03.23.20
Gemini version available ♊︎The Fall of the UPC – Part IV: IP Kat Became Just a Team UPC Megaphone
Summary: Willem Hoyng (Drafting Committee of the UPC’s Rules of Procedure) is ‘writing’ IP Kat right now; has the blog turned into the very thing it fought to expose?
TEN or so years ago I ‘discovered’ IP Kat, which I had already linked to many times beforehand. It wasn’t a bad blog. There were some scholars there and they weren’t too shy or afraid to say the truth about the ‘religion’ they call “IP”. It’s not sacred and some things are based on lies or mythology — essentially the same thing.
The reaction of IP Kat to the news from the FCC was rather predictable, as were the comments, which are nowadays dissenting (not agreeing with original authors on this topic). About the fall of the UPC one person said: “That is a real shame, but when we do this we should do it properly – we have the rule of law for a reason
“…. And breathe ….
“The reaction of IP Kat to the news from the FCC was rather predictable, as were the comments, which are nowadays dissenting (not agreeing with original authors on this topic).”“Stay safe and well people…”
A former ‘Kat’ (“Tufty”) had been saying similar things. Past writers of that blog weren’t all giddy about the UPC, but nowadays the blog is run by people from AstraZeneca and Bristows — exactly the sorts of people who we can expect to push for the UPC.
The first article about the FCC’s decision came from IP Kat‘s Léon Dijkman, who kindly reminds us that today’s ‘Kat’ or “IP Kitten” or whatever is Team UPC, close to Team UPC, or surrogate.
IP Kat (again Léon Dijkman) then became a megaphone of the Drafting Committee of the UPC’s Rules of Procedure (part of Team UPC, in effect the conspirators in this coup). The ‘feline’ blog rapidly shows what an utter sham it has become (all the older staff/writers left).
So it’s literally Team UPC composing this ‘feline’ blog now?
“As reported earlier,” Dijkman wrote, “the German constitutional court has upheld the constitutional complaint against Germany’s accession to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court [UPC Agreement, Katpost here, German decision here, English press release here]. The main reason for the decision was that the act by which Germany was to ratify the UPC Agreement was not passed with the required parliamentary majority.”
“So it’s literally Team UPC composing this ‘feline’ blog now?”And then, believe it or not, it’s just a copy-paste of Team UPC. There’s also a stupid cat photo, asking us to moan, assuming people are led to actually wanting the UPC.
A parallel universe opens.
This is the blog which only half a decade ago wrote about EPO corruption. Nowadays it deletes comments of people who mention it.
Now watch how the ‘Kats’ cover UPC matters. Check the authors.
They’re not merely “UPC boosters” but people who created it, looking to violate the law to profit from this violation. So “boosters” is an understatement; “Crooks” wouldn’t be impolite in this context.
The FFII’s President spoke and commented (or quoted comments on it, e.g.: “UPC boosters will go to the European Commission as we noticed after the software patent directive: “the project is not dead yet, and we must keep in mind that we have tried to come to a harmonized European patent law for 70 years now” […] Prediction: the patent mafia will go to the European Commission “The project is not dead yet, and we must keep in mind that we have tried to come to a harmonized European patent law for 70 years now: waiting a few years more is not the end of the world.” […] UPC Rules of Procedures and its unelected Administrative Committee reacts to the German Constitutional Court decision by not mentioning that their “committee” had no legal basis in a democratic society, time to send the sauce…”
“So today’s ‘Kats’ have become not guardians of Europe but of patent trolls, Team UPC, and monopolists.”As usual, all the substance is in the comments (what’s left of them). Last week the ‘Kats’ censored a comment of mine (which I had attempted to post), so you just know they’re more like a guard dog/gatekeeper, not a “cat”.
As recently as a week ago they wrote about a massive German patent troll, IPCom, while promoting the “FRAND” ploy (every letter in this acronym is a lie). And guess who wrote it! As Sophie Corke has just recalled: “IPCom also made an appearance in GuestKat Léon Dijkman’s commentary on proportionality and FRAND in France (FRANDce?) – this time, relating to two sets of proceedings in a dispute with Lenovo.”
So today’s ‘Kats’ have become not guardians of Europe but of patent trolls, Team UPC, and monopolists. It’s sad. But that’s just what happened. And remember when you read comments there that they already deleted the ones they don’t like (for not suiting their current agenda). █
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