Bonum Certa Men Certa

Battistelli's Destruction of the EPO is Bad for Everyone, Even Patent Attorneys

Destruction



Summary: The collapse of the European patent system, owing primarily to Battistelli's totalitarian style and deemphasis on patent quality, means that "the war is lost," as one professional puts it

THE FOLLOWING new comment (from earlier this morning) is worth quoting. It comes from someone who saw that now-infamous lecture from Christoph Ernst, the new boss of the EPO (supposed to be on top of Battistelli).



"Gentlemen," it says, "I think it is time to realize that the war is lost" at the EPO. Here is the explanation (with highlights for those who want to read more quickly):

I was at the lecture given by Christoph Ernst at the Max Plank Institute. In effect, he explained to the assembled representative of German applicants and attorneys that he did not care about their concerns and that he will do nothing.

Mr. Campinos track record at EUIPO makes it crystal clear that he is in the same boat as Battistelli. Don’t expect any change in policy. Actually, expect the situation to become much worse.

In the administrative council, the following delegations have tried to oppose Battistelli’s system: France (voted against policies and tried to pressure Battistelli), Switzerland (initiated the open letter from the Council), Denmark (removed Kongstadt), Italy (presented another candidate), Netherlands (court cases and questions in the Hague). and a few I forgot (mainly in northern Europe, I think). Basically, all major Patent countries opposed Battistelli at some point, with the notable exception of the UK (Brexit did not help) and of course Germany. Correct me if I am wrong.

This achieved exactly nothing. The newly elected people are the same policy under a different name. The war is lost, there is no battle left to be fought.

What does this mean for the applicants? It means that for the same price as usual, you get a shoddy search and a language check. You get a piece of paper that is probably trivial to invalidate in court. And your only choice, is either this kind of patent or no patent at all. It may take a few years, but SMEs will start to realize that it is not worth the effort, so expect patent attorneys to feel a dearth of customers at that point. Unless they work for large applicants, maybe.

What this also means is that now, right at the center of Europe, we have a place where nobody needs to respect employment laws. People, including elected representatives and managers, can be harassed and fired at will without any consequences. Salaries can be halved, benefits can be cut and public holidays need not be granted. Independence of the judicial sends one next to a mad house, literally. Permanent contracts are revoked. Maybe demonstrating that this kind of “modernisation” of employment laws is possible right in the center of Europe was also part of the plan, I do not know.



The UPC, as we explained before, would make things even worse, especially for SMEs.

The UPC would be good for nobody except patent trolls, patent law firms, and maybe some massive multinational pharmaceutical companies. We mentioned this before, in yesterday's article about Bristows UPC brainwash and the European Commission's stance on SPCs. Bristows is, as expected, trying to solicit lobbying for UPC again in light of these developments. These people just won't give up as long as lying brings them business. This was covered by IP Watch and then in this blog post from Bristows. They wants the so-called ‘unitary SPC’:

On 12 October 2017, the European Commission launched a public consultation on supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and patent research exemptions in the pharmaceutical sector (and other sectors with regulatory market authorisations). This consultation is within the framework of the Single Market Strategy (adopted in 2015), one aim of which is to improve the patent system in Europe for such sectors. Proposals include the creation of a European SPC title (a ‘unitary SPC’), an update of the EU patent research exemptions (e.g. the EU ‘Bolar’ exemption, whose implementation in national law is not consistent), and the introduction of an SPC ‘manufacturing waiver’ (to allow manufacture during SPC term for export to countries with no SPC protection).


We often wonder if, had it not been for Battistelli's mad desire for the UPC, judges would not be abused in defiance of the EPC and patent examination would not be rushed to the point where European Patents (EPs) are so bad. If Battistelli and his French successor do nothing to correct this, there will be neither UPC nor a EPO.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Three Lawsuits Against Microsofters Are About to Become a Lot More Relevant to GNU/Linux
The Master will easily understand why Garrett has been attacking me since 2012
Slop Is Not Intelligence and It Does Not Enhance Productivity
Like voice dictation, which cannot tell the difference between "sheet" and "shit"
 
Links 23/07/2025: Slop Patents Tackled, Slop Copyright Misuses Tackled by Politicians
Links for the day
Links 23/07/2025: Retreating From Transparency on Jeffrey Epstein, We No Longer Have Press Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Piano and Food
Links for the day
New and Old
On Ageism in Tech
EPO Crimes Are Spreading to the British Court System
Society is now paying the price for failing to tackle crimes at the EPO
It's Time to Dump SharePoint and Here's What to Use Instead
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Bookstack, MediaWiki, and MediaGoblin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Has Gone Silent
Sometimes silence says more than nothing at all
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Planet Ubuntu, and LinuxTechLab
some slopfarms show no remorse and they don't value their reputation at all
Links 23/07/2025: Book Bans, Storms, and Kangaroo Court for Patents Commits More Unlawful Acts of Overreach
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: Thinkpad and Pinephone
Links for the day
Links 22/07/2025: "Blog Restart" and Microsoft Clobbered by “ToolShell"
Links for the day
Global Warming and Global GAFAM Energy-Wasting
Burn more money (borrowed, loans), then hope the waste will somehow translate into profit?
No Compliance With the European Patent Convention (EPC) at the European Patent Office (EPO)
It's about preventing competition against this autocracy
Blue-Collar Trolls vs White-Collar Trolls
Examples of white-collar trolls
Apple Vision Pro Failed So Badly That Its Sales Are About 2,000 Times Smaller Than iPhone Sales
What's left for Apple to offer other than hype?
To Millions of People "Year of the Linux Desktop" Was Some Time in the 1990s (Bootable GNU/Linux as a Complete Operating System is Over 33 in Age)
In some sense, "year of the Linux desktop" was 33 years ago
Make No Assumptions (or Demands) About the Screen Resolution Used by Other People
There are usability aspects, aside from accessibility aspects
Why Wayland (and XWayland) Won't Solve the Key Problem It Proclaims to be Tackling (the Same Is True for Rust)
The problem isn't Wayland per se but the false promises and efforts to force everybody to move to it whilst insulting or demonising everyone who won't play along
They Don't Tell Us that 'Digitalisation' (Now Sold as "Hey Hi") Just Means Customers Become Unpaid Staff and Are Made Accountable
People are being conditioned to associate technology with something undesirable, at times even unbearable
Diplomatic Immunity Should Not Exist for Anybody
The EPO in its current form gradually 'normalises' the end of European democracy
Brett Wilson LLP Stopped Sending Me Papers When I Showed It had Sent Me Over 5 Kilograms of Legal Papers
A week ago we lodged our third lawsuit
Microsoft Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns Became the New Normal at Microsoft
Microsoft mass layoffs became a topic of everyday media coverage since May
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed