Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO is Slipping Out of Control Again and It's Another Battistelli-Like Mess With Disregard for the Rule of Law and Patent Scope

Ignorance is bliss

Antonio Campinos



Summary: The banker in chief is just 'printing' or 'minting' lots and lots of patents, even clearly bogus ones that lack substance to back their perceived value

WE ARE very thankful for 35 U.S.C. €§ 101/Alice/Mayo (SCOTUS). Earlier today we asked for recent examples of court outcomes that can overturn/overrule 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 precedents. We got none. Nothing of high importance/level (higher courts) and/or precedential. Nothing since Valentine's Day of 2018 (Berkheimer). The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the ITC are managed by patent maximalists like the EPO's António Campinos, who is promoting software patents in Europe. But what has far more weight is a combination of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes reviews (IPRs), which are still effective at squashing software patents in the US, and the Federal Circuit affirming PTAB much of the time and correcting (overturning) district courts if they tolerate software patents. I've put links about it in Techrights daily links. We try to focus on the Linux Foundation and the EPO instead. Our battle against software patents has been partly successful in the US, but not in Europe. Not yet anyway.



"Apparently, everything (or just about anything) software or code or computer or machine or algorithm is "AI" now."Focusing on Europe, as usual, yesterday we caught the EPO tweeting about "blockchains" again (i.e. illegal patents that the EPO keeps granting in defiance of caselaw, EPC, instructions from European authorities and demands from software professionals).

"Have a look here to learn how patent professionals are navigating the changing landscape of blockchain," the EPO wrote, linking to the usual nonsense.

Also yesterday (nighttime) Managing IP published 3 new articles. The first said “Argentina’s trademark updates continue clumsily” and readers can guess what they mean by “clumsily” (not as profitable for us and our clients). So says a headline of a lawyers’ front group, funded by law firms to masquerade as a news site and grant them awards, puff pieces, lobbying events...

On the same night the site resumed promoting software patents disguised as "AI", alluding to its "US Patent Forum" as follows: "Conversations around artificial intelligence (AI) innovations concluded with more questions than answers at Managing IP’s US Patent Forum in New York City on April 4."

"So the USPTO basically continues granting patents which it knows in advance courts would reject."Apparently, everything (or just about anything) software or code or computer or machine or algorithm is "AI" now. It's a passing fad, surely, which faded away before (the term ot the concept is hardly new). Then the site promoted this sheer nonsense about patents on "tech and life sciences" (they mean software and nature/life). This article is thoroughly false as its title (yet again) claims "USPTO eligibility guidance could create consistency" even though the opposite is true (judges throw out patents while puring cold water on Iancu).

So the USPTO basically continues granting patents which it knows in advance courts would reject. This is the same thing the EPO is nowadays doing. This is one of the many reasons examiners have complained for about half a decade.

"It's like a copy of the EPO's press release, which was dishonest."IPPro Magazine's Rebecca Delaney has just published this article that's a puff piece (as it's not Barney, her colleague). It's like a copy of the EPO's press release, which was dishonest. We wrote about it yesterday, stressing that the EPO is again offering money for sellout 'scholars' who produce propaganda disguised as 'research' in an effort to “encourage more academic research” (to use their words).

Research like what? How wonderful patents on pigs, figs and seeds would be? As recently as yesterday we saw patent maximalists like Andrew Bentham (J A Kemp) not caring about common sense, only litigation euros, even over patents on life itself (and nature itself). In Mondaq J A Kemp published (probably for a fee):

Recent weeks have seen important developments in the debate on patent-eligibility of plants in Europe, with the EPO's Boards of Appeal and its President, Administrative Council and member states pulling in opposite directions. The President has now referred questions, published today, to the Enlarged Board of Appeal, but the admissibility of the referral is uncertain, so it is unclear how or when the Enlarged Board will react. Applicants in this field will therefore face further delay and uncertainty. More generally, this is also a highly unusual, polarised situation that highlights the potential for conflict between different branches of the European patent system. Fortunately, however, this issue only directly affects some plant-related applications, not all that generally relate to plants in some way.


Rose Hughes also wrote about it yesterday (third time in recent weeks!) to say:

The President's referral follows swiftly from the Board of Appeal (BA) decision in T 1063/18 (Pepper). For the full background to the case see IPKat post here. In summary, the EBA found in G 2/12 (Broccoli/Tomato II) that Article 53(c) did not exclude plants produced by essential biological processes from patentability. The European Commission subsequently issued a notice of the (non-legally binding) opinion that the biotech directive excluded plants produced by essentially biological processes from patentability. In response, the Administrative Council (AC) amended Rule 28 EPC to explicitly exclude plants produced by essentially biological processes from patentability.

The BA in T 1063/18 (Pepper) found that the AC's interpretation of Article 53(b) EPC by amendment of Rule 28(2) EPC was in conflict with the prior interpretation of the Article by the EBA in G 2/12 (Broccoli/Tomato II). The Board in T 1063/18 (Pepper) found that the AC Rule amendment was void. The Board in T 1063/18 (Pepper) also did not feel it necessary to refer the issue to the EBA, reasoning that the EBA had already decided on the question in G 2/12 (Broccoli/Tomato II).


Sadly, EBA cannot rule as it sees fit as per the law; there's a risk involved, having witnessed the fate of Judge Corcoran, their former colleague (back in the days before the exile to Haar, which is rightly perceived as collective punishment and a stark warning).

"...the EPO is again offering money for sellout 'scholars' who produce propaganda disguised as 'research'..."A comment was left yesterday to speak about the defunct EPO structure: "It will be interesting to see how independent from the president and the AC the members of the BoA and of the EboA are under the new performance evaluation system which has a direct influence on their reappointment."

People aren't forgetting. The above site (IP Kat) has also just published an article for the notoriously aggressive law firm the EPO hired to stalk and bully me (Mishcon de Reya). Rosie Burbidge published for these thugs something about "IP [sic] and the gaming industry". Yesterday I got a couple more threatening letters asking me to remove articles -- a request I strongly reject. I will say more on that sooner or later as we examine and consult people who know how to handle it.

"Yesterday I got a couple more threatening letters asking me to remove articles -- a request I strongly reject."The book in question does not mention "IP", but Mishcon de Reya interjected this nonsense into the headline. There is no such thing as "IP", but yesterday the EPO wrote: "University spin-offs need access to the relevant IP early on."

I responded by asking: "Did you mean to write patents and then some PR person or lawyer rewrote it?"

That misleading propaganda term is again supposed to make us think that patents are rights, are property (hence "property rights") and are granted some magical power for being "intellectual" (are plants and seeds intellectual even though they had existed in nature since before humans even existed?). We're supposed to think nature itself is science.

"That misleading propaganda term is again supposed to make us think that patents are rights, are property (hence "property rights") and are granted some magical power for being "intellectual" (are plants and seeds intellectual even though they had existed in nature since before humans even existed?).""We'll be discussing the business advantages of IP," the EPO also wrote a short time apart, "illustrated by the story of a successful SME, at this event in Bucharest..."

Here are some more "IP" tweets from yesterday, some with "IP" in their hashtags too.

We're guessing that the EPO will resort to more two-letter acronyms like PR, IP and AI because that's about short enough for the mental capacity of Team Campinos, a team led by a former banker with zero background in science and several of his former colleagues.

Recent Techrights' Posts

When People Call a Best/Close Friend of Bill Gates a "Serial Rapist"
Good thing that the Linux Foundation keeps the "Linux" trademark ("Linux Mark") clean
Microsoft Bankruptcy in Russia, Shutdown in Pakistan, What Next?
It seems possible that in 2025 alone Microsoft will have laid off over 50,000 workers
What Matters More Than "Market Share"
The goal is freedom, not "market share"
Credit Suisse collapse obfuscated Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners scandal
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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)
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
 
Nils Torvalds and Anna "Mikke" Torvalds (née Törnqvis) Hopefully Use GNU/Linux by Now
"Torvalds Family Uses Windows, Not Linus’ Linux"
Attack of the Slopfarms
FUD-amplifying bots with slop images, slop text (LLM slop)
Not My Problem, I Don't Care
Context/inspiration: Martin Niemöller
Honest Journalism About the European Patent Office Ceased to Exist After SLAPPs and Bribes to the Media
The EPO is basically a Mafia
Life Became Simpler When I Stopped Driving and I Don't Miss Driving When I See "Modern" Cars
Gee, wonder why car sales have plummeted...
Why I Believe Brett Wilson LLP and Its Microsoft Clients Are All Toast
So far our legal strategy has worked perfectly
EPO Jobs Are Very Toxic and Bad for One's Health
Health first, not monopolies
Response to Ryo Suwito Regarding the Four Freedoms
the point of life isn't to make more money
Microsoft's Morale Circling Down the Drain
Or gutter, toilet etc.
Tech Used to be Fun. To Many of Us It's Still Fun.
You can just watch it from afar and make fun of it all
Links 17/07/2025: "Blog Identity Crisis" and Openwashing by Nvidia
Links for the day
Greffiers and the US Attorney of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
The lawsuit can help expose extensive corruption in the American court system as well
The People Who Promoted systemd in Debian Also Promote Wayland
This is not politics
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
Sharing Code and Recipes
It helps explain the triviality of software freedom
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.
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
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
"We Might Save Somebody's Life"
I follow the example of my father
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