominants
Links for the day
Explaining (in Length and Depth) the Damage Matthew Garrett Did to Linux and to GNU/Linux Users
no matter how many threats we receive
Links 12/09/2025: "Bad Reviews" as Extortion Weapon, "Free Speech At Risk in America’s Schools" According to ACLU
Links for the day
Only One Speaker Does Not Do Sharecropping for MElon (in X.com)
The man who puts principles before PR/optics
The Mind of the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI'
in a nutshell
A Day After "UEFI 9/11": UEFI Secure Boot Bypass
In the news today (right now), as published in the past few hours
Links 12/09/2025: Slop Code as Liability, Microsoft Outlook Down for Many
Links for the day
It's Still Not to Late to Turn Off "Secure Boot"
If people reboot their PC or server today, and it relies on "Secure Boot" on Sept. 12 or later, then depending on the firmware there may be trouble ahead
Links 12/09/2025: Shira Perlmutter is Back, “Software Per Se” Patent Rejections in In re McFadden
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux Plagiarism, Slopfarms Still Infesting Google News, Many Images Are Fake
Google is promoting plagiarism
"This Morning Might Turn Out to be an Interesting One for System Admins Who Haven't Updated Their Devices' Secure Boot Certificate" (If They Reboot)
Who asked for this anyway?
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Metric System, Dumping Windows, and Software Architecture is Dead
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 11, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 11, 2025