08.29.17
Gemini version available ♊︎Hiring of German Judges for UPC Has Been Halted as the Future of UPC as a Whole Now in Doubt
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Summary: Things keep getting worse for the Unified Patent Court (UPC), whose manifestation looks more and more like a distant dream (fantasy of the litigation ‘industry’) due to Brexit, the exit of Battistelli, and the departure of the Chairman of the EPO’s Administrative Council one month from now
THE situation is getting rather grim for Team UPC; they’re all very silent… silent for well over a week! (since the EPO released some PDF)
A month ago the German press published quite a few noteworthy reports. These covered EPO scandals around that time (SUEPO published translations and so did at least one German publication). Yesterday, SUEPO highlighted a couple more of those [1, 2]. Will SUEPO translate these to English some time soon? Regardless of these reports, the German media is still far too soft on the corrupt EPO. Well, what happened to guts in the media? It’s like they fear the prospect of unleashing another Dieselgate, which caused tremendous damage to German reputation/credibility, not to mention long-term economic harm.
“Regardless of these reports, the German media is still far too soft on the corrupt EPO.”Later this week we are going to resume the “EPO Silencers of the Media” series. For the past few days I have been getting numerous requests of self-censorship regarding the EPO (I ignored all of them, as usual).
More important for the time being is new information we found out on Monday. This new article from a biotechnology news site which is based in Europe, called “European Biotechnology Magazine,” said this yesterday: “As Spain and Italy resisted to adopt the rules because unitary patents will be only translated into few languages, reducing overall cost, the initial plan failed. Furthermore, the unitary patent and the UPC may make European companies more vulnerable due to the fact that a single proceeding in one country can annul their patent claims in all EU countries.”
“Language discriminations cannot happen,” said one of the comments from earlier this month, “even if the CJEU tolerates them.”
Here is the full comment (there’s more to that effect there):
For the automated non-legally binding translations, be prepared that there will be appeals at the national level and up to the ECHR.
Unfortunately, Germany, France or UK are not concerned about those automated translations under the UPC.
Language discriminations cannot happen, even if the CJEU tolerates them.
And that decision was a political one.
“Germany has stopped hiring of German judges for the court,” continued the above piece. Just like in the UK then; the UPC Preparatory Committee put the brakes on the UPC, having even advertised UPC jobs that quite likely would never exist because the Unitary Patent is dead in the UK (or will be officially dead soon).
Here is the relevant passage/paragraph: “Sources told European Biotechnology Magazine that Germany has stopped hiring of German judges for the court, a clear signal that Germany is going to halt the ratification process of the UPC agreement for a longer period of time than previously expected. Without the UK, Germany and France ratifying legislation for the UPC, the unitary patent cannot become reality. To date, only five EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Malta, and Sweden) have ratified the agreement.”
“What will be the fate of judges who were attacked by Battistelli (or those who saw their independence under attack)?”The UPC will languish or die like Battistelli’s career and health. Judging by the German media, there’s no hope for the UPC any time soon; even the patent microcosm is no longer as optimistic as it used to be. EPO abuses have a lot to do with that.
What will be the fate of judges who were attacked by Battistelli (or those who saw their independence under attack)? What will happen to prospective UPC judges? Will they be told that the job they applied for no longer exists? Here is a comment left a short while ago in IP Kat:
What is a “juristic person of corporations”? A very fat judge?
“I am the judge, the very fat judge, that waters the patent law!
Oh, I am the judge, the very fat man, that waters the patent law!
And what do I care about freedom to work, or the honest prior us-or?
For I am the judge, the very fat judge, that waters the patent law!”
The context for this comment is partly related to the EPO. But we no longer want to link to IP Kat, at least until it resumes covering EPO scandals (not ignoring them, cowardly pretending they do not exist). █
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