Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO Propaganda is Already Sticking in Some Media

Battistelli is killing the EPO, whose job should be to ensure proper examination of applications (not patent inflation or revenue), and accuses those who are trying to save the EPO of "defamation"

IP Watch



Summary: A look at some of the puff pieces that the EPO, boosted by a massive PR budget and outside help from FTI Consulting (to the tune of nearly $1,000,000 per year), has managed to stick on the Web

Left unchallenged, lies can stick. We urge all of our readers -- no matter where they are from -- to pressure media to properly cover what's really going on inside the EPO (the important story, not PR) because the EPO's unethical PR team sure is pressuring journalists right now, backed by a massive PR agency. Journalists can hopefully pay attention to both sides of the argument, not just paid PR people. We already see some Wall Street media and other financial media playing along with this propaganda. We also see some general news sites going along with this [1, 2, 3, 4], not to mention patent maximalists [1, 2, 3] (some horrible spin there, including UPC propaganda from EPO-funded sites like IAM, paid through FTI Consulting).



"It would do nothing but exacerbate "social unrest in the organisation." That's what yellow unions (or the perception thereof) lead to."The above article (screenshot at the top), just published by IP Watch after a previous (very recent) puff piece, refers to what looks like a yellow union as follows: "The EPO president also announced the signature of an agreement with one trade union against a background of social unrest in the organisation."

It would do nothing but exacerbate "social unrest in the organisation." That's what yellow unions (or the perception thereof) lead to. Just how much damage does Battistelli intend to cause before he finally jumps ship (even against his will)? As this new comment has just put it: "FFPE-EPO statute exists only in Dutch. Its Art. 3(1) allows membership only for ambtenaar van EOB bij de vestiging Den Haag. (Employees in The Hague)"

"Battistelli's spin is getting not only ridiculous but also outright laughable."Battistelli will be left red-faced/blush when we finally do our detailed stories about the small trade union and his secret salary that Kongstad kept approving (it's still a secret by the way). In the above interview/article Battistelli said about the grim situation (with the Council) that "these allegations were the result of a defamation campaign," but he didn't say these were false. Battistelli also "said his salary is €300,000 per year,” according to IP Watch, but he’s going to regret saying that. "Battistelli said he never thought patent were the only solution," IP Watch noted towards the end. Well, ask him about software patents and copyrights then. Why does the Battistelli-led EPO keep promoting (and often granting) software patents in Europe when software developers like myself almost unequivocally want just copyrights? Why is he ignoring the EPC -- on the basis of which the EPO exists in the first place? Why does he snub European law and international law?

Battistelli's spin is getting not only ridiculous but also outright laughable. Battistelli was "underlining that there had been no strikes in 2015," according to IP Watch. That's a classic straw man argument. He said nothing about an all-time high in protests and he also hopes nobody will notice the imminent strike that he's trying to crush along with his Iron Lady (Bergot).

We found it funny that Battistelli resorts to the old/outdated/typical propaganda points which we tackled here before. He uses “ISO9001 certification” for bragging rights (compared to other continents!), but ISO is Swiss (Europe!) and in our assessment it is deeply corrupt (you pay for what you get!). Why has the Switzerland-based IP Watch once again done such shallow or shoddy journalism? The site is usually decent, but not when it comes to EPO. Not anymore anyway...

"We found it funny that Battistelli resorts to the old/outdated/typical propaganda points which we tackled here before.""The backlog decreased by 66 percent," IP Watch says about Battistelli's claims, but it didn't explain how. Rubber-stamping of applications en masse? As per this leak?

"According to Battistelli," IP Watch added, "reforms started to pay off in 2015. In terms of production, there was an increase of 14 percent in the number of files treated in one year. Patents granted and published rose by 6 percent, he said."

"Battistelli is to the EPO what Nixon or Bush were to US and watch/recall which political party and politicians Battistelli is affiliated with in France."See the above leak. Battistelli is killing the EPO pretty fast. The EPO under Battistelli now embraces the USPTO approach, which is grant (almost) everything, and fast! Whatever is left behind Battistelli when he leaves the EPO is a big mess that needs cleaning up, including patent quality. "EP" patents now include a lot of low-quality patents which Battistelli is evidently in denial about (even when European courts invalidate these).

Finally, Battistelli says EPO “is the best in the world in terms of quality," but he means WAS, not is. The EPO has become Europe's shame/embarrassment for many reasons and he put an end to its worldwide leadership. He took all the golden eggs and squeezed to death the goose, probably in order to give the impression that he was "successful". He's a "wartime President" by his own choice/making. What a horrible President. Battistelli is to the EPO what Nixon or Bush were to US and watch/recall which political party and politicians Battistelli is affiliated with in France. It figures.

Recent Techrights' Posts

If Matthias Kirschner Loves Free Software, He'll Change the Name of the Microsoft-Sponsored Organisation He Governs (in Order to Avoid Confusion)
The FSF-EEE does not really like Software Freedom, it just loves money (including Microsoft's)
EPO's Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague: Workers Are Getting Sicker, Conditions in Which to Assess Patent Applications Deteriorate
"According to the Office statistics the total number of days of absence has gone up from 12.4 to 13.1 total number of sick days per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) from 2023 to 2024."
The Standard Needs to Improve Its Standards for Fact-Checking, Aaron Swartz Had Nothing to Do With Reddit and He Detested the Company That Created It
The Web is already bad enough as it is
New Paper From the EPO Highlights Large-Scale Discrimination at the Office, Where People Are Rewarded for Granting More and More Illegal Patents
Even the Kremlin is probably more competent than this
 
Gemini Links 11/02/2025: NeoVim and Deploying Other People's Code
Links for the day
BetaNews is Still Publishing LLM Slop/SPAM About "Linux"
Assuming it is indeed LLM slop, it seems clear BetaNews has no intention of improving or is simply unable/unwilling to improve
IBM Layoff Rumours, Large-Scale Implementations Weeks Ahead (in March 2025)
There are some people corroborating
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance Tomorrow and on Valentines
If the site (or Gemini capsule) is offline for a bit, the maintenance windows are likely the root cause
Soylent News Lessens the Scope of Discussion Due to Persistent Trolling and Online Abuse
if they make it a lot harder for new people to participate, then they limit the "general appeal" and reach
When the Livestream of Richard Stallman is Apparently Bury-Brigaded Offline You Finally Learn to Avoid Google/YouTube for Streaming
Please, people, stop uploading to Google/YouTube
Links 10/02/2025: Ban on D.E.I. Language, Listeria Risk/Outbreak
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Announcing "Stringless" and Mental Health Improvement
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Facebook Mass Layoffs, "Meta" Did What Aaron Swartz Had Done But to the Tune of 81.7 Terabytes
Links for the day
Microsoft Tarnishing the Brand of Arch
Of course Arch can do whatever it wants, but being associated with Microsoft is a badge of shame
The Ultimate and Inevitable Fall of OpenAI (Even Brave is 'Bigger' Now)
"When you advertise at the Super Bowl, you’ve reached just about every consumer in America. It’s the last stop. If you’re not profitable yet, you never will be."
Adding Slop to Your Blog Only Makes One Assume All the Text is LLM Slop
Simon Coter from Oracle has turned to slop
Macao is Leaving Microsoft Behind
Windows is falling to new all-time lows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 09, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 09, 2025
Microsoft's WSL (LSW) Shows That It Can Never Love Linux, Only Windows
that's just how Microsoft rolls
Activism in Times of War and a Coup
'Linux' Foundation works for fascism
What the Silencing of Neatnik Tells Us About Linus Torvalds Inside a Microsoft-Dominated 'Linux' Foundation
Is Linus Torvalds free to express his mind as he wishes about every topic, even just any technical topic?
Windows Down to 11.35% in Senegal, as Measured by statCounter
Another all-time low (Windows was at 99% in 2009)
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews is LLM Slop Promoting OOXML and Proprietary Software at the Expense of LibreOffice and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Remember that "open-source" and Open Source aren't the same; the former is fake
Links 09/02/2025: Coffee, Toxic Productivity, and Programming
Links for the day
Debian's Human Rights violations & Swiss women Nazi symbolism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 09/02/2025: Software Patents on MP3 and Another Scam Dressed Up as "Crypto"
Links for the day
Links 09/02/2025: Russian Energy Cut Off, LLM Pushers Show Signs of Desperation
Links for the day
Richard Stallman (RMS) Does Not Have Media Companies and Lobbyists on His Side, But His Message Spreads Regardless
The message of RMS is spreading in spite of all the smears
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time High in Chile
sharp rise for GNU/Linux in Chile
Links 09/02/2025: Hottest January on Record, Panama Blackmailed
Links for the day
Why We Still Love Gemini Protocol
Gemini Protocol may seem like something "old" (it's actually very new) and something "nobody would use", but many people use it
Gemini Links 09/02/2025: "Died as a Mineral" and Game Interface for a Non-Game
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 08, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 08, 2025