Summary: Our opening dual-language part in this series about the Lufthansa case, which appears to implicate not only the EPO's Željko Topić but also the government of Germany

THIS EPO series, which we started earlier this week, will be published gradually, in many parts, in both English and German. We have decided to publish in two languages, in tandem even, in order for German media to pay attention. We also perform fact-checking and translations can take time. All parts will be indexed and grouped together at the end.

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CORRUPTION SCANDAL INVOLVING LUFTHANSA SETS OFF SHOCK WAVES IN THE EU: NEW DETAILS ABOUT ABUSE OF THE AIRPLUS TRADEMARK

New information has emerged about the corruption affair involving the airline Lufthansa and revealing the extent of the suspected criminal activities of those accused. The main suspects include the legal representative of Lufthansa in Croatia, Mr Andrej Matijević, and Mr Željko Topić. Both Mr Matijević, a lawyer from Zagreb and Mr Topić, former director of the DZIV (State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia) and now a Vice-President of the EPO in Munich and thus also the right hand of the EPO President, Benoît Battistelli, are named in a legal action filed at the Court of Justice in Strasbourg on 20 July 2017. Subsequently, various newspapers have reported on the affair, including the associated trading of political influence and the extent of the corruption of the Croatian judiciary and other institutions, which according to the reports has been initiated by the international airline.

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KORRUPTIONSSKANDAL UM LUFTHANSA ERSCHÜTTERT EU: NEUE ERKENNTNISSE IN DER MISSBRAUCHSAFFÄRE DER MARKE AIRPLUS

Im Korruptionsfall rund um die Fluggesellschaft Lufthansa sind neue Information zum Vorschein gekommen, welche das Ausmaß der kriminellen Aktivitäten der Beschuldigten aufzeigen. Zu den besagten Personen gehören auch die juristischen Vertreter von Lufthansa in Kroatien, Herr Andrej Matijević und Herr Željko Topić. Herr Matijević, ein Rechtsanwalt aus Zagreb und Herr Topić, ehemaliger Direkter des DZIV RH (Staatsamt für intellektuelles Eigentum der Republik Kroatien) und jetzt Vizepräsident von EPO in München und somit auch rechte Hand des Unternehmenspräsidenten B. Battistelli, sind am 20. Juli 2017 beim Gerichtshof in Straßburg angeklagt worden. Im Anschluss berichteten verschiedene Zeitungen über den im Zusammenhang mit dem Fall stehenden Handel mit Einfluss und die Reichweite der Korruption in der kroatischen Justiz und anderen Institutionen, welche laut den Berichten durch die internationale Fluggesellschaft initiiert wurden. ⬆