Bonum Certa Men Certa

Like EPO 'Grants' (up 40% in a Year), Patent Trolls in Europe Are Growing at Double-Digit Rates (Now 20% of All German Lawsuits)

Rendition by Dutch cartoonist and illustrator KrewinkelKrijst [Web site], inspired by Animal Office

EPO Cartoon by KrewinkelKrijst Full size (larger)



Summary: As Battistelli keeps crushing quality control at the EPO, in order to maximise supposed output (by compelling workers to hurry, doing a shoddy job under pressure), the level of abusive litigation soars in Germany -- the very same nation that generously hosts Battistelli's endless abuses of German law

THE EPO has certainly become a sham -- so much so that it now flagrantly violates the very treaty that brought it into existence (EPC). The EPO is like an animal farm, where people are treated like animals (in industrial farming) and production is paramount irrespective of quality, health of workers, health/welfare of animals etc.



Thanks to the EPO's management (at least in part, for we recognise Germany has its own patent office), Germany is now attracting a lot of patent trolls, with promise to do the same in the rest of Europe if this patent lunacy/frenzy isn't stopped soon. This has already spread to London, as we first noted at the end of 2015 (Ericsson's patent troll has just gotten its way there).

"They must be emboldened by plenty of terrible patents and terrible precedence -- like that set by the EPO with controversial policies."Yesterday, Florian Müller told me about this new report of his. As a team manager dealing with app development (he too is a programmer), he must be worried about patent trolls in Germany (he famously campaigned against software patents in Europe for this reason) and he is certainly worried about what goes on at the EPO these days. "Horacio," he told me, the man who led Microsoft's trolling campaign for nearly a decade, "has now joined an anti-troll advocacy group whose other members include, for example, Google..."

"New IP advocacy group warns," says the headline, that "trolls [are] now accounting for 20% of German patent suits..."

They must be emboldened by plenty of terrible patents and terrible precedence -- like that set by the EPO with controversial policies. EPO examiners repeatedly tell us that they feel compelled to grant software patents even if they are against them (as per the EPC, European directives, common sense, industry and so on).

Müller has mentioned the UPC as well:

In mid-December, a new Brussels-based advocacy group named IP2Innovate (Intellectual Property 2 Innovate) made its first announcement. Its members include Google, Intel, Daimler, Spotify, Bull, adidas, Proximus, Wiko, and two other associations (the European Semiconductor Industry Association and the Syndicat de l'industrie des technologies de l'information). The new industry body is primarily concerned about the impact of patent trolls on innovative companies in Europe and believes that the situation will exacerbate dramatically if and when the Unified Patent Court is put in place.


Yes, this is exactly what we have warned about for years. Even some large companies openly admitted this (HP for example). It's not hard to see who would benefit if UPC became a reality. Will companies care enough to undermine the UPC and oust Team Battistelli? The damage already done is enormous and the toll is far higher than the EPO's annual budget. To Battistelli it's all just an externality, or the cost of doing 'business' (or making a killing, sometimes literally).

Watch what happens with patent trolls in China right now (we wrote a lot about it). Or in Singapore...

"There are truly massive economic ratifications, especially where there is no indemnification, to the marginalisation of examination -- just what Battistelli is doing right now.""As it branches out," IAM wrote today, "Razer [in Singapore] has faced its share of NPE [troll] litigation. Gaming-oriented smart watches, tablets and over-the-top streaming boxes have triggered US infringement suits from the likes of Blue Spike and Sportbrain. Razer will hope that audio and smartphone-related assets from THX and Nextbit complement its own modest portfolio, much of which names Tan as a co-inventor, to put it on stronger footing as it continues to come out with new devices."

Patent maximalism tends to lead to more litigation and trolls find that economically attractive. There are truly massive economic ratifications, especially where there is no indemnification, to the marginalisation of examination -- just what Battistelli is doing right now.

Battistelli is crushing Europe and crippling people while sipping drinks at his new bar.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
 
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day
Our Desktops Are Not Your Experiments, X is Not an Experiment
Breaking what already worked
Microsoft's Big Lies Regarding This Week's Mass Layoffs Have Already Begun (and They're Already Being Spread by Slopfarms)
Microsoft is the "market leader" in slop
Explaining the Full Story of SLAPPs From Microsoft Staff
For every action there is a reaction, for every attack there will be proportionate consequences
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part III: IRS and Status of OSI
"They lied to the US IRS and there’s a paper trail"
IBM Red Hat's Dogmatic Fanaticism Under a Thin Veil of "Modernism"
IBM now has the audacity to paint people who don't agree as "nazis"
Microsoft's Share in Guatemala Fell From 97% to 14%
Eventually Microsoft will get stuck in a loop of layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs
They Made Technology Scary and Taught Us That It's Innocent, Friendly, Even "Social"
Rejection of all this "apps" and "gadgets" and "Smart" (whatever that means!) status quo isn't a rejection of society
The Media is Under Attacks Partly Because There's Little Other (Remaining) Press to Speak in Its Defence
The biggest danger here is that when there's very little press or no "opposition media" left it becomes even easier to crush critics because there aren't many people left to speak about the matter
If Your Web Site is Run by Bots, Eventually Nobody Will 'Read' It Except Bots (People Don't Want to Read Slop)
Eventually people learn from mistakes
Links 29/06/2025: Microsoft Releases False/Fake Benchmarks, "Google Wants You to Watch Ads or Take Surveys to Read Articles"
Links for the day
Links 29/06/2025: Data Breaches and Online Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/06/2025: "The Price Of Eggs" and Gemini 3D Tic Tac Toe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 28, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 28, 2025