Bonum Certa Men Certa

Loose Data 'Protection' and Likely Privacy Infringements at the EPO: Here's Who Gets Employees' Internal Data

'Public' office, privately connected

Europatis form



Summary: Another look at Europatis, the company of a former EPO Vice-President (VP1), which is now accessing staff details at the EPO

This morning we wrote about the latest active venture of Jacques Michel, which we now know receives private information (internal data) from the EPO. Several people who used to work for the EPO still act as though they are inside the EPO, even though they run a private (for-profit) company. Talk about conflict of interests! They magically enough, owing to professional connections, get data about every member of staff at the EPO. This truly helps illustrative the hypocrisy of Team Battistelli.



Source for the numbers noted this morning: SOCIETE

"The main issue we have with Europatis right now is that it serves to show just how weak data protection is.""That sounds like it's just enough to provide a net income to feed one," wrote one person to us, "or maybe two, people, but it's hardly anything more of a mom-and-pop operation that occasionally rescues the freelancing retired examiner from terminal boredom. Not a big deal really, and this type of work is needed during both for the initial drafting of patent applications and for finding killer prior art for busting granted patents. They are not in competition with the EPO. Other groups such as professional patent researchers and registered IP counsels might have something to say, but that's another issue."

The main issue we have with Europatis right now is that it serves to show just how weak data protection is. The EPO already spies on staff with keyloggers and hidden cameras, so passing staff data in bulk ('wholesale' so to speak) probably shouldn't be so shocking.

"As to the data protection," wrote to us a reader, "people do keep in touch, and you generally know who is currently fetching his coat. In the present situation, that's certainly a heck of a lot of people -- and of coats.

"The EPO already spies on staff with keyloggers and hidden cameras, so passing staff data in bulk ('wholesale' so to speak) probably shouldn't be so shocking.""It's probably like those insistent headhunters who always ask you whether you might know anyone else might be interested in that "super" job in Milwaukee or suburban Ulaanbaatar they unsuccessfully tried to hook you with. And you happily oblige by warmly recommending a colleague you're not particularly fond of, hoping that both the headhunter and the colleague get the message."

As we noted this morning, neither Europatis nor the data passage is the big deal; there is an even bigger story involving Jacques Michel. We are going to cover this story in the coming week, in conjunction with the "Insensitivity at the EPO's Management" series. For those who want to know who's behind the company with access to internal EPO data, here is a document from 2009 converted into text, followed by another. Nothing too personal there, just registration details. It's only fair for EPO staff to know who's gaining access to some of their personal details (such as E-mail), potentially for personal gain.

0907399703

DATE DEPOT : 2009-08-31 NUMERO DE DEPOT : 73997 N€° GESTION : 2009B16103 N€° SIREN : 514485788 DENOMINATION : EUROPATIS ADRESSE : 61 rue des Morillons 75015 PARIS DATE D'ACTE : 2009/08/04 TYPE D’ACTE : DECISION DES ASSOCIES NATURE DACTE : NOMINATION DE GERANT(S)




EUROPATIS

Société à responsabilité limitée au capital de 4 000 euros

61 rue des Morillons

75015 PARIS

Les soussignés :

M onsieur Jacques MICHEL Né le 30 octobre 1937 à Reims (51) De nationalité française Dem eurant 61 rue des Morillons à Paris (75015) Marié sous le régime de la communauté

Madame Geneviève ALIGON épouse MICHEL Née le 23 novembre 1939 à Argenteuil (95) De nationalité française Demeurant 61 rue des Morillons à Paris (75015) Mariée sous le régime de la communauté

M. Laurent MICHEL Né le 24 décembre 1974 à Genève (Suisse) De nationalité française Demeurant 11 rue du Bois Fourgon à Villeconin (91580) Marié sous le régime de séparation de biens

se sont réunis à l'issue de la signature des statuts de la société EUROPATIS, pour désigner d'un commun accord le prem ier gérant de la société, conformément aux dispositions de l'article 10 des statuts de ladite société.

A cet effet, il est convenu de ce qui suit :

NOMINATION P U GÉRANT Les soussignés nomment en qualité de gérant de la société : - Monsieur Jacques MICHEL, demeurant 61 rue des Morillons à PARIS (75015) pour une durée illimitée.




Monsieur Jacques MICHEL n'entrera effectivement en fonction qu'à partir du jour où la société aura été immatriculée au Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés.

Monsieur Jacques MICHEL déclare accepter les fonctions de gérant qui viennent de lui être confiées. Il affirme n'exercer aucune autre fonction et n'être frappé d'aucune incapacité ou interdiction susceptible de l'empêcher d'exercer ce mandat.

RÉMUNÉRATION DU GÉRANT Le gérant ne percevra aucune rémunération. Il aura droit au remboursement de ses frais dûment justifiés engagés dans l'intérêt de la société.

Fait à Paris, le 4 août 2009 en trois originaux, deux pour les dépôts légaux et un pour les archives sociales.

M. Jacques MICHEL M. Laurent MICHEL Mme Geneviève ALIGON








0907399702

DATE DEPOT : 2009-08-31 NUMERO DE DEPOT: 73997 N€° GESTION : 2009B16103 N€° SIREN : 514485788 DENOMINATION : EUROPATIS ADRESSE : 61 rue des Morillons 75015 PARIS DATE D’ACTE : 2009/07/27 TYPE D’ACTE : ACTE NATURE D’ACTE : ATTESTATION BANCAIRELISTE DES SOUSCRIPTEURS




Banque Transatlantique

CREATION DE S.A.R.L. ATTESTATION DE BLOCAGE DU CAPITAL SOCIAL

La BANQUE TRANSATLANTIQUE sise 26 Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, 75008 PARIS déclare et atteste avoir reçu la somme de EUR. 4.000,00.

Monsieur Jacques MICHEL, gérante de la SARL €«EUROPATIS€» actuellement en cours de formation dont le siège social se situe 61 rue des Morillons 75015 PARIS, déclare, sous sa seule responsabilité, que cette somme représente la totalité du capital souscrit et libéré immédiatement.

Associés : M . Jacques MICHEL pour 2.000 parts soit 2.000 € de capital versé, Mme Geneviève MICHEL née ALIGON pour 100 parts soit 100 € de capital versé, M. Laurent MICHEL 1.900 parts pour 1.900 € de capital versé.

Nombre de parts : 4.000 Montant versé : 4.000,00 €

En conséquence, conformément aux dispositions législatives en vigueur, la somme ci-dessus demeurera bloquée en compte n€° 30568/19918/000/23365501/59 jusqu'à production du certificat d’immatriculation au Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés de la société actuellement en voie de formation. A défaut de ce certificat, elle pourra être débloquée, conformément à l'article L223-8 du Code de commerce :

- soit entre les mains du mandataire qui sera désigné par l'associé unique - soit sur décision de justice passée en force de chose jugée

La présente attestation est établie en double exemplaire pour faire valoir ce que de droit.

Fait à Paris, le 27 juillet 2009

Le déposant ("lu et approuvé") signature



Recent Techrights' Posts

Slop's Achilles Heel: It Increases the Workload, Not Just Costs
Set aside its inability to scale well
Improving techrights.org
Technical debt (like 17 years with WordPress) is something that's better to address early, not later
Laos Leaving GAFAM Behind, Gradually
Yesterday evening it was measured at 10% for GNU/Linux at one point
China Says Goodbye to Microsoft
It is hardly surprising that Windows is shedding off userbase all around the world
 
Microsoft's Mass Layoffs Impact the Ability to Run Microsoft
Can Microsoft still run Microsoft?
Microsoft's Active Directory ("AD") and "Entra" Are National Security Threats
Even the US government concluded Microsoft could not be trusted for security; it issued a formal report about it in April 2024
Instant Impact: GNU/Linux Skyrockets to 10% in China Days After Policy Changes
Let's see what the 'aftermath' looks like by year's end
Links 19/08/2026: Timothy James King (AmigaDOS) Dies, GitHub Goes Offline, Finland Wants to Shun Social Control Media
Links for the day
Mass Layoffs at Dropbox, Blame the Debt, Not Slop Hype
The debt of Dropbox Inc., which isn't an imaginary (estimated) thing, is over 4 billion dollars
Microsoft is 'Angel of Death' to Developers (Even Its Own), 'Voluntary' Layoffs Happening Again
From what we are hearing and reading, there are 'voluntary' layoffs again
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 18, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Gemini Links 19/08/2026: Shirts, Handwriting, and Fights in Geminispace
Links for the day
They Were Wrong All Along
Two women combined won't deliver a healthy baby in just 4.5 months
A "Tech Journalist" Would Not Cover Vote on LLMs as a Sex Issue
For a moment there you have to pause and wonder, is this a "Tech Journalist" or the Daily Stormer?
20,000 by Year's End
The "New Techrights" will have 20,000 pages by year's end
Last Night GNU/Linux Measured at 9% in Africa
Nighttimes in Africa are times when GNU/Linux usage on desktop/laptop devices typically surges, based on Clownflare [...] It changes in favour of GNU/Linux
Gemini Links 18/08/2026: Google Bait and Switch (Getting College People 'Hooked' on 'Cheap' Storage, Then Backups Gone), a "Question of E-mail"
Links for the day
Bluesky is in Trouble
Bluesky is a private company (unlike Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. in Toronto, that one runs a pyramid scheme!), so it's hard to know for sure just how much money it is losing
Links 18/08/2026: US Abandons South Korea, New Legal Disputes Over Slop Plagiarism in the Music Scene
Links for the day
Linux Losing Interest in Users' Freedom, Pursues DRM Instead
"Linux" is (or was, as GNU/Linux) meant to empower - not artificially restrict - the users
GNU/Linux in Ecuador and Colombia: Growing, Still Below International Average
locals turn away from Windows and try GNU/Linux instead
IBM is Dead or Dying. Now It Asks Workers to 'Resign' Voluntarily.
To save face, to pretend no layoffs are happening (as it might alarm shareholders) [...] We keep hearing more and more stories like that
Links 18/08/2026: Sergey Brin Controlling State Policies, "Dario Amodei's (Anthropic) Wife Is Closely Linked to Jeffrey Epstein"
Links for the day
SBS News Interviews Daniel Pocock
The locals say this PR stunt (by the bigot, Farage) was a waste of money
Clownflare Sees One in 7 Web Requests in Libya Originating From GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has taken a (foot)hold there
Openwashing and Manifestos Composed in Private by Dictators With Deliberately Addictive (and Subsidised, Bundled) 'Tech'
It's long, so make a cuppa first
SLAPP Censorship - Part 153 Out of 200: Decades of Debt, Weaponising Borrowed Money to Try to Put Their Critics in Debt
they've always had a financial report by now
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 17, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, August 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/08/2026: Solar Power, Kipple and Impermanence, Catastrophe Ethics
Links for the day
Evri (HermesUK) is Now Run by Bots and Hallucinating Scammers
Years ago they virtually removed support and tried chatbots instead
Less Technology, More Life
Technology is being associated (sometimes rightly) with physical and mental problems
Google Search Has Gotten Worse (a Lot Worse)
getting worse
Birthday in 80 Days
we'll start decorating and party online with our community
Loans and Massive Debt at Microsoft, This Won't End Well.
Microsoft running out of money to pay salaries (to the point of paying people for 'voluntary' layoffs) is a positive sign?
Gemini Links 17/08/2026: Life in Plain Text, Mimicking KARL, Release of Jugulans, Avoiding Slop
Links for the day
Clown Storage Without Backups
Setting up several reliable copies of the data, plus several off-site backups (this data is nowhere as sensitive as medical data), should only cost a few grand
FreeCAD is Becoming Slop-ware, Use LibreCAD Instead
It has regular releases and "Qt5 is mandatory" now [...] they at least audit what they add
Cuba and Venezuela High in Adoption of GNU/Linux
some of the "communist" nations
Links 17/08/2026: Myanmar’s Cholera Outbreak, China Sends Commercial Vessels Through Arctic
Links for the day
GAFAM Loyalty Has Come to an End, Morale Low, People Whose Future is Uncertain Choose to Become "Lifers"
morale is low and there's no loyalty anymore
SLAPP Censorship - Part 152 Out of 200: Injunctions Do Not Cover Criticism, They Have Scope
self-incriminating communications
Clownflare Sees About Quarter of Web Requests in Ireland Coming From GNU/Linux
Well, in Ireland it seems like many people adopted GNU/Linux
Clownflare: In Australia and New Zealand GNU/Linux Peaks at Over 10% During Working Hours
That right there is interesting in its own right
Slowing Down by Intention
At the moment we have 6 or 7 ongoing series
Gemini Links 17/08/2026: Chamboree, Partial Solar Eclipse, Lady Macbeth
Links for the day
Links 17/08/2026: "Bluesky Is Down Again!" and "Anti-Social Media"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 16, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, August 16, 2026