Bonum Certa Men Certa

New Reports Highlight Need to Crack Down on the European Patent Office and Microsoft

Van of police



Summary: Tax evasion loopholes, intervention in law-making (to authorise some abuses), so-called interrogation (allegedly illegal methods) and financial manipulations show commonality between the EPO and a seriously corrupt company (and special ally), Microsoft

ONLINE conversations about our most recent EPO coverage serve to show that these issues are being escalated (passed upwards) rather rapidly. Last night we wrote about pressure on the Dutch Prime Minister, which led to some prominent European voices talking about it [1, 2, 3]. One of them, Florian Müller, will "bring this up in a blog post soon," he wrote, "re. UPC/Unitary Patent."

"The EPO seriously needs to grasp that it is not above the law."Müller said that "the UPC's values will not be "technology based" but patent law-based..." (to maximise profit perhaps, but whose?)

Separately, on another occasion he wrote that "Blatterstelli has ZERO credibility with respect to SMEs, given his preferred (big) applicants scheme."

Three days ago he said, "I usually don't like such historical comparisons but the EPO is by far the most fascist entity in Munich since 1945." He was referring to a fact many people (especially politicians) don't really know -- that EPO hired from CRG ("British Blackwater" or their equivalent for intelligence gathering), along with the "interrogation" background that we covered here earlier this month [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The EPO seriously needs to grasp that it is not above the law. If it is, then it's likely just a temporary luxury due to some error in the way it was set up. International laws do apply and as long as the EPO is on planet Earth, there are rules it must obey, irrespective of its own convenience. It does not exist in a vacuum. It's not another Guantánamo.

"International laws do apply and as long as the EPO is on planet Earth, there are rules it must obey, irrespective of its own convenience. It does not exist in a vacuum. It's not another Guantánamo."The President of the FFII, in the mean time, explained that "a Hungarian company party to patent litigation will face heavy costs compared to the present situation," based on this UPC analysis which says: "Timing is everything, and a slim hope of winning a ‘grace period’ seems to have arisen in light of the UK referendum on EU membership. If the House of Lords approves the legislation, the referendum is expected to take place before the end of 2017. Of further interest is that, according to certain ad hoc legal advisers to the UK government in connection with the UPC Agreement, the treaty – which as it stands is a “political compromise” and is “not perfect” – is unlikely to be ratified before the referendum. Further, according to recent reports, speedy ratification of the UPC Agreement cannot be expected in Slovakia or the Czech Republic either."

The above comes from boosters of the patent system and its biggest maximalists, patent lawyers. Unlike large corporations, they cannot ever suffer from patents, under any circumstances; they're profiteers, like arms-manufacturing companies at times of war.

The threat that Europe might formally adopt software patents is greatly increased by the promotion of UPC, partly by the EPO itself (it is not supposed to be in the business of lobbying politicians and trying to change the law like that). The EPO is increasingly acting as though it's preparing for class war and wealth passage (much like 'trade' deals). It militarises itself and attacks even its critics from the outside (recall legal bullying of UPC critics). According to IP Kat: "The EPO President has now decided to stay all proceedings before examination or opposition divisions where the outcome depends entirely on the answers that the Enlarged Board may give in G 1/15" (we covered this earlier this month).

"The EPO is increasingly acting as though it’s preparing for class war and wealth passage (much like ‘trade’ deals)."How much abuse can the EPO be allowed to get away with? We're still waiting to find out the answer. Severe action by member states (mostly European nations) is necessary. It's well overdue.

Based on this explosive new piece from the German newspaper Spiegel, now we have financial manipulation using patents, as well. They call it "patent boxes." To quote some of the relevant parts: "In order to attract as much corporate money as possible into the country, his officials played around with tax models like "hybrid financial instruments" and, especially, so-called "patent boxes." Introduced in order to spur technological advancement, finance policy experts in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg led the pack in transforming tax advantages into an instrument allowing corporations to steer proceeds from patents or licenses to their Benelux subsidiaries in order to pay lower taxes there. Under the system, national subsidiaries of large corporations in countries with higher corporate tax rates would pay large patent and licensing fees to subsidiaries in lower tax countries. The system ensured that money got pumped into the government coffers of the Benelux countries, but it also put other EU countries at a disadvantage, in addition to the majority of small- and middle-sized businesses for whom such preferential treatment wouldn't even be considered. [...] The documents seen by SPIEGEL reveal that what EU agencies have long been denying, is in fact mass-scale cheating with the help of the tax law. Internal EU documents show how companies took advantage of patent boxes to simply sign their licenses, copyrights, patents or marketing rights over to their subsidiaries in Luxembourg or The Hague, allowing them to cash in on sweetheart corporate tax deals in those countries. It didn't matter whether the research had actually taken place in those nations, either. [...] Another consequence was that the patent box trick encouraged companies to cycle profits earned in other countries through Luxembourg or the Netherlands, a development that did not escape the notice of the working group. "Whereas low tax rates seem to influence the location of patents," a Commission paper notes, there is no proof that they influence "the location of research and development activities."

"One is the EPO and another is Microsoft. It should be surprising that these two are so close (a relationship almost incestuous in nature)."Creative avoidance of tax is something Microsoft has been renowned (or more appropriately notorious) for. The company has a long history of financial misconduct and silencing of whistleblowers who reveal financial fraud. Microsoft's financial situation is therefore largely misunderstood.

To quote this new piece from the New York Times (titled "Microsoft’s Stock Math: Fewer Shares, Pricier Shares"), "in achieving its current share price, Microsoft has engaged in stock buybacks" (as it was doing in the past). "For years now," the author reminds us, "Microsoft has been systematically buying back its shares" to artificially elevate the stock. Microsoft is just gaming the system to make it look as though things are OK. Our reader iophk told us: "Is this a way of repatriated money without tax?"

Microsoft's financial situation was never quite what it seemed and there have been many dead products (we stopped keeping track a few years ago) in recent years. Here is the latest casualty. To quote the news, "Gabe Aul, of Microsoft's Windows Insiders program, has confirmed on Twitter that Windows 10 will drop support for Windows Media Center due to a decline in usage. This is not surprising news as Microsoft has been deprecating the Media Center application for a while now. In Windows 8.x, the application required both the “Pro” SKU of the operating system, and then users needed to install an optional add-on above and beyond that. The Media Center Pack cost $10 over the price of Windows 8.x Pro unless you claimed a free license in the promotional period surrounding Windows 8's launch."

So, all in all what we are seeing here are two seemingly corrupt entities struggling for survival. One is the EPO and another is Microsoft. It should be surprising that these two are so close (a relationship almost incestuous in nature). The EPO's inseparability from corporate power should be a massive concern all across this continent and beyond it.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

What Ruben Amorim and Stefano Maffulli Have in Common
Censors Wikipedia and Social Control Media
Microsoft Won't Cooperate in Trying to Tackle EPO Corruption (Microsoft Profits From This Corruption)
Use something like BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi instead
We Are Sad to Hear the Story of Jonathan Riddell, Champion of KDE and GNU/Linux on Desktops/Laptops
I have enormous respect for Jonathan and everything he has done
 
Geminispace Growing at Pace of Over 10% Per Year
Contrary to what some pessimists try to claim
Linux Mint Forums Today: Disable 'Secure Boot', It Doesn't Improve Security, It's Just a Microsoft Obstacle to GNU/Linux Users
They also mention MOK
Solved Less Than an Hour Ago: Trying to Escape Windows, 'Secure Boot' Gets in the Way
'Secure Boot' wasn't meant to even exist in the first place
Stefano Maffulli, Executive Director of the Open Source Initiative, Resigns or Gets Removed (We'll Continue Covering OSI Scandals)
A dozen mentions of "AI", not much about "Open Source"
Andy Has Just Nailed It (Regarding Complexity and Failure, a la UEFI)
The users no longer own or control what they buy
Compatibility Support Module (CSM) Versus GNU/Linux Simplicity
what Andy recently called "solutionism"
Links 15/09/2025: "Postal Traffic to US Down by Over 80%" and 'Smart' Spinozacampus Laundry Room Goes AWOL
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/09/2025: Dungeon Hustle and Deleting Oneself From the Net
Links for the day
Breach of EPO's Duty of Care or Cigna Reimbursement Issues
This is the sort of thing that motivated Luigi Mangione to assassinate a CEO
Ask Ubuntu About "Secure Boot" Violation and Laptops That Don't Boot GNU/Linux
Does anyone still believe that "Secure Boot" has anything at all to do with security?
Talking About the Problem vs Talking to the Problem
Wanting an audience is never a good excuse for compromising one's values and principles
Focusing on Patents
The reason we cover the EPO so much is that it's close to home
"Secure Boot Violation": The 'Joys' of Fake Security Gone Wrong
Not everyone reboots every day
Links 15/09/2025: Russia Invades Romanian Airspace, Penske Media Sues Google Over LLM Slop
Links for the day
Links 15/09/2025: Bitcoin ATMs Scam and "Conservative Cryptography" (Backdoors Fantasies)
Links for the day
EPO Imitates Microsoft: "Three Days or More Per Week" Inside the Office to Get a Desk to Work on; "the Office Breaches Its Promise Towards Staff and Acts in Breach of Its Duty of Care"
The EPO serves no actual function in Europe
Links 15/09/2025: Political Affairs, Censorship, and Copyrights
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/09/2025: Music Genres, Invisible Networks, and Akademy 2025
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 14, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 14, 2025
Satya's Plan B: Try to Hide the Massive Extent/Scale/Scope of Microsoft Layoffs
fewer people buy Microsoft
Red Hat News About De Facto Mass Layoffs (Bluewashing) Gone From Reddit (Censored by Gatekeepers), Still Online in The Register
With RTOs, PIPs, relocation etc. expect IBM to "shed off" many Red Hatters
UEFI "Secure Boot Doesn’t Play Nice at the Moment"
UEFI "Secure Boot" does not improve security. It's an artificial obstacle in service of monopoly.
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: ROOPHLOCH, Music, and Reddit
Links for the day
If You Want to "make your 'Windows PC' lean, mean, and fast" You Will Install GNU/Linux or Some BSD
That kind of article says a lot about IDG
Slopwatch: Google News Infested With Slop (About Half of the Results for "Linux" Today)
This is the sort of junk one finds when looking for "Linux" in Google News these days
Links 14/09/2025: Ricky Hatton Dies and McDonald's Declares War on Tipping Culture
Links for the day
Links 14/09/2025: Disasters for CEOs Obsessed With Slop and Slop Companies School Like Fish
Links for the day
"Bad Shim Signature" (Microsoft 'Secure' Boot)
"Fresh install not booting"
What Microsoft Garrett and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar tactics, different "wings"
Links 14/09/2025: US "Economy Sagging", "Michigan Economy Wobbles From Tariffs"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: Minimalist Snippet Manager and Omarchy Linux
Links for the day
The Face of the Digital Far Right: Microsoft Lunduke
Microsoft Lunduke is an online extremist that belongs to and panders to the far right
20 Years Later and Academia Isn't the Same
"I never dreamed of being a professor"
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired
Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure)
This was a few hours ago
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 13, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025
Microsoft is Rapidly Dropped From Web Servers, Shows Survey
Microsoft lost about 8% "market share" in just 3 months
Many GNU/Linux Users Report MOK (Machine Owner Key) Issues in Recent Days
many people don't report this online and never post in Reddit
We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.
To hell with UEFI 'secure boot'
Links 13/09/2025: Escalations in East Europe and POTUS’ Health Cover-Up
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/09/2025: Lagrange Turns 5 and Lagrange 1.19.2 Released
Links for the day
Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot."
2 hours ago
A New Low for "Linux Journal": Promoting MICROSOFT WINDOWS Using LLM Slop
They've just jumped the shark entirely
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft
"This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop
Well done, Google News. Google itself can flourish as a slopfarm mashup.
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC
"Linux does not want to install"
The Register MS Still Takes Money to Hype Up "AI" in Articles by Microsoft Resellers With the Term "AI" 30+ Times in Them
Notice how many times they mention "AI"
The Apache Logo News is VERY Old, Racists and 'Anti-Woke' Bigots Look for Something to Incite Other Bigots With
Nothing to see here, move along
Linux Mint 9/11: "4th One Today..." (in Reddit)
Remember that not everyone having an issue reports it to social control media like Reddit
Nepal Will Fall Without a Single Shot Fired, Thanks to Social Control Media
Or very few shots (by the authorities)
European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture
"In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
European Authorities, Already Bribed and Infiltrated by Microsoft, Won't Help You Find BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi
Because they're paid by Microsoft and are Microsoft 'addicts' themselves
UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012)
in the media
Debian 9/11
people report this issue
Gemini and Web Links 13/09/2025: MElon's Slop Grift and "Autonomous Trains"
Links for the day
Moving From Content Management Systems (CMSs) to Static Site Generators (SSGs) Saves You Time, Makes You a Lot More Productive
try to reduce the cost (financial and computational) of running your site
Pursuing Peace Through Violence
You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs
corruption has become the norm and scientists are robbed of any dignity
Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?
"An important point to hammer on is that CoCs were never intended for uniform or symmetric application"
Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders)
"the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
Geminispace is Growing Faster in 2025 Than It Did in 2024
What matters is that corporations haven't ruined it and LLM slop is extremely rare
Links 13/09/2025: China Punishes for 'Negative' Posts, US Police Unable to Find Shooter
Links for the day
Who's the Mystery Financier of SLAPP Against Techrights and Is That a Millionaire/Billionaire?
Whose idea was it to fund meritless lawsuits against my wife and I?
Slopwatch: Slow Slop Day
This distracts from or may take traffic away from the original articles, actually written by actual people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 12, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 12, 2025