Bonum Certa Men Certa

Bristows Continues to Lie About Unitary Patent (UPC) in Britain Only to Get Rebutted in Comments, As Usual (Criticism Not Deleted Yet)

They're taking turns, Alan Johnson is the latest

Alan JohnsonSummary: The latest wave of posts (typically from Bristows) which herald an arrival of UPC in Britain are not just delusional but also constitute terrible legal advice

TEAM UPC is trying to manipulate politicians into ridiculous statements like these. British politicians have no clue what's going on because they're being lied to. We've seen lots of that lately (we wrote about half a dozen responses so far this month). It almost always comes from Bristows. Comments don't tolerate Bristows' spin.



In the meantime, EPO management keeps touting a 'study' which it paid for. That too is rather disturbing, partly because it reveals the EPO's corruption of academia.

"It almost always comes from Bristows."Yesterday, the CCIA's Josh Landau (typically more focused on the US) wrote, "is there a surrender of fundamental rights to the UPC from DE? (Shades of Oil States here…) [...] Much of the challenge seems to relate to arguing that DE parliament didn’t know what they were agreeing to, which seems a difficult argument. [...] Now for coffee ground reading (his phrase, not mine): unless the court simply denies the complaint entirely as unfounded (possible!) we won’t know until late 2018, pushing UPC ratification and operations back to 2019 or 2020. [...] Another panelist thinks that the German constitutional court is taking it seriously and is expecting a longer wait to know the outcome. [...] Some discussion on what happens if the UK ultimately doesn’t join the UPC: makes the UPC less attractive. Not necessarily no interest, but definitely reduced. [...] Obvious next question: what if no Germany? Is that a showstopper? What about no UK no Germany? [...] No UK, no Germany? No UPC."

Obviously. Neither will be in the UPC, hence the UPC is a zombie.

Late on Friday night Alan Johnson (Bristows, but not disclosing it and we assume he and his colleagues were writing there anonymously lately) spouted out yet more UPC spin/lies. This firm lost -- completely and entirely -- the ability to sense any shame and no matter how much resistance/rebuttal comes its way, it carries on repeating the same lies. It has already deleted hostile comments about the UPC in this blog (we covered examples earlier this year) and here are a couple of portions from the latest:

So whilst it maybe does not really affect all of this, the way I would put it is that the agreement today to accept the CJEU jurisdiction for a post-Brexit period gives increased comfort that the UK will continue its acceptance of the CJEU’s limited role in the UPC and be very happy to be a part of the UPC post-Brexit.

[...]

So whilst some may regard Brexit as a problem for the UPC, ever since November last year I have seen it as just a complication, and we now have greater certainty than before that the UK will be in the system at the outset and post-Brexit too.


It's late on Friday, so maybe he's drunk and writing this from the pub. Just see the first comment. Says it all really... the post, as a whole, is totally detached from reality.

This is Bristows. They'd even make up stuff up if such stuff suits their agenda.

"This is Bristows. They'd even make up stuff up if such stuff suits their agenda."As a timely reminder of the dangers of UPC, watch yesterday's article about a European Patent (granted by EPO) in the UK. There's a legitimate concern about large foreign companies and patent trolls using bogus European Patents (EPs) for injunctions that are ruinous and truly far-reaching. Considering who Bristows has as clients (we'll say more about that later this weekend), it's not hard to see why it pushes so hard for a UPC-style regime.

"The EPO’s Opposition Division held that the patent is invalid," the article says. "The decision is now under appeal."

Imagine how much is being paid in legal bills over what's most likely a bogus patents that should never have been granted and will eventually be invalidated.

From the article:

The invention described in EP 822 is based on the “discovery of a new cytokine which the patent calls IL17A/F”.

Eli Lilly sells Taltz (ixekizumba), a monoclonal antibody which has a centralised European marketing authorisation to treat a form of the disease psoriasis. Taltz is described by Eli Lilly as an anti-IL17 antibody.

A number of other companies challenged the patent before the European Patent Office (EPO), but Eli Lilly is not a party to those proceedings.

The EPO’s Opposition Division held that the patent is invalid, because the main request and three auxiliary requests involve added matter contrary to article 123(2) of the European Patent Convention. The decision is now under appeal.

Eli Lilly stated that Taltz does not infringe the patent, so it brought proceedings in the UK.


Imagine thousands of cases like these in London, brought forth by a bunch of patent trolls from another country and decided on inside courts outside the UK. This is envisioned by Team UPC, which is salivating over the profit (legal bills) opportunities. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

Birss Replaces Vos in UK's High Court, LLM Slop Plagiarism a Contentious Issue
Only days ago we mentioned Sir Geoffrey Vos in relation to lobbying for LLM slop
Despite the Mass Layoffs Microsoft's Debt Soared by 5.1 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months
This is why Microsoft asks 60,000 workers to leave
What Linus Torvalds Told Me Two Decades Ago
It seems like he was eager to distinguish himself from the "elders" of FSF [...] For anything "revolutionary" to happen in the sciences one must accept the risk of living in poverty like Tesla (the person, not the right-wing fanatics) and Torvalds isn't too old to "cause a stir"
 
Links 30/10/2026: "Over 41,000 DHS Employee Records Leaked Online" and Concerns Over Radicalism in France
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXIV - It's an Inherently American Issue and American Elections Are at Risk From Restricted ('Secure') Boot and LLM Chatbots (Disinformation at Scale)
We'll focus a lot on US elections in the coming days
"Early Retirement" (Silent Layoffs) for Everybody Except the Executives
Some will stick around even past 70
Gemini Links 30/10/2026: Solar MiniBBS, Kubernetes With FreeBSD, "Sysadmin Day"
Links for the day
Microsoft Layoffs Far Worse Than the Media Tells (Microsoft Spin Laundered as "Reporting")
Some people are made to "retire" and sign an NDA to make it seem like a happy ending and mostly consensual retreat
Links 30/10/2026: Google Crashes on Slop Disappointment and GAFAM's "Data Center Blitz Is Burning Through Cash and Scaring Wall St."
Links for the day
Fake 'Articles' in The Register MS Concerning "AI"
We don't suppose The Register MS will be around for much longer after this bubble pops
GNU/Linux as a Free Software Platform is More GNU (and GPL) Than Linux
GNU predates Linux by nearly a decades and it was born to tackle injustices
Who Or What Are Security Professionals/Experts?
Companies like GAFAM are willing to tolerate cheaters because those companies themselves are cheats
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXIII - What Garrett Did Puts Elections at Risk (Also in His Own Country, Where a Dictator Trusts Only Machines That 'Support' Him)
UEFI 'security' is only as trustworthy as its ferocious boosters
Gemini Links 30/10/2026: RIP Patrick Stewart and Amp Integration
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 29, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 29, 2026
The Metric is Not the Mission
"Passing Thoughts" by Andy
More Than 5 Years Have Passed Since Official Release of Vista 11 and in the US It's Measured as Only 3 Times Bigger Than GNU/Linux on the Desktop/Laptop
If mobile is culled from the statistics, then GNU/Linux is somewhere near 11%
It's About Intention, Not Attrition, at Microsoft
Microsoft does in fact aim to push many workers off the cliff
The Next 50 Years of Emacs (and GNU)
GNU's founder made the widely used editor, GNU Emacs
Links 29/10/2026: Microsoft-Connected and Funded Openwashing at FOSDEM, Tragedy in Spain
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/10/2026: London, Worcestershire, and Robot Exclusion Protocol
Links for the day
The Register MS is Publishing Spam About "AI" for HP, Sponsored by HP, Even Composed by HP
Or "HPE" as they choose to call themselves (with the hype of "enterprise")
Links 29/10/2026: Anthropic Still Sued Over Copyright Infringement (Plagiarism Isn't "Training"), Elon Musk Openly Admits He Helps Putin Crush Ukraine
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXI - Techrights Was Right, So Why Was It Punished by Lawfare While the Culprits Walk Away Scot-free?
Techrights did a public service, cautioning about real risks to the public, but the people who caused the problems walk away scot-free
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXII - Still "Radio Silence" From "Restricted Boot" Perpetrators (After Techrights Proven Right Again)
Maybe when they sober up they'll say something...
'Secure' Boot Is Not Secure, Here Are News Reports About the Latest Evidence
We'll be linking to this page in the future as evidence of the catastrophe
No, Microsoft Isn't Doing Well (It Has Struggled for a Long Time)
Microsoft isn't growing, the shares are a Ponzi scheme of sorts
What Makes Techrights a Community
Communities can accomplish a lot. They cannot be "bought" and "sold", they're based on trust, mutual respect, and shared ideology.
Linux Links 29/10/2026: Refractor Stargazing and Making Better Use of RAM in Linux
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 28, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Project Glasswing and PHP2Shell vulnerability
by Akira Urushibata
Turning Point for the Slop Industrialists
First, a lot of people who work on "hey hi" at Microsoft (no matter the buzzword or brand, e.g. "copilot") are impacted
Links 28/10/2026: Slop Bubble Pops in China, Rocky Linux Creator Becomes Slopper, Openwashing by the Slop Pushers Explained
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/10/2026: Slop Plagiarism Considered a "Weapon", "Completely restored HTML interface to the Orbital Fox mailing list"
Links for the day
The Corrupted Corporate Media is Spinning Massive Microsoft Layoffs as "Investment in AI" Instead of Evidence That "AI" Nonsense is Catastrophic
Microsoft asking 30% of its staff to leave is a sign of bubble
Links 28/10/2026: "Rest of World Faces Prospect of Shutting Down" and Robert Reich Says "Musk Wants Me Imprisoned"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/10/2026: Cold Outside Again and Maths
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XX - Restricted and Moot, or How 'Secure Boot' Turns Out to be a Disaster (Again) This Week
It already has a history of breaking/bricking servers
100 Years of IBM Racism
GAFAM is not about "diversity" or "equity" or whatever. It's a greedy, money-making venture, even if they appoint CEOs of colour
Racism at Microsoft
Microsoft tribalism has an element to it aside from corporate allegiance
Intercontinental Brigading - Part IX - Literature About Malignant Narcissists in America Silencing the Press
There's a price for criticising abuses
Compelling Examiners at the European Patent Office to Fake "Growth" (in Patent Monopolies) Using Slop and Sloppy Processes
The agenda of management is likely illegal and the methods likewise
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 27, 2026