Bonum Certa Men Certa

Exclusive: Leaked E-mail From Grant Philpott (EPO Principal Telecommunications Director) Shows Collusion Between EPO and Microsoft to Prioritise Most Notorious Patent Bully, Microsoft

Grant to Microsoft first. Aiding racketeering by all means possible?

Grant Philpott from the EPO
Photo source: europa.eu



Summary: A closer cooperation with Microsoft, to use Grant Philpott's own words, with heightened pressure for already-overencumbered patent examiners to work as agents of Microsoft while neglecting other applicants, as seen in a new E-mail from Grant Philpott, a top IT manager and recently a proponent of UPC (as well as software patents) and potentially a huge fan of Microsoft unless just their peon (in exchange for favours, i.e. kickbacks)

TECHRIGHTS has many reasons to consider -- as many other people generally regard -- Microsoft a criminal enterprise, for bribing officials, blackmailing officials (British politicians too, as exposed earlier this year [1, 2]), extorting companies with instruments of SLAPP and patent rackets, illegally spying on users, engaging in competition crimes against rivals, and so on. Microsoft is not just some ordinary company. As it turns out, the EPO, which is not some ordinary office but a corrupt institution that selfishly operates like a business, is treating Microsoft as more than just an applicant and even more than just a partner (the EPO uses terms like "customers" or "clients", which in itself is gross and revealing). This helps explain some internal complaints from examiners against Microsoft -- something for which we provided evidence before. The emphasis on Microsoft is quite unique and the push for this corrupting programme (thus motivation) came from Microsoft and another foreign company.



"To Microsoft, patents are not about innovation. Patents are being used for (anti)competitive leverage; they're a weapon."Examiners who help issue patents to Microsoft should bear in mind that many of these will be used in bulk to secretly compel companies to install Microsoft spyware, at application level (e.g. Android) as well as operating system level (or be sued, with injunctions i.e. speedy embargoes); some will be used to extort revenue like the Mafia does (by threats and extortion), and these will definitely be used to launch attacks on Free/libre Open Source software such as Android (recall the recent cases of Samsung, Kyocera, Dell, and ASUS). Microsoft is no ordinary company and as we have shown here for nearly a decade, it habitually uses entryism and moles in high places to get its way (the patent office might be no exception). Microsoft is tightly connected to the world's largest troll, under the command of its mole (Elop) it passed Nokia's patents to patent trolls who in turn attack Google, and anything which is viewed as a threat to Microsoft is either destroyed or co-opted. To Microsoft, patents are not about innovation. Patents are being used for (anti)competitive leverage; they're a weapon.

It is with this in minds of the readers that we wish to present Grant Philpott's E-mail regarding Microsoft. It is revealing, but we've highlighted the relevant bits for those who are reluctant (or too lazy) to read the whole thing.

Grant Philpott E-mail regarding Microsoft



This E-mail from Grant Philpott (principal director for information and communications technology at the European Patent Office) states that late Microsoft files should be treated with the highest priority. It means that they shall be treated before any other late file such as the ones of small applicants that are also European, unlike Microsoft. Remember that Philpott also pushes (even politically lobbies) for the UPC, which helps bring software patents to Europe. Don't lose sight of the fact that Microsoft boasts about patenting software in Europe, despite it being against the rules. Microsoft uses loopholes and perhaps, based on this special relationship with the EPO, some nepotism too.

The EPO and Microsoft are far closer than outsiders care to realise. There is more than meets the eye -- a subject that will definitely occupy some future blog space. Patents are being used by Microsoft for protectionism, namely the protection of its monopoly in Europe. It's achieved by aggression with patents, not peacefully or consensually (agreements under massive threats don't constitute consent but a surrender).

Those who have read this blog since the very birth of Android will know, based on literally hundreds of posts, that Microsoft attacks Android like no other company (not even Apple) and blackmails companies all around the world using patents, especially companies that use GNU/Linux in their stack, even if they don't even sell a device running Linux, just a service (that would be the majority of SaaS companies out there).

Priority to late Microsoft files basically means acceleration of Microsoft's war on software that respects people's freedom, privacy, etc. Grant Philpott is very much complicit in this because he rallies the 'troops' and puts pressure on them not to properly examine applications (i.e. attempt to identify prior art). It's the antithesis of any patent office. What is Microsoft paying for here? The examination process? Or is it just lining the pockets of Battistelli and his (mostly French) friends? This situation is reducible to what some people online now call "kickbacks" (as the EPO 'V.I.P lane' scandal deepens) -- a softer form of bribe (and Microsoft's expertise).

"When you help Microsoft amass (stockpile) patents you indirectly help extortion, not only of Free/Open Source software but also legitimate and honest companies, which are being aggressively pressured behind closed doors."Circular lies, or a poorly-put/ineloquent series of denials and 'damage control', can hopefully be refuted by more such leaks. The EPO's spokespeople tried to ignore/deny this and then tried to spin it. The more they carry on with this, rather than issue an apology and retract this form of abuse, the deeper in the mud they will fall.

What the EPO has been doing over the past few years amounts to more than abuse. Some call it corruption and based on some pundits online, this has become akin to organised crime as per definition (like FIFA), where a bunch of powerful people protect each other from anything that threatens to expose the crime or the crime ring, and only very few people benefit at the expense of a huge number of members of the public.

We wish to end this with a message to EPO patent examiners. When you help Microsoft amass (stockpile) patents you indirectly help extortion, not only of Free/Open Source software but also legitimate and honest companies, which are being aggressively pressured behind closed doors. Some of these companies are European (TomTom, for instance, is Dutch victim of Microsoft's war on Linux). Microsoft, which announced billions of dollars in losses (in the last quarter), wants corporate welfare for its survival; patents are Microsoft's strategy for getting there, especially now that systems such as Android and Chromebooks are taking over. For quite a few years now Microsoft promoted this patent strategy and promoted people who had engineered it (as recently as last month).

“Microsoft is, I think, fundamentally an evil company.”

--Former Netscape Chairman James H. Clark



Recent Techrights' Posts

US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
Defeating LLM Abuse (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) in the Area of Linux and GNU, Free Software, BSD, Security and So On
The aim is to get them to stop using LLMs to rip off other people's work
Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
 
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025
The Term "AI" is Not New and What Today's Media Calls "AI" Isn't Even AI
Only the hype was new... and totally artificial
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: "Planetary Rings", Steam, and PSU Replacement
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2025: Russell Vought in Charge, US Government Leans to Russia Again
Links for the day
Credit Where It's Due: LinuxConfig.org Quit Doing LLM Slop, Back to Original and Real Articles
We waited for a while to say this, now it seems conclusive
Of Note: UbuntuPIT Aware of Critics of Slop, Adds Disclosure of Use of LLMs
We appreciate the honesty
Links 18/10/2025: Madagascar's President Flees and ICE Arrests Protest Comedian Robby Roadsteamer
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Near the European Patent Office (EPO) in 3 Days From Now
It'll be a good opportunity for patent examiners to listen, ask questions, and maybe greet him in person
From Scholar to Booster of Slop (and Even Slop in His Own Blog)
We're going to keep an eye on future posts of his
End of Vista 10 Also Good News for the BSDs
There are many news sites that recommend trying GNU/Linux this month
What's Wrong With Liking Parrots or Birds as Pets?
They'd demonise people for speaking about freedom, no matter what they say or do
10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025
[Video] Dr. Richard Stallman at Technické Univerzitě v Liberci
New/via libre-liberec.cz
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal (Slashdot Media), UbuntuPIT, and Google News (Noise)
egregious plagiarism
Links 17/10/2025: Better Answers Sought After Air Crashes, "China Fans Patriotic Sentiment as Trade War With U.S. Heats Up"
Links for the day
Security is Desirable, But Not When the Term Security is Misused to Imply Centralisation of "Trust" (Whose?)
'Security' is not an excuse for vendor lock-in
Links 17/10/2025: Fentanylware (CheeTok) Causing Problems, Japanese Government Blasts Slop
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation Seems to Have Turned Linux.com Not Only Into a Spamfarm But Also LLM Slopfarm
it's polluting the Web, even important domains like Linux.com, with spam and LLM slop
Links 17/10/2025: UK’s Largest Breach Penalty and Windows TCO Examples
Links for the day
Go Watch Video About Librephone, Get Microsoft Ads
Very ethical company...
Campaign of Defamation Against the People Who Built NixOS (and Are Now Pushed Out From Their Own Project)
We've already grown familiar with - and resistant to - such tactics
Links 17/10/2025: Nestlé Crisis, Canada Post Versus 'Gig Economy' [sic] and Vista 11 Breaks Itself
Links for the day
Tux Machines Has Helped Separate Opinions/Analysis From News
In September 2023 we decided to split things apart and not repeat links in both sites
Tux Machines Has Improved Navigation of GNU/Linux and BSD News
Some more 'wiring' work
What a World Would Look Like If Everyone Used Free Software Only
Freedom is what matters, not "Open".
The Media Helps Microsoft, Amazon and Others (GAFAM and Beyond) Lie About Mass Layoffs Amid Valuation Bubble
The media, instead of saying that there's an "AI bubble" crashing the economy might instead choose the narrative of "jobs replaced by AI"
Bad Tempered? You Might Have Just Given Away That You're Losing the Argument
Brett Wilson LLP is fully aware that it is being investigated
Richard Stallman (RMS) is a Target of Defamation Campaigns Because of His Views on Software (But Politics Are the Excuse for Defaming Him)
Here in this site we try to refrain from politics, except in Daily Links
End of Vista 10 and Rise of GNU/Linux as Client Side Operating System
It seems certain GNU/Linux will grow in popularity over time
Taking Stock of a Week's Worth of EPO Leaks
We remain committed to exposing EPO corruption as long as it keeps happening
Mathieu Parreaux claims FINMA knew since day one
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Calumny, Libel, Joerg Jaspert & debian-private untouchable cyberbullies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 16, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 16, 2025
Techrights Turns 19 in 3 Weeks
coverage of suppressed topics and protecting all sources/whistleblowers
International E-Waste Day Same Day as End of Vista 10
message from Akira Urushibata
The EPO's Central Staff Committee Presents Evidence That Staff Compensation Lowered While the Office Increases Income by Illegally Granting Invalid Patents
These people become millionaires by doing illegal things
Second or Third Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in October 2025, This Time Portugal
Those are just the ones we know about, there may be several more
'Help Net Security' (helpnetsecurity.com) May Have Become a Slopfarm as Well
Zeljka Zorz, Editor-in-Chief at Help Net Security, was reported to us
Gemini Links 17/10/2025: Rant About Network Solutions, Strange Anomaly on Lagrange
Links for the day