"Patent attorney cracks joke on LinkedIn," Florian Müller wrote earlier today, because of the "EPO preferred applicants policy. Has a point."

Summary: The management of the European Patent Office (EPO) feels the squeeze because its short-term goals that compromise the hard-earned reputation of the Office compromise the entire organisation

It is not hard to see why the EPO's scandalous management is so stressed (we were told this by people close to them). They suffer anxiety because their staff is walking away permanently or just temporarily to protest and "customers" (that's how they view applicants) are very much upset and may therefore no longer pursue patents at the EPO. Blatterstelli (as Müller calls him) has become an embarrassment not just for the EPO but for Europe as a whole. Secret deals like these have no room in a developed country, not without a resignation, firing, or perhaps even prosecution. This isn't a public service from public servants; it's a distortion of the very core values and role of a patent office anywhere in the entire world. One would expect this from a third world country, not an establishment that European taxpayers help subsidise against their will (there was no vote on the matter and no elections).

"This isn't a public service from public servants; it's a distortion of the very core values and role of a patent office anywhere in the entire world."Since the President of the EPO has decided to take and respond to these issues personally, we too can respond personally.

I have a lot of evidence that helps justify the Blatterstelli analogy; there are serious issues inside the EPO and I blame a lot of this personally on Battistelli, as I know some things that have not yet been published and Battistelli would never want me to publish. Guess who signed the Control Risks contract. Our source say it was Battistelli, so it goes all the way to the top. Blatterstelli brought back to Europe (and Munich, no less!) the morals of the Soviet Union, the functions of the Stasi (I.U.) and mass surveillance with hidden cameras and keyloggers. Why did Battistelli sign the Control Risks contract? Simple. It was designed to help fight against truth-tellers inside and outside the organisation. Blatterstelli brought the military industry right into the very heart of his office, not just the I.U. 'cells'. How does EPO staff feel about this? Frankly, the gloves are off and people should speak openly about what Battistelli turned the EPO into; it's more of a laughing stock than anything, and even patent applicants (and patent lawyers, as above) recognise this. They poke fun at the policies.

"The EPO is a very secretive operation, hence its fragility. If only the European public knew what really goes on at the highest floors of EPO buildings..."The EPO's patent examiners are very talented people. It shouldn't be surprising given Europe's very high standards in education. But Battistelli brings almost nothing into the office other than misguided management strategies, which he probably brought from the spoiled rich brats' college he studied at. Given his poor performance as a manager, he must not have paid close enough attention at the classes, either. He may think that he is a very important man, but deep inside he is a very insecure person who bullies everyone who 'dares' not to inflate his massive ego. Just go to epo.org and see Battistelli's mug shown right there in the front page. Megalomania (or contrariwise inferiority complex)? Check. It links to his personal blog which is actually quite a gold mine because it helps reveal personal biases and relationships with all sorts of entities, including Battistelli's friends from China (where human rights are almost as appalling as in Battistelli's workplace). "Ensuring Transparency," Battistelli is boasting in one of his latest blog posts. Time for Battistelli to be transparent about his censorship and threats against reporters, no? We suppose that selective transparency is what Battistelli meant by "Ensuring Transparency". The EPO is a very secretive operation, hence its fragility. If only the European public knew what really goes on at the highest floors of EPO buildings...

Watch Battistelli personally promoting UPC (the unitary patent), which effectively can extend the scope of European patents to software. Watch Battistelli propping up the patent maximalists from Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) because they rubbed his back (congratulated his performance). Remember that it was only they (maybe WIPR to a lesser degree) who carried talking points for the EPO after the favouritism scandal had broken out. This is coming from the management that paid for self-censoring French media and self-promotional placements (also known as "puff pieces") inside leading worldwide magazines (the New Scientist usefully enough disclosed what had happened).

"Patent examiners should fight for the integrity of the European system. It's this that will protect their job (and pension) in the long term."The EPO is heading in a very wrong direction of patent maximalism, human rights abuses, and even dubious relationships with foreign mega-corporations. The EPO could end up even worse off than the USPTO.

We recently wrote about the situation in Australia, where lobbyists were trying to promote something called the “Innovation Patent System”, mirroring some of the efforts we see these days in Europe. Patent maximisation (in the scope sense) efforts by patent lawyers in Australia can still be seen (here is a recent article titled "IP in depth: status update on Australian business method and software patent applications"); they are working to expand patent scope and make things like a 'banana republic' patent office (e.g. USPTO and China's SIPO), where the goal is just to maximise the overall number of patents, never mind their quality. They misleadingly equate quantity with innovation.

Patent examiners should fight for the integrity of the European system. It's this that will protect their job (and pension) in the long term. Greed will bear fruit only in the short term; in the long term it will repel applicants and discourage them from ever returning. What Battistelli does at the moment is squeezing the goose (those who are not familiar with the parable should definitely read the Wikipedia article). Battistelli repeats the epic mistakes of Robert Mugabe; by issuing far too much of his currency (patents) he devalues them and this hyperinflation will inevitably result in patent bubbles and implosion (collapse in value). ⬆

"The European Patent Office is an executive organisation, it deals especially with patent applicants, as such, its view of the world may be biased. As an executive organisation, its interpretative powers are very limited. The European Patent Convention excludes computer programs, it is outside the EPO's power to change this."

--Ante Wessels, FFII