Reference: China censors discussion of North Korea's bomb test
THE EPO will say "Goodbye" (or "Good riddance") to Battistelli is just under eight months. We don't know if the Office can ever recover after him, but we certainly hope so. We're pro-EPO, not anti-EPO (we're anti-UPC, which is different altogether) and Battistelli's pro-UPC agenda has truly damaged nearly half a century's worth of reputation.
"However, before complaining that the IPKat is no longer concerned, have you considered that the blog's panel of contributors changes over time, and that each contributor tends to post on topics that happen to interest them? The lack of posts about EPO governance may simply be due to changes in personnel, rather than a deliberate policy of discouraging debate."
I regret to say that I cannot entirely concur with you on this.
One may indeed take the position that the blog's panel of contributors are entirely free to pursue their own particular hobby horses and that this may account for the lack of attention to EPO matters.
However, if this really is the case it would - in my humble opinion - amount to a decline into "idiocy" in the classical Greek sense of the word.
"In ancient Greek society, an idiotes was a layperson who lacked professional skills. The idiot contributed nothing to public life or the common good. ... This contrasted with the status of the public citizen, or polites, such that to be an idiot was to be withdrawn, isolated and selfish, to not participate in the public, political life of the city-state. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/opinion/trump-and-the-true-meaning-of-idiot.html
The point here is that the EPO is a public inter-governmental institution and its governance is a legitimate matter of public interest and -consequently - a legitimate subject for public comment.
If the blog's panel of contributors have decided for whatever reason that matters concerning the governance of the EPO are no longer worth writing about then by all means let them pursue other subjects of interest which take their fancy.
Unfortunately according to the Greek model referred to above such a state of affairs would arguably relegate the status of the blog to that of the "idiotes" rather than the "polites".
It may well be that times have changed but those of us who can fondly remember the bygone days when IPKat seemed to be more "polites" than "idiotes" must be excused for feeling a bit disappointed by such a development.
The process of recording assignments with the EPO is likely to be quicker and simpler if supporting evidence of authority to sign is provided when the assignment document is filed at the EPO. Because the EPO requires the signatures of both the assignor and assignee, it should be ensured that the relevant evidence of authority is obtained from both parties when an assignment is completed.