Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part V: Germany Says “Ja”

Series parts:

  1. The EPO's Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part I: Let the Sunshine In!
  2. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part II: A “Unanimous” Endorsement?
  3. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part III: Three Missing Votes
  4. The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part IV: The Founding States
  5. YOU ARE HERE ☞ Germany Says “Ja”


Christoph Ernst and Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer
The German delegation: Christoph Ernst from the Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and his deputy Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer, head of the German Trademark and Patent Office in Munich.



Summary: Benoît Battistelli's EPO, with all its severe abuses and corruption, was backed by the German government; after 3+ years of António Campinos even the German media has given up mentioning anything negative about the EPO (there's a so-called 'conspiracy of silence'), but it's never too late to study the mechanics and motivations of this complicity

As is generally known, the EPO is headquartered in Germany with its main office in Munich and a sub-office in Berlin. It also has a main branch office at Rijswijk near The Hague in the Netherlands.



There is a further small sub-office with 87 staff in Vienna, Austria, which is mainly concerned with patent information and publication services.

One might have expected that the delegations representing the host states of the EPO would have been inclined to properly scrutinise the proposed restrictions of staff rights.

"One might have expected that the delegations representing the host states of the EPO would have been inclined to properly scrutinise the proposed restrictions of staff rights."However, all of these three host states voted in favour of Battistelli's "Strike Regulations".

In the case of the German delegation, this is not really surprising. At the time in question the delegation was headed by Christoph Ernst who was heavily under the sway of his mentor and reputed "handler", the EPO Vice-President Raimund Lutz. Ernst's deputy on the German delegation was Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer, head of the German Trademark and Patent Office in Munich.

"Back in the pre-Brexit days of 2013, preparations for the EU's Unitary Patent project were in full swing."Rudloff-Schäffer is reputed to have had a more critical attitude towards Battistelli but due to her subordinate position she was unable to counteract Ernst who had the final say as head of delegation.

In addition to this, it should not be forgotten that both Ernst and Rudloff-Schäffer were ultimately under the authority of the German Justice Minister who, at the time in question, was Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger from the German liberal party, FDP.

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger with Rudloff-Schäffer
Justice Minister Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger with Rudloff-Schäffer unveiling new DPMA logo in July 2010.



Back in the pre-Brexit days of 2013, preparations for the EU's Unitary Patent project were in full swing.

"According to well-informed inside sources at the EPO, Battistelli took advantage of the occasion to impress upon Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger that his planned "reforms" were of vital importance for ensuring that the EPO would be "fit" for the soon-to-be-implemented Unitary Patent."At that time the German political establishment was very gung-ho about the Unitary Patent project and the associated Unified Patent Court (UPC). This enthusiasm was due in no small part to the "capture" of the Federal Justice Ministry by zealous UPC lobbyists, led by Hogan Lovells consultant, Winfried Tilmann.

Battistelli and Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Battistelli cosying up to Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in June 2013



By a curious coincidence, on 24 June 2013 - just a few days before the 136th meeting of the Administrative Council - Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger visited the EPO where she met with Battistelli "to discuss developments in the European patent system, and in particular the future unitary patent".

"The Corsican despot's "charm offensive" towards the German Justice Minister seems to have worked because from that point on there was rarely a murmur of dissent from the German delegation to any proposals tabled by Team Battistelli."According to well-informed inside sources at the EPO, Battistelli took advantage of the occasion to impress upon Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger that his planned "reforms" were of vital importance for ensuring that the EPO would be "fit" for the soon-to-be-implemented Unitary Patent.

The Corsican despot's "charm offensive" towards the German Justice Minister seems to have worked because from that point on there was rarely a murmur of dissent from the German delegation to any proposals tabled by Team Battistelli.

With hindsight, it seems that the subservience of the German delegation was intensified by Ernst's own personal ambitions to succeed Lutz as the Vice-President of the EPO's International and Legal Affairs Directorate via the EPO's notorious revolving door.

EPO insiders have reported that Ernst always took great care not to cross swords with Battistelli during his time as head of the German delegation.

Ernst's revolving door gambit
Ernst's loyalty and subservience to Battistelli were ultimately rewarded with a well-paid post-retirement sinecure as EPO Vice-President.



In fact, shortly after Ernst was parachuted in as Chairman of the Council following Jesper Kongstad's premature departure in October 2018, he gave an interview to the German legal periodical JUVE. We've decided to maintain a local copy of Ernst's interview [PDF] in case it gets edited or removed.

Ernst used the occasion to praise Battistelli's "Strike Regulations" as a "necessary social reform" and a noteworthy example of "a step forward" at the EPO.

What social reforms were necessary?

For example, the controversial reform of the right to strike. Customary law had developed in the EPO, and it had to be put on a proper statutory footing. Overall, the regulation is a step forward. One can always discuss the details, and that is what is being done.


It's hard to believe that this clown, who is approaching 70, is now in charge of the EPO's International and Legal Affairs Directorate but such grotesque absurdity seems to be par for the course in the Kafkaesque "wonderland" of EPOnia.

In the next part we will take a look at the delegation representing the EPO's second host state, the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
 
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025