Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Collapse of European Patent Quality is Rather Obvious and EPO Management Cannot Hide it Forever

It's only getting worse and it cannot be swept under the rug perpetually

EPO delivery
Source: one year ago, SUEPO publication.



Summary: Tactics based around suppression of truth-telling never work out in the long run; there's a massive crisis brewing in EPOnia and bribery (of media and academia) cannot silence everyone

THE QUALITY of patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) will go down as long as the EPO silences those who speak about it.



SUEPO and CSC, to their credit, have not given up. As representation collectives of actual scientists one ought to expect them to guard science, not pseudoscience and career-climbing corrupt officials who use Donald Trump associates to conduct 'hoax' studies.

Last night we saw Novagraaf's Valérie Stephann with her article promoted in Lexology, linked to her employer's site. As usual, she neglects to say there's no independence for judges at the EPO (all law firms have given up speaking about this) when talking about "Revised Rules of Procedure at EPO Boards of Appeal" (the implicit rule is, just do whatever the President of the Office says and wants, or risk ending up like the bullied colleague, Patrick Corcoran).

D Young & Co LLP's Angela Mottershead and Andrew Johnson have meanwhile mentioned in Lexology (again paid promotion of their piece) new fee hikes, effective in less than a month from now:

European Patent Office (EPO) fee increases come into effect 01 April 2020. The EPO usually reviews official fees every two years. Most of the rises are moderate increases in the order of 4% or 5% and in-line with inflation. Some are higher and worth noting.

Notable increases include:

- Appeal fee - for most appellants, this rises by close to 20% (€450) to €2,705.

- Requests for copies of documents - certified copies of applications, priority documents, communication of file contents and additional copies of documents cited in search reports; all more than double in cost.


These are massive increases (again!). Look under: "Fee for appeal – for an appeal filed by an entity other than those referred to in Rule 6(4) and (5) EPC (011)" (further down the page).

It goes up from 2,255 euros to 2,705 euro (450 euros being a 19.96% increase). Battistelli did this too, repeatedly, narrowing appeal windows and raising costs. It makes it easier to hide if not fake patent quality (as judged by rates or numbers of decisions overturned). In the age of 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) tried doing the same thing to PTAB.

Staying with these self-promotional pieces in Lexology (mere copies of originals that nobody sees), AA Thornton's Stuart Greenwood wrote:

The EPO recently announced their fees are to increase on the 1 April 2020. This is in line with their typical practice of increasing fees every two years.

The average increase will be 4% for most fees including for the appeal fee for specific entities*, however the appeal fee for larger appellants increases by 20%, from €2255 to €2705.

In the majority of cases, the EPO fees are associated with a payment deadline. The fee you pay is determined by the currently active fee schedule, rather than the fee schedule that may be in force on the day of the deadline.

This means that regardless of whether a fee deadline falls due on or after the 1 April 2020 (when the fee schedule is due to change), you may be able to pay the fee before the 1 April 2020 and thus at the current, lower, rate.

[...]

Also, if a party is considering filing an appeal against an issued decision, they may wish to do so before the fee increases on 1 April 2020.



So the first day of April will see jokers of the EPO making it even harder to appeal. Appeals just 'slow down' the rubber-stamping operations anyway....

"We're not pessimistic; seeing how the UPC collapsed, partly due to EPO corruption (courts have seen ample evidence of it), we're certain there's more 'karma' to come."The EPO cannot hide its demise forever (as judged by validity or legitimacy of granted patents). Campinos still lies to the media, which seems perfectly happy to print the lies (more examples of that shortly), especially when the EPO bribes the media (clear misuse of EPO money).

Days ago the EPO was bragging about transparency (openwashing) and it boils down to the fact that it must, as a matter of law, share patent information (this is, after all, the whole point of patents, never mind if that's causing harm like treble damages for infringement).

The EPO retweeted this openwashing (Open Data), but it is still not transparent because it is profoundly corrupt and true transparency would expose the corruption -- another subject we'll cover later today.

We're not pessimistic; seeing how the UPC collapsed, partly due to EPO corruption (courts have seen ample evidence of it), we're certain there's more 'karma' to come. Wait and watch...

Benjamin Henrion has just recalled that software patents opponent Pieter "Hitnjens [sic] said in his last video interview that the patent system was a giant lie, and based on beliefs..."

He also quoted this bit about "EPO “small inquiry” to the German government by the FDP fraction in the German Bundestag deserves to be mentioned..."

The complaint at the FCC (there are several concerning the EPO, including UPC/A) will likely yield some interesting press coverage soon, not like the puff piece Campinos netted in Spiegel some days ago.

Recent Techrights' Posts

US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
Defeating LLM Abuse (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) in the Area of Linux and GNU, Free Software, BSD, Security and So On
The aim is to get them to stop using LLMs to rip off other people's work
Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
 
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025
The Term "AI" is Not New and What Today's Media Calls "AI" Isn't Even AI
Only the hype was new... and totally artificial
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: "Planetary Rings", Steam, and PSU Replacement
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2025: Russell Vought in Charge, US Government Leans to Russia Again
Links for the day
Credit Where It's Due: LinuxConfig.org Quit Doing LLM Slop, Back to Original and Real Articles
We waited for a while to say this, now it seems conclusive
Of Note: UbuntuPIT Aware of Critics of Slop, Adds Disclosure of Use of LLMs
We appreciate the honesty
Links 18/10/2025: Madagascar's President Flees and ICE Arrests Protest Comedian Robby Roadsteamer
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Near the European Patent Office (EPO) in 3 Days From Now
It'll be a good opportunity for patent examiners to listen, ask questions, and maybe greet him in person
From Scholar to Booster of Slop (and Even Slop in His Own Blog)
We're going to keep an eye on future posts of his
End of Vista 10 Also Good News for the BSDs
There are many news sites that recommend trying GNU/Linux this month
What's Wrong With Liking Parrots or Birds as Pets?
They'd demonise people for speaking about freedom, no matter what they say or do
10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025
[Video] Dr. Richard Stallman at Technické Univerzitě v Liberci
New/via libre-liberec.cz
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal (Slashdot Media), UbuntuPIT, and Google News (Noise)
egregious plagiarism
Links 17/10/2025: Better Answers Sought After Air Crashes, "China Fans Patriotic Sentiment as Trade War With U.S. Heats Up"
Links for the day
Security is Desirable, But Not When the Term Security is Misused to Imply Centralisation of "Trust" (Whose?)
'Security' is not an excuse for vendor lock-in
Links 17/10/2025: Fentanylware (CheeTok) Causing Problems, Japanese Government Blasts Slop
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation Seems to Have Turned Linux.com Not Only Into a Spamfarm But Also LLM Slopfarm
it's polluting the Web, even important domains like Linux.com, with spam and LLM slop
Links 17/10/2025: UK’s Largest Breach Penalty and Windows TCO Examples
Links for the day
Go Watch Video About Librephone, Get Microsoft Ads
Very ethical company...
Campaign of Defamation Against the People Who Built NixOS (and Are Now Pushed Out From Their Own Project)
We've already grown familiar with - and resistant to - such tactics
Links 17/10/2025: Nestlé Crisis, Canada Post Versus 'Gig Economy' [sic] and Vista 11 Breaks Itself
Links for the day
Tux Machines Has Helped Separate Opinions/Analysis From News
In September 2023 we decided to split things apart and not repeat links in both sites
Tux Machines Has Improved Navigation of GNU/Linux and BSD News
Some more 'wiring' work
What a World Would Look Like If Everyone Used Free Software Only
Freedom is what matters, not "Open".
The Media Helps Microsoft, Amazon and Others (GAFAM and Beyond) Lie About Mass Layoffs Amid Valuation Bubble
The media, instead of saying that there's an "AI bubble" crashing the economy might instead choose the narrative of "jobs replaced by AI"
Bad Tempered? You Might Have Just Given Away That You're Losing the Argument
Brett Wilson LLP is fully aware that it is being investigated
Richard Stallman (RMS) is a Target of Defamation Campaigns Because of His Views on Software (But Politics Are the Excuse for Defaming Him)
Here in this site we try to refrain from politics, except in Daily Links
End of Vista 10 and Rise of GNU/Linux as Client Side Operating System
It seems certain GNU/Linux will grow in popularity over time
Taking Stock of a Week's Worth of EPO Leaks
We remain committed to exposing EPO corruption as long as it keeps happening
Mathieu Parreaux claims FINMA knew since day one
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Calumny, Libel, Joerg Jaspert & debian-private untouchable cyberbullies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 16, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 16, 2025
Techrights Turns 19 in 3 Weeks
coverage of suppressed topics and protecting all sources/whistleblowers
International E-Waste Day Same Day as End of Vista 10
message from Akira Urushibata
The EPO's Central Staff Committee Presents Evidence That Staff Compensation Lowered While the Office Increases Income by Illegally Granting Invalid Patents
These people become millionaires by doing illegal things
Second or Third Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in October 2025, This Time Portugal
Those are just the ones we know about, there may be several more
'Help Net Security' (helpnetsecurity.com) May Have Become a Slopfarm as Well
Zeljka Zorz, Editor-in-Chief at Help Net Security, was reported to us
Gemini Links 17/10/2025: Rant About Network Solutions, Strange Anomaly on Lagrange
Links for the day