04.28.20
Gemini version available ♊︎EPO: A Lawless Institution That Makes Its Staff Look Bad
Courts all around the world — bar China — are rejecting abstract patents on mathematics; why are examiners being punished for doing the same?
Let’s hope she becomes a Justice at the highest American court one day
Summary: The EPO is promoting patents on mathematics and associates with — sometimes promotes — people who openly call for patents on mathematics
ONE thing that the EPO and USPTO have in common is their overzealous love of software patents, no matter if courts ‘loathe’ these (it’s not about emotion or about hate; that’s just simply the law — something that neither António Campinos nor Benoît Battistelli would like to obey).
“It’s nice to be able to understand history and know a lot of languages (polyglots can find more prior art), but without basic understanding of the underlying concepts patents will be wrongly granted, based on complete misunderstandings if not guesswork.”These ‘gentle’ dictators don’t seem to understand that patent systems should be measured in terms like justice or science, not money. There will still be science without money, especially money that’s extracted by aggression (legal action/litigation). We’d like to take a moment to cordially remind examiners that they’re scientists and if they work for a patent office they must always remember that their employer is supposed to advance science; it’s not about enriching some law firms. If it is, it might be time to reconsider one’s job; a career in a patent office is supposed to be about science. This is why patent offices have traditionally recruited highly-educated people with degrees in science and engineering, not people with a degree in history or some language/s. It’s nice to be able to understand history and know a lot of languages (polyglots can find more prior art), but without basic understanding of the underlying concepts patents will be wrongly granted, based on complete misunderstandings if not guesswork. SUEPO and staff representatives have already warned that under Campinos many EPO examiners are being assigned to deal with applications in domains well outside their ‘ballpark’. It’s a recipe for disaster unless the sole goal is granting as many patents as possible, including ones that ought not be granted (rejected outright!). In the USPTO, for example, the so-called 'economist' recently bragged about compelling examiners to ignore or improperly apply 35 U.S.C. § 101. What a nerve these people have, forcing workers with scientific integrity to grant unlawful patents which courts would most likely veto. The general message is, “break the law to keep your job!”
“Deep inside, however, these people are motivated to keep their job and pay the mortgage.”The EPO is no enemy of ours. The EPO’s management, however, clearly dislikes us. After almost 2 years at the Office Campinos still blocks Techrights on ‘behalf’ of thousands of employees; contrariwise, whoever runs the EPO’s Twitter account not only refuses to block me! They follow me! They read my tweets. One might wonder if these people too haven’t really swallowed the lies of the EPO’s management. Deep inside, however, these people are motivated to keep their job and pay the mortgage.
Maybe deep inside the people who field this account (lying for a salary) know we’re actually on their side
In any event, yesterday the EPO tweeted some more nonsense that’s covert promotion of software patents.
To quote:
Digital communication & computer technology are enabling the #4IR by providing the tools for turning technical applications into smart devices. We’ve put together some interesting patenting trends in these fields: https://bit.ly/DigitalisationIndex … pic.twitter.com/MKPriH16nM
It isn’t too hard to decipher this.
Tossing in fictional buzzwords (“4IR”) as hashtags to promote illegal patents that the Office illegally grants to fake “Annual Results”? And then gamble with the money, defrauding Europe and EPO workers (including those who field this Twitter account)?
“Insiders compare the management to “Mafia” while bemoaning a culture of overt corruption, including nepotism, not to mention intimidation against truth-tellers and law-abiding staff.”We desperately need the old EPO back; EPO workers need that too. Insiders compare the management to “Mafia” while bemoaning a culture of overt corruption, including nepotism, not to mention intimidation against truth-tellers and law-abiding staff.
The EPO has also just tweeted this thing about supposed learning. Notice the link. The very top entry in this page is shameless promotion of illicit patents on algorithms (under the guise of "Games" or "Videogames").
Last week the EPO’s Twitter account tweeted promotion of a patent radical from the US, who founded a site called “IP Watchdog” (we don’t call it that because it’s a misnomer). Just look at the deluded nonsense that site wrote yesterday (and yesterday alone). Over at Watchtroll Paul Michel has just called himself “Judge Paul Michel” even though he’s no longer a judge; he’s pushing/lobbying the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to allow software patents (“Flaws in the Supreme Court’s §101 Precedent and Available Ways to Correct Them”). He used to be a judge at the Federal Circuit and now that he’s “retired” (lobbyist) he constantly promotes particular legislation, ruining the perception that judges are objective and uninvolved in politics. Maybe Judge Sharon Prost (actually a judge, still) should tell him to keep his big mouth shut; he makes her court look bad. This is a form of corruption and one might wonder if Michel pockets money ‘on the side’ for this sort of lobbying. His successor Rader was caught in a corruption scandal and was forced to resign. Later on SCOTUS overturned just about every single decision handed down by Rader.
“Later on SCOTUS overturned just about every single decision handed down by Rader.”Now look on at yesterday’s output from Watchtroll. It’s truly insane. It’s deluded. “The Long Reach of the Mathematics Patentability Exception is Overbroad and Absurd” is the headline; Jose Nunez now openly promotes patents on mathematics. Yes, let’s have monopolies over laws of nature! The summary says: “The mathematics exception for subject matter eligibility is overbroad because it was improperly justified under the premise that mathematics is like a law of nature. This is absurd because mathematics is everywhere, and excepting mathematics means excepting virtually everything.”
Oh. My. God!
“What have we sunk to? And why does today’s EPO associate with such madness?”These people acknowledge that things like algorithms are in fact mathematics and now they openly and shamelessly pushing for patent monopolies on maths!!!
“Oh… sorry my dear, you cannot use that equation, it is patented!”
What have we sunk to? And why does today’s EPO associate with such madness? █
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