Bonum Certa Men Certa

Bogus European Patents Kill Cancer Patients, But EPO Still Has the Audacity to Ride the Wave of World Cancer Day



EPO Cancer support in LinkedIn



Summary: Management of the EPO has no sense of shame; in spite of abundant evidence that it contributes to cancer deaths (through monopoly), it is publicly expressing solidarity with the victims

LAST week we wrote about the European Patent Office (EPO) killing literally poor women who have breast cancer. Years ago we dealt with these ethical problems [1, 2] that disturb EPO insiders, who thought they would be doing what's morally right when they joined the Office. Less than a day ago the EPO started playing with cancer again when it wrote: "On #WorldCancerDay we want to show the world some of the great minds that are working intensively to find a cure for this dreadful disease. http://bit.ly/2DSez3N Please spread the word!"



Notice and pay attention to what picture they use in there. It's that same one they used years ago (see above). They're reusing and recycling their propaganda, much like the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does on occasions.

"This is not what the patent system was conceived for (e.g. denying access to life-saving cancer treatments)."Philipp Widera, writing in Kluwer Patent Blog, has just recalled what the EPO did regarding "patients with breast cancer" -- basically helping to deny them access to life-saving treatment they can afford. To quote Widera: "It all started in May 2017 when Östrogenblocker (in English: “Estrogen Blocker”) had been handed down (docket-no I-2 W 6/17). The case can be regarded as a precursor of the Fulvestrant-decision as it concerned the PI-proceedings mentioned above. The underlying patent protected the use of Fulvestrant in the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of a specific group of patients with breast cancer (i.e. a Swiss-type claim). Based on the Pemetrexed-decision of the German Federal Supreme Court (docket-no X ZR 29/15, also known as Actavis v Eli Lilly), the Court of Appeal made it clear that Swiss-type claims are to be treated in the same way as so-called EPC 2000-claims. Hence Swiss-type claims are to be regarded as purpose-limited product claims (and not method claims)."

It is getting hard to tell, more so these days, if these European Patents are fake and void, as corrupt management at the EPO intentionally rushes/prods examiners to grant, passing the cost (or deaths) to the public. We'll say more about this in the next couple of articles. Here's another new example from IP Kat (also yesterday):

The patent EP (UK) 2073862 at issue claims a process for the preparation of a cell composition, comprising the steps of centrifuging whole blood in a separator tube, removing half of the platelet poor plasma from the top and re-suspending the remaining plasma and buffy coat to produce enriched platelet rich plasma (PRP). The claim specifies the type of separator tube and the centrifugal force to be used. In particular the claim specifies that the separator tube is either (1) a glass tube containing thixotropic gel and 0.10 M sodium citrate, or (2) a polyethylene terephthalate separator tube containing a highly thixotropic gel formed by a polymer mixture and anhydrous sodium citrate at 3.5 mg/mL. The inventive concept of the claim was said to reside in the resuspension step, which permits preparation of PRP from whole blood using only one centrifuge step.


Last month, seeing a report about patents on blood and vessels, I joked that one day they would patent every component of the human body, including blood plasma. How far will patent maximalism go and what will be its human toll (casualties)? This is not what the patent system was conceived for (e.g. denying access to life-saving cancer treatments).

Recent Techrights' Posts

With 9 Mentions of Azure In Its Latest Blog Post, Canonical is Again Promoting Microsoft and Intel Vendor Lock-in, Surveillance, Back Doors, Considerable Power Waste, and Defects That Cannot be Fixed
Microsoft did not even have to buy Canonical (for Canonical to act like it happened)
Links 28/03/2024: GAFAM Replacing Full-Time Workers With Interns Now
Links for the day
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC