Bonum Certa Men Certa

Anything to Distract From the EPO's Plunging Patent Quality

A subject that mainstream media (large publishers) in Europe would dare not touch even though it alarms examiners

EPO delivery



Summary: Slowly but surely we're moving to the realm of patents being presumed invalid (not complying with the law), but somehow the European media doesn't consider it worth reporting on

THE media silence regarding EPO scandals is oftentimes depressing, but if the media refuses to participate in actual journalism, then it's leaving a vacuum others will gleefully fill. Take note of yesterday's EPO "news" -- a truly ridiculous puff piece (warning: epo.org link) with an António Campinos photo op. It's content-free nonsense. "Located opposite each other on the banks of the Isar river in Munich," it says, "the Deutsches Museum and European Patent Office (EPO) have strengthened their partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This step enhances relations between the two technology organisations, and is also an invitation to other local institutions as well as Bavarian stakeholders to engage in an inspiring exchange on innovation."

"Under Battistelli the EPO followed the Chinese model of just granting as many patents (monopolies) as possible."It's like their artsy puff pieces from several months ago. Does Deutsches Museum not know that associating with the EPO is going to cost it dearly? Many people's reputation was harmed by association with Battistelli. The EPO added another photo op in Twitter (Campinos photo ops aplenty) and said: "The EPO and its technological neighbour the Deutsches Museum have strengthened their partnership to raise awareness of innovation and IP..."

It's typically liars and lawyers who say "innovation and IP," intentionally conflating patents with "property" (the EPO did this again yesterday) and patents with "innovation". Since technical people aren't running the Office, this is rather typical. It's troubling, too. It wasn't always this bad.

Golden Casino News has meanwhile pushed this spammy (promotional/marketing) piece stating that "Insplorion’s battery sensor patent “Battery with sensor” has today been granted by the European Patent Office, EPO. The patent will also be granted in China upon payment of the registration fees."

"At what stage can most patents be simple presumed invalid?"When will it be fair to say that because of corruption and violations of the law patent quality in Europe is as low as China's? Pilots suggest that the EPO hardly wants to do examination anymore. All those software patents in Europe (probably hundreds of thousands of them by now) are not valid, but few of these will be challenged in a court outside the EPO. We've sadly come to a point where injustice at the EPO is defended by further injustice. All that seems to matter is the number of patents, never their quality. Watchtroll, in yesterday's pieces, mocked challenges to validity (Daniel Hanson's "Don’t Let Experts Testify as to Obviousness") and Rob Sterne wrote about "How China Will Fundamentally Change the Global IP System," taking note of the "massive volume of filings at the Chinese Patent Office (CNIPA)..."

Under Battistelli the EPO followed the Chinese model of just granting as many patents (monopolies) as possible. This reduces the perceived value of each pertinent patent and discredits the patent system as a whole.

In our next daily links we'll included news about patents in the US. It certainly looks like reduced legal certainty associated with US patents has become an alarming issue. At what stage can most patents be simple presumed invalid? Each such patent is an act of injustice. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Firings (or Silent Layoffs) After Bluewashing; "IBM’s Employment History is More Troubling Than its Patriotic Marketing Suggests"
"It has zip to do with race but everything to do with the greed of the 1% who have been doing all they can to destroy the middle class..."
“Week van de Werkstress” and Work-Related Stress at the EPO, Where Staff is Bullied Into Granting Illegal Patents for Foreign Monopolists
"poor working environments, including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity pose a risk to mental health"
Czech Republic: GNU/Linux Rises Above 5% in Desktops and Laptops
A year ago it was somewhere around 4%
 
Links 08/11/2026: Why Vikings Stayed in Iceland and "TikTok Accused Of Promoting Sex Industry To Young Girls"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/11/2026: "Before Sunrise" and LLM Scrapers Versus Self-Hosting (or Web in General)
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIII - Weaponising Cops in Another Continent (Europe), Knowing They Cannot Come to Your Home in America, While Threatening Women
This year it culminated in death threats
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 07, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, November 07, 2026
The Decade Ahead, a Decade of Suppressed Stories
Our stories aren't discouraged or considered taboo because of racism or "toxic politics" or anything like that; they just hurt powerful people and corporations
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part V - "Reports Closed Without the Evidence Being Examined."
Totally what the SRA did regarding Brett Wilson LLP
Gemini Links 07/11/2026: Illusion Garden and Lagrange 2
Links for the day
Complexity is the Tyrant's Friend
Slop is for feeble minds and cheaters
EPO's Local Staff Committee The Hague Says Almost or About a Third of Staff Assembled to Organise at "a Time of Continued Social Unrest"
They speak of "circa 850 staff members in attendance" (in The Netherlands there are about a couple thousand)
Suggestions That XBox Will be Offloaded by Microsoft, Rather Than Shut Down, Make the False Assumption XBox is Profitable (It's Not, It's a Liability)
Microsoft has serious financial troubles
Which "Smart" "Phone", Which "Social" "Media", and Which "Cloud" "Storage"?
Let's take back control of the language
State of the (Linux) Slop, Late 2026 Edition
Google News (Gulag Noise) is a plagiarism booster
Year 21
It's 5PM here
Links 07/11/2026: "Flock Cameras Got Eviscerated by the Midterms" and Joshua Wong Shows China is Highly Repressive and Fully Controls Hong Kong
Links for the day
At The Register MS the Net Liabilities Doubled in One Year, Tangible Assets Down About 35% in One Year
signed off in 2026
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXII - Running One's Mouth
British Police told me "making a false complaint to police is a crime" in relation to Lozza
Another 20 Years of Exposing Corruption
We'll focus on carrying on what we do
EPO Budget and Finance Committee (in Very Recent Meeting) Increases Bribes to People Who Vote on Campinos Reappointment ("Cooperation Activities")
Buying 'elections' to protect the cocaine-stained regime in Europe's second-largest institution
Links 07/11/2026: London's SLAPP Industry Now Targets Kirkenes (Northern Norway) at the Behest of Corrupt Thieves in Russia and Microsoft’s 'Buyout' Offer Crashes Microsoft Systems
Links for the day
Links 07/11/2026: "The Moon is Waning Crescent", Homeworlds, and "Can't Handle The AVIF!"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 06, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, November 06, 2026
IBM Compels Workers - Even at Red Hat - to Become "Retired-ish"
Who needs RAs (layoffs, which have been rebranded as "buyouts" like pink slips are generous "gifts") when workers can have their butts kicked every day and WARN Act reporting thresholds are never approached?
Links 06/11/2026: "XBox Is Closer Than Ever to Being Sold Off" and "BuzzFeed Stock in Free Fall"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/11/2026: Dao and Dreams
Links for the day
20 Years of Techrights
Celebrating 2 decades of abuses of power being watched (and looking back at key changes)
Linux (and Linus Torvalds) Sleepwalking Into a Binance-Level Catastrophe With Slop 'Code'
Someone should ask Linus Torvalds or his boss (Linux Foundation) if they deem slop, which nobody audits, trustworthy enough to add to every computer out there running the Linux kernel
Vitaly Orlov Weaponises Deep Pockets to Leverage High Court of Justice in London for Censorship and Punishment of Critics
reproduced in full for more exposure and to make censorship harder
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXI - What I Told British Police About Lozza the Same Month Garrett Was Preparing His First Nastygram From 'Hired Guns' Brett Wilson LLP
Lozza and Garrett
Outsourcing at IBM
Cheapening of the workforce is hardly a new problem
The Register MS: Turnover Fell by Over a Million Pounds (About 20%) in One Year, Administrative Expenses Rose by Almost Half a Million Pounds, The Register MS Operates at a Loss
This is not a (commercially) healthy publisher
Links 06/11/2026: Slop "Companies Race to Lock Down Oil Clients" and Salon Shuts Down
Links for the day
Our Third Decade
Our anniversary is tonight at midnight
Freedom Is Not Free of Charge, Freedom Can be Very Expensive
Being someone's "slave" is the "default" when no resistance exists
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXX - Swatting by Proxy
Using imbeciles who lie to cops and then dox cops (and already have arrest record and court documents wherein they admit being stoned in front of the cops)
Intel Craters at Taxpayers' Expense (Bailouts for Failing Companies Simple Don't Work)
GOP, which did this, has lost many seats
Mass Layoffs at IBM, Also Outsourcing to India
What IBM does to itself it is doing to other entities as well
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 05, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, November 05, 2026
During Strikes and Industrial Actions Lots of EPO Staff Organised Yesterday and Will Do the Same Next Week
There really needs to be a genuine election, not a reappointment
Gemini Links 06/11/2026: Hadestown and "Where Has the Electronics Shop Gone?"
Links for the day