Summary: EPO liars like Margot Fröhlinger, together with chronic liars from Bristows LLP, want us to believe that the UPC will start very soon, but they only serve to show just how disconnected they are from reality (or financially incentivised to lie in public, just like Benoît Battistelli does)

NOTHING substantial happened since last night's post about the UPC; all that happened was a media blitz. EPO management and Team UPC are just utterly desperate to give an illusion of progress and further delays to their coup are simply being discarded or crudely spun as "good news". It's not incredible anymore because they have always done that.

Hours ago Managing IP, which is known for organising pro-UPC events (typically with the EPO involved in these), released this "report", noting that it had yet again created a propaganda opportunity for Unitary Patent people (as usual, without any critics present!).

"EPO management and Team UPC are just utterly desperate to give an illusion of progress and further delays to their coup are simply being discarded or crudely spun as "good news".""On the policy side," it said, "the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patent prompted a lot of discussion. Penny Gilbert of Powell Gilbert moderated a panel on the UPC that also featured Francis Tierney of AstraZeneca and Peter Thomsen of Novartis."

Yes, let the biggest pharmaceutical companies that pursue injunctions EU-wide have a "panel"... why not?

Was Bristows there too? Or the EPO?

Bristows is busy exploiting IP Kat today in writing about "extra-territorial patent infringement in Germany" and it has been rather busy in its own blog too, writing at least 3 items this afternoon alone.

"Yes, let the biggest pharmaceutical companies that pursue injunctions EU-wide have a "panel"... why not?"One might assume that a lot is happening, but no...

Ireland turns out to have delayed a referendum on UPC by a whole year (another reason for postponing UPC plans). These additional delays for the mythical UPC pipe dream are of course spun as something wonderful, with phrases such as UPC being "welcomed by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (reported here)."

It could be just another one of those front groups that claim to represent SMEs but actually do the very opposite (like ACT).

Ireland has a large software industry, so just like British SMEs it would make sense for them to oppose the UPC.

"Ireland has a large software industry, so just like British SMEs it would make sense for them to oppose the UPC."Bristows went further with this spin. Luke Maunder posted some fluff and then his colleague Alan Johnson, who habitually exploits other blogs, wrote something along the lines of "UPC back on track," as a reader alerted us earlier today. There is nothing new there though. Nothing. It seems to relate to this big lie which the EPO has just published under its "news" section, using the misleading headline "Businesses eager for Unitary Patent to start in early 2018" (which businesses?).

Margot Fröhlinger, the right-hand liar of Battistelli, is lying again in public about the UPC. That's her job. She's almost obliged to lie about it. How much per annum does the EPO pay for her to lie? She recently did that in Korea.

"Will Ernst as Kongstad's successor help pull some strings in Germany?"Bristows says she "did not specify precise dates, but consistent with the recent statements from the Preparatory Committee, her speech suggested that the most likely timetable (assuming the German challenge does indeed fail) is for the start of the Provisional Application Phase in late 2017, the start of the sunrise period for opting out in early 2018, and a start date for the UPC itself in early summer."

Assuming...

Does Fröhlinger know something that we don't? Will Ernst as Kongstad's successor help pull some strings in Germany? ⬆