Bonum Certa Men Certa

Duplicate Events for Lobbying by Team UPC Meddle in Politics in an Effort to Enrich Itself at Europe's Expense



UPC lobbying event



Summary: Observing the latest attempts by Team UPC (Winfried Tilmann etc.) to ram the UPC down politicians' throats, even though it is neither desirable nor legal/constitutional as things stand

TECHRIGHTS spent many years covering the UPC (also in its previous incarnations) and earlier this month we wrote about imminent attempts (at the end of this month) to revive this zombie of a treaty-like sham -- something which European citizens would strongly disapprove of if they actually knew anything about it. Team UPC likes to keep it sort of secret, or simply lie about it, insisting that it's good for SMEs when in fact the very opposite is true. The UPC is a huge, gross injustice, but thugs and liars like Battistelli (and those blindly loyal to him, maybe out of fear) keep pushing for it (see the screenshot above, including the quote from Battistelli).



"The post-Brexit vote future of Europe's unitary patent system is set to become much clearer on Monday," IAM's editor wrote yesterday (his headline in fact). Our expectation is that on Monday the UPC will remain as dead as it is now, but Team UPC will deny it. Here are the concluding words from IAM, which in the past organised pro-UPC events, supported by the EPO and sponsored by the EPO's PR firm:

In addition to the above, there are undoubtedly other scenarios that might play out; while it is also quite possible that contrary to expectations the UK will not say anything definitive on Monday. If I were to place a bet, though, I would plump for a confirmation of non-ratification and the other EU member states then refining the UPC agreement to make the UK’s participation non-essential. But I would not put a lot of money on it. The best advice is to avoid betting shops and to keep a look out for an announcement sometime late Monday afternoon or evening Central European Time. Early next week, a period of post-Brexit IP uncertainty could well come to an end.


Previously, the same author said that it would take another 2 years (or more) before there is sufficient clarity for the UPC to proceed (if at all). As we noted here just a couple of days ago, IAM is now organising another UPC-centric event. They won't give up until the EPO runs out of budget or Battistelli gets admitted into a mental asylum.

"Yet another echo chamber for the UPC," wrote Benjamin Henrion (FFII) yesterday, adding: "can we have a real debate please?"

Henrion referred to "yet another echo chamber" as he called it when he told us about it. "There seems to be the same conference with the same speakers next week 30th Nov (in my latest tweets). Council meeting is 28th Nov, they expect UK to say something..."

The "same conference with the same speakers" is being advertised via E-mail and this one too is titled "Finalising the Unitary Patent Package," to take place on the 8th of February in Brussels.

They are sending this around via E-mail:

Finalizing the Unitary Patent Package: Challenges and Ways Forward Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre, Brussels Wednesday 8th February 2017

Willem A. Hoyng Partner Hoyng Rokh Monegier

Pierre Véron Lawyer, Member of the Paris Bar Véron & Associés

Katalin Lubóczki, Member, UPC Preparatory Committee, Attaché for Intellectual Property, Audiovisual Policy and Consumer Protection Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU

Prof. Dr. Winfried Tilmann Of Counsel Hogan Lovells, Düsseldorf

Darren Smyth Partner, Patent and Design Attorney, London, EIP Europe LLP Author for The IPKat & IP Alchemist Member of the Editorial team for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice



The introduction is as follows:

In December 2012, after a 40 year long quest, the European Parliament and the European Council finally reached a formal agreement on two EU regulations, making the European Patent with Unitary Effect (EPUE) an achievable prospect. With almost all EU member states - except for Spain and Croatia - participating in the enhanced cooperation, the legislation is supposed to come into force by the end of the year 2016/beginning 2017.

Experts, however, argue about the intended cost saving factor as well as the theoretical simplicity the EPUE package will bring, being mostly concerned about the patchwork nature of the system. Also, with the recent Brexit vote, additional straits are adding up, making the future of the Unitary Patent unclear.

This timely Symposium will offer an opportunity to inform and find out more about the current developments and challenges regarding the Unitary Patent and the Unitary Patent Court. The conference will evaluate advantages and disadvantages, build strategies for businesses on how to proceed and support the exchange of information and best practices with experts, practitioners and policymakers at EU level.


We saw -- and covered something similar to this -- before. Pay attention to the pricing; as we noted here before, these events are also priced out of reach, with concession to the 'choir'. So it looks like it's open to everyone, but it's not. It's like a paywall for the rich, by the rich. The price is the gatekeeper.

Yesterday someone left this comment in IP Kat, in relation to another event. "Good grief that is a lot," said this person. "Go to one of cheaper seminars or even the free ones -Brussels is full of free ones as well which are just as good. Ok not so many corporates crammed into one place but if it is the Commission speakers you want to hear -these particular individuals are the regulars and turn up anywhere.So save your money and go to those e.g which the Lander host for free, are smaller and so you get to talk to the speakers and where the food is excellent."

Well, Team UPC isn't interested in a large audience; it just wants to ensure that the audience is in the same bed, it doesn't want dissent. This pretty much says what the event is all about: lobbying.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Some Large German Media Covers Richard Stallman's Talks in Germany Earlier This Week
LLM-based chatbots are just "bullshit generators" (as he has long called them)
Trouble in Red Hat/IBM and a Retreat to Ponzi Economics in Search of Wall Street Market Heist
Would you invest your life savings in this kind of crap?
Who Asked Software in the Public Interest (SPI) for a Refund? ($100,000, Resulting in Losses of $267,201 in 12 Months, Highest-Ever Losses)
The IRS does not reveal who or what's tied to this refund (or the cause/reason)
 
Why We Support Richard Stallman and You Probably Should Too
It's not about being "Richard Stallman fan", it is about maintaining the right to hold positions (on technology) like his
Linux Foundation Uses LLM Slop to Promote Microsoft in Linux.com (Again), Rendering It a Linux-Hostile Slopfarm
Openwashing with slop by "Linux.com Editorial Staff", which basically seems to be a bot
Links 23/10/2025: Windows TCO Galore and "The Internet Is Going to Break Again"
Links for the day
Social engineering attack: Debian voted to trick you on binary blobs
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Techrights Will Always Stand for Women's Rights
We even invest money - personal savings that it - in our principles
Certified Lawyers Should Know Better (Than to Intimidate Us With Man Who Drives on Motorcycle Through a Really Bad Storm Between Distant Cities, Then Collects Photos of Our Home)
Mentioning someone was in prison for bad things isn't a crime, it's a public service
The "AI" (Slop) Bubble is Already Imploding
"ChatGPT Usage Has Peaked and Is Now Declining, New Data Finds"
The So-called "Sexy" Buckets (AI, Quantum) Cannot Save IBM From Reality, Shares Tank
"No matter how much financial hocus-pocus they use to reclassify revenues to land in the "sexy" buckets (AI, Quantum), it still smells old and musty - just like this company."
Paul Krugman is Wrong About the Scope of Mass Layoffs in the United States
A few years ago society was accelerating its journey towards feudalism, boosted by COVID-19
Links 23/10/2025: Proprietary Blunders and CISA's Latest Disclosure of Holes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Fast Past (F1), 99.9% Uptime
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Slopwatch: Google News is Promoting Fake 'Articles' About Fake Xubuntu, Fake Articles About Replacing Windows With GNU/Linux
The quality of the Web deteriorates and unless someone cleans up the mess, real sites will lose an incentive to produce anything
When "AI Layoffs" Mean Layoffs Due to the "AI" Bubble Popping
many people that are laid off by Microsoft claim to be specialists in "AI"
Mysterious grant forfeited, $100,000 from Software in the Public Interest accounts 2023
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: bullying, student union behaviour: Armijn Hemel's FSFE resignation
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: psychological abuse, stalking, Galia Mancheva, Susanne Eiswirt ignored by FSFE judgment for Matthias Kirschner
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Helping FSFE scam victims and conference organisers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Nigerian fraud in FSFE constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Worrying and Amusing Stories of "Clown Computing" Gone Awry
Many of these disasters could be avoided
Links 22/10/2025: Amazon Plans to Replace Workers With Robotics, AWS and Clown Computing in General Ridiculed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/10/2025: Niri Completely Changes Multitasking and Overview of Diff-ers
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2025: Study on Misinformation by Slop and Heavily Debt-Sabbled Microsoft OpenAI (ClosedSlop) Uses "Browser" as Gimmick/Distraction
Links for the day
They've Already Spent Close to a Million Dollars on Lawyers and Sent Us About 50 KG of Legal Papers (Sponsored by Mysterious Third Party) to Try to Censor Techrights, Without Success
They try to overcompensate with sheer volume for a lack of solid, clear arguments (we are the victims here)
12 Months Ago the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' Officially Went 'Tag-Team'
We're actually sort of flattered or proud that such despicable people are so desperate to censor us
"Cloud Computing" Was Always a Joke, But This Week Was the Punchline
Maybe stop following tech trends and fashions
"Cloud Computing" Does Not Mean Safety
Fault tolerance is related to the notion of software freedom
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The Fall of Windows: From Something to Nothing
Of course Microsoft will pretend everything is fine and "just trust the hey hi" (AI)
Sounds Like Fedora is Ready to Become Less of a Slave of Microsoft (GitHub)
This seems like a belated move in a positive direction
XBox is a Dead Microsoft Product in a Dying Industry
It's probable that another wave of XBox layoffs is just over the horizon (maybe even before month's end)
Progress on Techrights Site Search
Fun times
IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Means the Layoffs Are Silent, Barely Reported
Don't wait to hear about "Red Hat layoffs"
Gemini Links 21/10/2025: Happy Disconnection, AWS Falling Apart, Closing of Gemlog Blue
Links for the day
Full Audio of Today's Richard Stallman Talk in the Technical University of Munich
Free/Libre software and freedom in the digital society
Microsoft XBox is Just Vapourware (Promises of Hardware That Doesn't Exist), Real Products Perish
just as developers lose interest in developing for XBox Microsoft is increasing the costs imposed upon them
Slopwatch: Fake Articles (Slop) in "Linux" Clothing in Google News (Noise)
all about what Google does
Links 21/10/2025: Even "Inventor of Vibe Coding" Rejects Vibe Coding, USPTO Experiments With Slop in Examination
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Talk Now Available for Viewing (Archived Copy, Not Live-streamed)
This recording is over 2 hours old
Links 21/10/2025: AWS-Induced Chaos and Social Control Media Curbs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/10/2025: Programming, StarGrid, Brand-New Palm OS Strategy Game in 2025, and Chatbot as Addiction Mechanisms
Links for the day
The African Lion and the American Cowards
Safaris exist for people to watch and enjoy animals
Amazon Web Shenanigans Perfectly Timed for Today's Talk by Richard Stallman
Maybe listen to him instead of looking for excuses to ridicule the messenger
Mission:Libre Has Taken Off (Project by Carmen Maris)
there will be a lot more to report on next month (after the event)
Techrights to Publish More EPO Leaks Next Week
We're meanwhile also doing lots of work on search, whose interface now looks better
Links 21/10/2025: 'The Lost Art' of Neon Signs and Twitter (X) to Enable Identity Theft (or Handle Theft) as a Service
Links for the day
Plagiarism With LLM Slop: Hindustan Times (HT Digital Streams Limited) Has Become a Slop Factory/Hub
What a disgrace
A radical proposal to keep your personal data safe, by Richard Stallman
"The surveillance imposed on us today is worse than in the Soviet Union. We need laws to stop this data being collected in the first place"
Next Week We Launch Search at Techrights
We're planning to launch it some time next week. Maybe Tuesday, maybe Thursday.
Talk by Richard Stallman Will be Live-streamed in Less Than 10 Hours
Happy hacking
"No Kings" in the Software World (GAFAM Should Not Exist, Either)
"No Kings" is a good slogan. Let's start by ridding ourselves of masters, not only those who reside in DC or visit DC
Every Morning
Bugs/edge cases combined with automation can spell disaster
Insane, Deliberately Dishonest, or Just Another Bigot?
very intellectually-dishonest human being
A Lot of Techrights is Built on Perl
Perl also runs the sister site
The Register MS Selling Slop for Microsoft (Vapourware, Ponzi Scheme, False Claims)
What will be left of The Register MS if it keeps repeating falsehoods and looking to profit from Ponzi schemes?
analytics.usa.gov Says Less Than 14% of Web Requests (to Government Sites) Come From Vista 11
Vista 11 was released more than 4 years ago!
People Who Attempt to Take Down Correct Information Need a Doctor a Day
“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” ― George Orwell
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 20, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 20, 2025
Vista 11 is Sinking While Microsoft is PIPing (Mass Layoffs But Silent Layoffs)
We're witnessing a shift in platform dominance
Richard Stallman is Having a Good Week Already (Stallman Was Right About 'Clown Computing')
That alone is worth bringing up in his talk
An Update About Soylent News, With Jan Rinok "Back in the Saddle"
Burnout or "near burnout" a possibility when having to curate abuse
When Prominent GNU/Linux Distros Are Run by Spies
What has Microsoft Canonical become?
More Publishers and Companies Nowadays Say "GNU/Linux", Not "Linux"
It's not to see InstallAware saying GNU/Linux this week