Bonum Certa Men Certa

Danish Press Coverage of the European Patent Office and the Problems Explored by Techrights

For those who conveniently refer to style, not substance

Style over substance Reference: Style over substance



Summary: Jesper Kongstad does virtually nothing to deny the arguments (or "accusations") and instead alludes to the style of the writings about him

Recent articles from Techrights have inspired Danish mainstream media coverage regarding the EPO, notably this recent series of Danish stories. We have asked some Scandinavian people to explain to us what was said in the press and we are still trying to digest the message, along with any other new information that it brings up.



"The first one gives details about the "harassment" to which Kongstad is allegedly being subjected.""For your information," one reader told us, "Berlingske has just published three pieces about the EPO referring to recent Techrights articles.

"No translations yet but Google Translate gives some idea of the content."

Here is an overview of the stories:

1. The first one gives details about the "harassment" to which Kongstad is allegedly being subjected.

Chikane mod dansk topembedsmand: Hængt ud for skattesnyd (Danish link) ("Harassment of top Danish official - denunciation for tax evasion")

"The next one cites some comments from the Danish patent expert George Brock-Nannestad who is critical of the direction being taken by EPO management."Direktøren for Patent- og Varemærke€­styrelsen, der ogsÃ¥ er formand for det europæiske patentkontor EPO, tæppe€­bombes med beskyldninger om smarte investeringer og dyremishandling. ("The Director of the DKPTO who is also Chairman of the EPO [Administrative Council] has been carpet-bombed with accusations about smart investments and cruelty to animals")

2. The next one cites some comments from the Danish patent expert George Brock-Nannestad who is critical of the direction being taken by EPO management.

Dansk patentekspert: Ledelsen på forkert kurs (Danish link) ("Danish patent expert: The management is on the wrong course").

En kontaktperson fra den centrale fagforening hos EPO, SUEPO (Staff Union of the European Patent Office), afviser i en mail over for Berlingske, at SUEPO samarbejder med den kritiske internet-blog Techrights.com om chikane mod EPOs bestyrelsesformand Jesper Kongstad, som er direktør for Patent- og Varemærkestyrelsen. Den pÃ¥gældende har ifølge eget udsagn været udsat for repressalier fra ledelsen og €­ønsker derfor ikke at fÃ¥ sit navn frem. Det er en mangeÃ¥rig europæisk patentagent (European Patent Attorney) til gengæld ikke bange for. EPO-ledelsen er pÃ¥ vildspor og er ved at ødelægge den europæiske patentorganisation, mener George Brock-Nannestad.

"This one refers to "anonymous activists" who have complained about Kongstad and called for an investigation."("In an email to Berlingske a contact person from the central trade union at the EPO, SUEPO (Staff Union of the European Patent Office), denies that SUEPO has cooperated with the critical Internet blog Techrights in the harassment of EPO chairman Jesper Kongstad, who is the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office. Those questioned are according to themselves exposed to reprisals from management and therefore do not wish to be named. On the other hand, a longtime European patent agent (European Patent Attorney) is not afraid. EPO management is on the wrong track and is destroying the European Patent Organisation, says George Brock-Nannestad.")

3. The last one seems to be a bit of a puff piece where they give Kongstad a bit of column space to explain the necessity for the "reform" process at the EPO and how wonderful the working conditions there are...

Lønninger og goder €»uden sidestykke i Europa€« (Danish link) ("Salaries and benefits "unparalleled in Europe '")

De ansatte demonstrerer EPO har et budget pÃ¥ omkring 15 milliarder kr. og behandler Ã¥rligt flere hundrede tusinde €­ansøgninger om patenter fra europæiske virksomheder. Konflikten i EPO har de seneste par Ã¥r ført til voldsomme anklager om magtmisbrug, brud pÃ¥ retssikkerheden og beskyldninger om undertrykkelse af fag€­foreninger. Jesper Kongstad var i sidste uge til bestyrelsesmøde i EPOs hovedkvarter i München, hvor ledelsen, som det er sket flere gange før, blev mødt med demonstrationer fra de ansatte.

"It's typical to accuse the messenger or the style rather than the substance."("The staff demonstrates The EPO has a budget of about 15 billion DKK and each year it processes hundreds of thousands of applications for patents from European companies. The conflict in the EPO has in recent years led to fierce accusations of abuse of power, breach of legal certainty and accusations of repression of trade unions. Last week Jesper Kongstad attended a board meeting in the EPO headquarters in Munich, where as has happened several times before, the management was met with protests from the employees.")

As of today, there is an additional (fourth) article. This one refers to "anonymous activists" who have complained about Kongstad and called for an investigation.

€»Professor Gadget€« og €»Freiherr von Bimbes€« om smædekampagne: Dansk topembedsmand bør undersøges

"Den danske topembedsmand Jesper Kongstad er genstand for massiv chikane i forbindelse med en konflikt i det europæiske patentkontor. Anonyme bagmænd uddyber her hvorfor."

("The Danish top official Jesper Kongstad is attracting a lot of harassment in connection with the conflict in the European Patent Office. Anonymous activists explain why here.")

"It's not easy to find native English speakers that are fluent in Danish, which is what a quality translation would entail."We have asked for some feedback from people who can comprehend a bit of Danish. "Kongstad complains about the personal attacks and refers to Techrights," one person told us. "Your style is accused of not being 'Danish', also the €»Professor Gadget€« and €»Freiherr von Bimbes€« are mentioned. I hope they / he are keeping it civilized and more 'Danish'.

"You're quoted in that one," the person said about the second article and regarding the third we have been told that "[i]t's good that its in the Economics section of the paper. Though I take issue with their use of the term 'chikane' but it's not directed at Techrights explicitly."

It's typical to accuse the messenger or the style rather than the substance.

"Are we going to see an actual debunking from Kongstad or is he just hoping that nobody will bother finding out what he has been up to?"We hope to get translations of these soon. It's not easy to find native English speakers that are fluent in Danish, which is what a quality translation would entail.

Are we going to see an actual debunking from Kongstad or is he just hoping that nobody will bother finding out what he has been up to? Our Web site has been barely accessibly today because too many people do try to figure out what Kongstad is doing in his home.

Recent Techrights' Posts

With Workers Back From a Holiday Weekend, Microsoft Layoffs Carry on, More Waves to Come
Now it's Monday and people are bad to work, even some journalists
You Need Not Wave a Rainbow Flag This Month to Basically Oppose Arseholes Looking to Disrupt and Divide the Community
Don't fall for it
What Miguel de Icaza and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar aims, different methods
The 'Corporate Neckbeard' is Not the "Good Guy"
Works for IBM
Microsoft's Nat Friedman Became Unemployed the Same Time the SLAPPs Against Techrights Started Coming From His Friends (Weeks After We Had Exposed Scandals About Him and the Serial Strangler, His Best Friend, Who Got Arrested a Few Days Later)
Nat Friedman is not "Investor, entrepreneur"
Weeding Out Extremism in Our Community
To me it seems like Microsoft Lunduke is rapidly becoming like a "hate preacher" who operates online, breeding an extremist ideology or trying to soften its image
Censorship Versus Fact-Checking and Quality Control
It's not censorship but a matter of quality control
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and TUI Rant
Links for the day
 
Layoffs and Shutdowns at IBM, Not Just Microsoft
Same as Microsoft
The FSF's (Free Software Foundation, Inc.) 2025 Summer Fundraiser Already Past Halfway Line
This is where GNU/Linux actually started
Mozilla Had No Good Reason to Outsource Firefox Development to Microsoft
What does Mozilla plan to do when GitHub shuts down?
Mozilla Firefox Did Not Die, It Got Killed
To me it'll always look like Mozilla got killed by its sponsors, especially Google, which had a conflict of interest as a sponsor
Dalai Lama Succession as Evidence That Determined, Motivated People Can Reach Their Nineties
And we need to quit talking about their death all the time
Dan Neidle, Whom Brett Wilson LLP SLAPPed (on Behalf of Corrupt Rich Tax Evaders), Still Fighting the Good Fight
Neidle fights for the poor people
Wayland Should Start by Dumping Its Very Ugly Logo
Wayland wins the "ugliest logo" award every year
Stop Focusing on Hair Colours, Focus on Corporate Agenda
If someone commits a crime, it does not matter if his or her hair was mostly white or there was no hair or a wig or whatever
Links 07/07/2025: Science, Conflicts, and a Fictional K-pop Group
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: Being a Luddite and Announcement of Gotify
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2025: XBox Effectively 'Dead', DMCA Subpoena Versus Registrar
Links for the day
The Nasty Smear (and Stereotype) of "Neckbeard" or "Greybeard" is Ageism
This is the sort of stuff they might try to volley at critics of Wayland
Why Many of Us Use X Server and Will Continue to Use It For Many Years to Come
Don't make this about politics
Brett Wilson LLP Uses Threats to Demand Changes to Pages or Removal of Pages Without Even Revealing Which Staff Member Does That (Sometimes People From Another Firm!)
This has been in the public for years
Dan Neidle Said "It Really Then Became a Job of Tormenting" Lawyers Like Brett Wilson LLP (Who Threatened Him for Exposing Crimes, Just Like They Threatened My Wife a Few Months Later)
he and his wife decided to take on the evil people and their evil lawyers
Large Language Models (LLMs) Externalise Their Cost to the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
"The forty-sixth Free Software Bulletin is now available online!"
Reinforcing the Allegations Some More, Bryan Lunduke Digs His Own Grave
In his latest episodes he merely repeats his own lies, which I debunked using evidence right from his own mouth
Global Warming and Free Software as a Force of Mitigation
we'll need to think about Software Freedom, not just brands like "Linux"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 06, 2025
[Video] "Copyleft Isn't a Bug."
"Copyleft isn’t a bug. It’s a feature. GNU GPL forced the world to treat code like a public good."
Being in Social Control Media Means Exposing Oneself to Heckling
Richard Stallman does not (either himself or directly) post to any social control media
Links 06/07/2025: Airlines Perils, Scams, and Breaches
Links for the day
Two Risks to Companies: The Microsoft Culture and the Microsoft Tools
Novell was killed by a form of "social engineering" by Microsoft
It's Hard to Trust People Who Worked - Not Only Those Who Still Work - at Microsoft
Bryan Lunduke is just what people would call an "arsehole of a person"
For the Second Time, Bryan Lunduke From Microsoft is Siccing Racist Trolls and Vandals at Me
You're only reinforcing the point we made yesterday
Links 06/07/2025: End to End Encryption at Risk, Reuters Twitter ("X") Account Withheld in India
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/07/2025: Tinylog and Certification Rotation
Links for the day
Links 06/07/2025: Climate Change and "The Right to Criticise"
Links for the day
PCLinuxOS Sites Coming Back, Gradually
let's just be patient
Social Control Media, Even If Based on Free Software, Still Has Many Problems
a distraction from what actually mattered and still matters
IBM is Not Your Master
IBM makes friends with people who exclude the majority of the population: women
Help Fund the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
If you have some dollars to spare, go support the FSF
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 05, 2025
A Short History of Attacks on Techrights (and Boycott Novell Before That)
good opportunity to tell again the story of several (not all) attempts to silence us
The Mainstream Media Took 4 Days to Realise Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan and Fired Everybody
We estimate that Microsoft has had about 29,000 layoffs since January
Leadership in Free Software
Don't let IBM lead. It's a terrible flag bearer.
“Twibel” Actions Against Comedians (and Why It's a Truly Low Blow)
they try to make up in quantities for a lack of merit or quality
Linux Foundation Apparently Flirting With Slop (Marketing by LLM-Generated SPAM)
The Web is in a really bad state!
COVID-19 Sped Up Site Improvements in Techrights
A few months later we created our very own IRC network
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: Negative Questions and 'Touching Grass' (Going Outside)
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Dalai Lama Succession as 90th Birthday Approaches, 40 deg C in China
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Hungary and US Defecting to Russia, "Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: 4th of July 2025 and "Zig Roadmap 2026"
Links for the day
How to Combat the Exploitation and Abuse by Microsoft GitHub
Not to mention corruption and crimes against women
Bryan Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People
"[Lunduke] is actually sending his audience to attack people."
Even The Right Wing is Rejecting Bryan Lunduke
no wonder he became so irrelevant and marginal
Microsoft's MSN Helps Microsoft Spread Lies About the Layoffs' Scale (Well Over 25,000 People Laid Off This Year)
There seem to be monopolies on lies and on truth
The Death of X Has Been Greatly Exaggerated (by Compromised Media)
X.Org Server is alive and well
Rewriting Things in Rust
How far would you go?
In 2025 Everything is "AI". Remember Blockchains?
Talk about what companies and things (services, products, software) actually do, not the labels they use
Julian Assange Has Been Free for a Year
Julian Assange and I disagreed on some things
Monopolies and Scalping
Monopolies gravitate towards price hikes
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 04, 2025
Microsoft's August Layoffs Wave: "August is Confirmed for Additional Performance Based Cuts"
"August is confirmed for additional performance based cuts from the recent connects along with additional organizational cuts."
What Microsoft Reputation Laundering (With a Weaponised Law Degree) Looks Like in a Foreign Continent
You would expect this in uncivilised and primitive countries
Slopwatch: LLMs 'Write' Fake or Distorted 'News' About "Linux"
LLM slop disguised as news