Bonum Certa Men Certa

“ViCo” is Nothing New (Not Even the Acronym), Done on 9/11 Last Year, Been Possible as Long as the EPO Has Existed

More on "ViCo":



Videoconferencing did not exist until the EPO granted patents on it?Summary: Contrary to what many people are led to believe, the EPO isn't embracing innovation, it's just embracing COVID-19 and leveraging lock-downs (de facto house arrest to some) to impose an illegal practice on EPO staff and EPO stakeholders

THE EPO's management likes to pretend that video conferences are something new and innovative. But as "Patent robot" pointed out on November 29th at 12:11 PM in Kluwer Patent Blog comments, "videoconferencing was already available in 1973" (when Benoît Battistelli was a really young man and António Campinos just a little kid).



"Privacy at the EPO is a total farce."Looking at documents from last year, we find that even the overly hyped buzzword, “ViCo”, was used back then. Central Staff Committee representatives wrote to staff as follows (the yellow highlights are added by us):



Status on WG: StaffRep resources



No progress – no commitments


Dear colleagues,

The Communiqué of the President on Social Dialogue just published on the Intranet suggests that  the discussions in the Working Group on Staff Representation Resources (WGSR) (i.e. adjustments to “Social Democracy 2.0”) have been constructive so far. Our recollection is different:

Throughout the Battistelli administration, the resources and facilities for Staff Representation have been consistently reduced to below workable levels, culminating with the last reform, effective from 1st of July 2017. We have repeatedly insisted that we are operating below any workable standard, leading to complete exhaustion of our elected members. We requested from the start sufficient time and meetings in person to progress. Unfortunately the administration did not see the importance and invited mainly to ViCos of 1,5hrs duration. Adding all meetings up we may have just invested about a working day in the matter.

To compensate for the absence of WG time we made further written proposals, essentially following 2 strands:



  • some quick fixes, valid until the end of the current mandate, and aiming at giving a minimal amount of breathing space to the current elected representatives, with a last version dated 24 May 2019. The only change implemented was granting a 75% exemption to the full CSC members (had been reduced from 100% to 50% from 1st of July 2017). None of the other choking issues (time and independence of our nominees in the Appeals Committee; flexibility to distribute unused time; time resources for the LSC Chairs; communication resources, in casu access to emails to all staff, et al.) were considered; 

  • discussions and a written overview table relating to a review of the structure of Staff Representation starting from the next mandate onwards. 



No written comments or substantive feedback on our proposals nor a concrete counter-proposal from the administration side has been received to this day.

Upon suggestion of the administration, we also gathered a commonly agreed upon benchmark questionnaire, which was sent in parallel to the HR administration and staff representation of some 9 other EU agencies or International Organizations that were somewhat similar in size and/or layout. Staff representation has received some answers meanwhile – from which it is clear that we are operating far below any conditions used in any of the contacted IO’s. We have not received any comment on the answers as received by the administration.

A further ViCo on the 11th of September brought again no progress but showed that the Administration continued not to be willing or not in a position to discuss the proposals meaningfully.

The President informed us that a document is now in preparation. We do not know what it will contain – but one thing is sure – it was not discussed in the WG nor with the CSC nor (as been informed) with SUEPO.

Updates about these and remaining topics addressed in the President’s communiqué will follow.

Your Central Staff Committee



An even earlier communication said that "[t]wo WG ViCos in September brought again no progress but showed that the Administration is not willing or not in a position to discuss the proposals meaningfully. E.g. our proposal for a fair approach to Appraisal in Search and Examination has been rejected as it would diminish the line managers responsibility."

Here's the full communication again with highlights:

Status on WG: Adjustments to New Career System



Little progress – broken commitments


Dear colleagues,
 
The Communiqué of the President on Social Dialogue just published on the Intranet suggests that  the discussions in the Working Group on Performance Management (WGPM) (i.e. adjustments to the New career System) have been constructive so far. Our recollection is different:

Following the President’s invitation earlier this year to resume discussions started in 2018 and reconvene the WG on performance management system and procedure for incompetence we submitted our him our proposals and suggestions by an open letter on 19 March 2019.
 
He did not follow our repeated recommendation for the Composition of the Working Group avoiding members who shaped (the implementation of) the performance management system for obvious reasons.
 
Adjusting the new career system making it fit for granting high quality patents, motivating staff and reducing litigation while ensuring long term sustainability is a complex matter. Thus we requested from start sufficient time and meetings in person to progress. Unfortunately the administration did not see the importance and invited mainly to ViCos of 1,5hrs duration. Adding all meetings up we may have just invested about a working day in the matter.

To compensate for the absence of WG time we made further written proposals:




€· Input by the CSC on transitional measures from the OCS to the NCS


€· Input by the CSC on the design of a career path based on merit while enhancing a cooperative working   environment


€· Input by the CSC on some implementation details of the career on:


 


o Orientation for the Appraisal: in Search and Examination
o Appraisal Committee and Harmonisation Committee
o Target Setting (Circular 366)


 
No written comments nor counter-proposals from the administration side have been received to this day.

Two WG ViCos in September brought again no progress but showed that the Administration is not willing or not in a position to discuss the proposals meaningfully. E.g. our proposal for a fair approach to Appraisal in Search and Examination has been rejected as it would diminish the line managers responsibility.
 
Moreover, the President withdrew his commitment to review transitional measures from the OCS to the NCS as also promised to SUEPO in December 2018. And transparency remains still at the discretion of the administration as requested information on average career progress has still not been provided.
 
The President informed us that a document is now in preparation. We do not know what it will contain – but one thing is sure – it was not discussed in the WG nor with the CSC nor (as been informed) with SUEPO.
 


Updates about these and remaining topics addressed in the President’s communiqué will follow.


Your Central Staff Committee


There's much to be said about the above, including the 6 documents/letters/working positions in them. But those are so old that they're almost outdated, so it's better to focus on recent ones instead (covering the same sorts of issues). The main point is, the whole "ViCo" hype should be put in perspective; it is hardly a breakthrough (I did video chats over the Internet even back in the 1990s). The fact that the EPO now outsources those things to the US (remember that Skype was European until Microsoft bought it) is quite revealing w.r.t. data protection policies at the Office. Privacy at the EPO is a total farce.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
 
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Motorcycling in Central Oregon, Protocol Styles and the Flag of Sark
Links for the day
Links 30/09/2025: Death Sentences, Internet Censorship, and Internet Shutdowns
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Social Control Media and ROOPHLOCH
Links for the day
Richard Stallman About to Give More Talks in Europe, Some Confirmed Already
In Göteborg
Links 30/09/2025: CERN in "Have I Been Pwned" and More Windows TCO Blunders
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical is Selling Mass Surveillance and Back Doors as "Security for Ubuntu"
If you are looking for a GNU/Linux distro to use, just remember that Microsoft has Ubuntu in the bag
Justice for Wildlife
animals cannot speak to humans who hate animals
Cowboys Gonna Be Cowboys (on the Internet, They're Not a New Problem)
Boys will be boys
Cowboys of the "Left" and Cowboys of the "Right"
Don't believe the lie that this is some "leftist" thing
When Codes of Conduct Serve to Protect Criminals From Much-Deserved Scrutiny
CoCs are typically unfit for purpose because enforcement lacks context and suitable understanding of the full background (the "full story")
It Took the Open Source Initiative (OSI) 4+ Years to Address the 'Data Breach' or Data Protection Violation Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) in March 2025
We may never know the dialogue or its nature
Even Microsoft's Biggest Boosters (and Media Operatives) Are Turning Against Microsoft
Expect many more layoffs before the fake "results" next month
GNU Was Right 42+ Years Ago
Since then the abusive, user-hostile technology has spread like mushrooms
Old Isn't Always Inadequate
How many gadgets manufactured today (in 2025) will still work in 2075?
The Monkey Business of Rust People
Compatibility won't matter
Almost Half of the FSFE's Money (the Fake 'FSF', Misusing the Brand) Comes From Vodafone
That money always comes with strings, even if they're invisible to most of us
Microsoft Lunduke Spreads Deliberate Lies to Incite Online Mobs
Has he lost his reading comprehension skills?
Our 19th Birthday (in Just Over 5 Weeks From Now)
We meanwhile have ongoing, solid plans to cover patent-related issues when the FSF turns 40
British GNU/Linux Distro FydeOS Tops DistroWatch
That seems like a decent site and decent effort to keep an eye on
We'll Soon Have 75,000 GemText Pages
avoid many perils of today's Web
Google Used Free Software to Build a Monopoly. Now Google Kicks Free Software to the Curb
The "G" in "Google" does not stand for GNU. It never did. It's just another greedy company.
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Retro Hardware, Federated Fragmentation, and Nex Server Written in C
Links for the day
4 More Days Till "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users"
We are now just 4 days away from the rare anniversary
Two Months After Merging to Hide GitHub Losses Microsoft is Doing It Again (This Time Windows)
Merging those two together is not a sign of strength but a tightening of budget
Speculations About the Next Large Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs
the mass layoffs are likely to happen on week 3 or 4 in October
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 29, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 29, 2025