Summary: The aggressive lobbying campaign coordinated by self-serving opportunists and partly funded by EPO budget (even through proxies such as FTI Consulting) is proving to be fruitful, as many people out there have embraced the wrong idea that Spain intends to join the UPC and now operate on that false assumption
THE EPO discriminates against the Spanish language and the Spanish government is not interested in the UPC. That's not news. We recently wrote about some fake news about Spain, including easily-debunked claims from UPC propagandists such as IAM (paid by the EPO's PR firm and supported by the EPO to set up pro-UPC event/s). We can imagine that Spanish media already has seeded in it some puff pieces from the EPO (maybe ghostwritten), but we are not keeping abreast of publications in Spanish.
"We recently wrote about some fake news about Spain, including easily-debunked claims from UPC propagandists such as IAM (paid by the EPO's PR firm and supported by the EPO to set up pro-UPC event/s)."Watch this tweet from this dodgy new site (no idea who's behind it, but it's SUEPO-hostile) that says "Spain edges toward unitary patent" (not true, even patently untrue). Team UPC wants us to believe we're powerless and that all nations now fall in line with its agenda; they need us to believe that the Unitary Patent is inevitable and there is no reason for anyone to fight back. It's a classic lobbying tactic that we've witnessed with attempted passage of SOPA, ACTA, TPP and so on. Don't fall for it. Don't be an easy victim.
The above article says: "Political support for the EU unitary patent system is growing in Spain, where a non-binding motion asking the government to begin talks to join has been passed."
So that's all it is? A "non-binding motion"? Watch how a mountain will grow out of this molehill, thanks to endless determination -- it not sheer desperation -- from Team UPC. Lobbying for UPC has, in our humble opinion, intensified lately because the EPO and Team UPC are growing very nervous. They know the door is closing very soon with Brexit (perhaps end of this month). For them -- it's now or never!
"Watch how a mountain will grow out of this molehill, thanks to endless determination -- it not sheer desperation -- from Team UPC."Many parallels can be found and drawn between UPC lobbying right now and what Microsoft did for OOXML about a decade ago: breaking rules, bribing the press, setting up bogus events with stacked panels and whatever else they could get their hands (or wallet) on so as to ram it down all nations' throats (for ISO approval).
"Spain is now the UPC lobbying target," a local told me. "Socialists involved..."
Well, they have been involved in this for years, so there's not much to see here.
IAM, however, greased up for UPC promotion (payments from the EPO's PR firm for it), has already spread some fake news about it and it just cannot stop. Maybe it's trying to impress Battistelli for another wad of cash.
"Debate and vote on Spain joining the EU unitary patent system in the country's Parliament tomorrow," it said last week. It's just a debate.
Josep Maria Pujals retweeted Francisco Moreno as saying something in Spanish. "If Spain decides to join the UPC," he continued, "a local division could be established in Spain working in the Spanish language..."
"IAM, however, greased up for UPC promotion (payments from the EPO's PR firm for it), has already spread some fake news about it and it just cannot stop. Maybe it's trying to impress Battistelli for another wad of cash."But "have you ever tested automated translation in Spanish? An insult to every European citizen," Benjamin Henrion told him. Yes, it will never work for Spain. Why should the Spanish language not receive priority over French and German? It makes no sense given the popularity of the Spanish language worldwide.
The lobbyists, IAM, later wrote: "Breaking News: the Spanish Parliament has voted in favour of Spain joining the EU unitary patent system."
This is a lie.
Even IAM knew it was a lie, so then came this correction: "Important to note that vote was non-binding and merely asks the government to do it. All parties voted in favour, apart from governing PP."
So the lobbyists from IAM posted a lie and never deleted it, either. Maybe they hope that this lie, retweeted by 37 people (far more than is usual for IAM), will help influence the outcome. These people from the patent microcosm heard what they wanted to hear, but not what was true. Money well spent by the EPO and its PR firm?
"So the lobbyists from IAM posted a lie and never deleted it, either."There's no UPC without the UK, as we noted in our previous post, so it's still a limbo scenario (deadlock) for the Unitary Patent either way.
Found via Team UPC (Bristows) was this recycling of bogus or misleading news about the "Committee on Economy, Industry and Competitiveness". Watch how they rephrased it. Manuel Rey-Alvite Villar wrote the headline "Spanish parliament calls on the government to join the unitary patent and UPC system" (picked up by Dr. Luke McDonagh).
See what's misleading here? The government is not voting for that, but Team UPC is just misleading people -- yet again -- with fake news, hoping to make the distortions/lies a reality. Have they no shame?
What the 'article' says does not even match the headline.
As Henrion pointed out, "Spanish parliament voting for UPC means Spanish citizens will have to appeal at the Spanish Constitutional Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Court_of_Spain …
"How many people fell for it? How many people passed (e.g. retweeted) such false statements and never corrected these, even once they realised these statements were misleading at best?"Contrary to some 'reports' (lobbying from Team UPC), the UPC isn't happening in Spain. But IAM will carry on with tweets like this: "Opposition PSOE has today demanded that Spain's minister for economy explains to Parliament the government's opposition to joining the UPC."
That's very different from what Team UPC blogs are saying. Consider what the Dutch team is saying in its blog. To quote: "The Spanish parliament will vote today on a non-binding motion of the socialist opposition party PSOE, which calls on the government to reconsider joining the Unitary Patent system."
Now compare this to the headline which is a quote from one side only, without even an attribution. It says "Parliament votes in favour of Spain joining Unitary Patent system"
How many people fell for it? How many people passed (e.g. retweeted) such false statements and never corrected these, even once they realised these statements were misleading at best? From what we could gather this past week, the fake news is now a sort of consensus, so British and German politician might easily be fooled/bamboozled into the idea that Spain is no longer a barrier to the UPC.
"UPC would be highly damaging to Spanish companies as the vast majority of them are small and currently not susceptible to ruinous litigation from other countries -- something that only the UPC would facilitate."Watch another new blog post of UPC lobbyists, again a selective quote that's being cast as fact: "It is detrimental to Spain to stay outside the Unitary Patent system"
This is of course an utter lie right there in the headline. First of all, Spain would not stay out of the UPC if there was no Unitary Patent to begin with. The lobbyists pretend it's inevitable, but they are liars. It's a lobbying technique. But more to the point, UPC would be highly damaging to Spanish companies as the vast majority of them are small and currently not susceptible to ruinous litigation from other countries -- something that only the UPC would facilitate.
Still believe that Spain is about to ratify the UPC? Then send me an E-mail, I can get you a discount on some Martian land and the nicer parts of the Moon. Order today and get a free oxygen bubble. ⬆