Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO: A Lawless Institution That Makes Its Staff Look Bad

Courts all around the world -- bar China -- are rejecting abstract patents on mathematics; why are examiners being punished for doing the same?

I came to fix the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) after a bunch of crooked judges decided to approve patents on mathematics
Let's hope she becomes a Justice at the highest American court one day



Summary: The EPO is promoting patents on mathematics and associates with -- sometimes promotes -- people who openly call for patents on mathematics

ONE thing that the EPO and USPTO have in common is their overzealous love of software patents, no matter if courts 'loathe' these (it's not about emotion or about hate; that's just simply the law -- something that neither António Campinos nor Benoît Battistelli would like to obey).



"It's nice to be able to understand history and know a lot of languages (polyglots can find more prior art), but without basic understanding of the underlying concepts patents will be wrongly granted, based on complete misunderstandings if not guesswork."These 'gentle' dictators don't seem to understand that patent systems should be measured in terms like justice or science, not money. There will still be science without money, especially money that's extracted by aggression (legal action/litigation). We'd like to take a moment to cordially remind examiners that they're scientists and if they work for a patent office they must always remember that their employer is supposed to advance science; it's not about enriching some law firms. If it is, it might be time to reconsider one's job; a career in a patent office is supposed to be about science. This is why patent offices have traditionally recruited highly-educated people with degrees in science and engineering, not people with a degree in history or some language/s. It's nice to be able to understand history and know a lot of languages (polyglots can find more prior art), but without basic understanding of the underlying concepts patents will be wrongly granted, based on complete misunderstandings if not guesswork. SUEPO and staff representatives have already warned that under Campinos many EPO examiners are being assigned to deal with applications in domains well outside their 'ballpark'. It's a recipe for disaster unless the sole goal is granting as many patents as possible, including ones that ought not be granted (rejected outright!). In the USPTO, for example, the so-called 'economist' recently bragged about compelling examiners to ignore or improperly apply 35 U.S.C. €§ 101. What a nerve these people have, forcing workers with scientific integrity to grant unlawful patents which courts would most likely veto. The general message is, "break the law to keep your job!"

"Deep inside, however, these people are motivated to keep their job and pay the mortgage."The EPO is no enemy of ours. The EPO's management, however, clearly dislikes us. After almost 2 years at the Office Campinos still blocks Techrights on 'behalf' of thousands of employees; contrariwise, whoever runs the EPO's Twitter account not only refuses to block me! They follow me! They read my tweets. One might wonder if these people too haven't really swallowed the lies of the EPO's management. Deep inside, however, these people are motivated to keep their job and pay the mortgage.

EPO follows
Maybe deep inside the people who field this account (lying for a salary) know we're actually on their side



In any event, yesterday the EPO tweeted some more nonsense that's covert promotion of software patents.

To quote:



Digital communication & computer technology are enabling the #4IR by providing the tools for turning technical applications into smart devices. We've put together some interesting patenting trends in these fields: https://bit.ly/DigitalisationIndex … pic.twitter.com/MKPriH16nM


It isn't too hard to decipher this.

Tossing in fictional buzzwords ("4IR") as hashtags to promote illegal patents that the Office illegally grants to fake "Annual Results"? And then gamble with the money, defrauding Europe and EPO workers (including those who field this Twitter account)?

"Insiders compare the management to "Mafia" while bemoaning a culture of overt corruption, including nepotism, not to mention intimidation against truth-tellers and law-abiding staff."We desperately need the old EPO back; EPO workers need that too. Insiders compare the management to "Mafia" while bemoaning a culture of overt corruption, including nepotism, not to mention intimidation against truth-tellers and law-abiding staff.

The EPO has also just tweeted this thing about supposed learning. Notice the link. The very top entry in this page is shameless promotion of illicit patents on algorithms (under the guise of "Games" or "Videogames").

Last week the EPO's Twitter account tweeted promotion of a patent radical from the US, who founded a site called "IP Watchdog" (we don't call it that because it's a misnomer). Just look at the deluded nonsense that site wrote yesterday (and yesterday alone). Over at Watchtroll Paul Michel has just called himself "Judge Paul Michel" even though he's no longer a judge; he's pushing/lobbying the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to allow software patents ("Flaws in the Supreme Court’s €§101 Precedent and Available Ways to Correct Them"). He used to be a judge at the Federal Circuit and now that he's "retired" (lobbyist) he constantly promotes particular legislation, ruining the perception that judges are objective and uninvolved in politics. Maybe Judge Sharon Prost (actually a judge, still) should tell him to keep his big mouth shut; he makes her court look bad. This is a form of corruption and one might wonder if Michel pockets money 'on the side' for this sort of lobbying. His successor Rader was caught in a corruption scandal and was forced to resign. Later on SCOTUS overturned just about every single decision handed down by Rader.

"Later on SCOTUS overturned just about every single decision handed down by Rader."Now look on at yesterday's output from Watchtroll. It's truly insane. It's deluded. "The Long Reach of the Mathematics Patentability Exception is Overbroad and Absurd" is the headline; Jose Nunez now openly promotes patents on mathematics. Yes, let's have monopolies over laws of nature! The summary says: "The mathematics exception for subject matter eligibility is overbroad because it was improperly justified under the premise that mathematics is like a law of nature. This is absurd because mathematics is everywhere, and excepting mathematics means excepting virtually everything."

Oh. My. God!

"What have we sunk to? And why does today's EPO associate with such madness?"These people acknowledge that things like algorithms are in fact mathematics and now they openly and shamelessly pushing for patent monopolies on maths!!!

"Oh... sorry my dear, you cannot use that equation, it is patented!"

What have we sunk to? And why does today's EPO associate with such madness?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Firefox in Trouble in the US, Down to Lowest Level in 20+ Years
more sites will stop or intentionally neglect Firefox support
Clownflare: More Than 1 in 5 Laptops or Desktops in El Salvador Run GNU/Linux or ChromeOS
Clownflare Radar reckons it's more like 20%+ now
Omarchy is Already Dying
Same as the life cycle of slopfarms
 
Links 20/08/2026: Facebook "Ran Ads for an App That Promised to Nudify Female Politicians" and Facebook Faces "Social [Control] Media Addiction Trial"
Links for the day
Clownflare Sees GNU/Linux at 16% Market Share on Desktops/Laptops in Tajikistan
in Tajikistan it seems like adoption of GNU/Linux is exceptionally high, based on a very large data set associated with Web access
The Demise of Social Control Media Continues
Entering (anew) social control media in 2026 seems foolish
SLAPP Censorship - Part 155 Out of 200: Throwing Stones in Houses Made of Glass
character-assassination-as-a-service
Gemini Links 20/08/2026: Planners, Pantsing, Vinylyssee
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 19, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Gemini Links 19/08/2026: "Big Boost in Autonomy" and "Answer of E-Mail"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 154 Out of 200: Computer-Generated Legal Filings From Men Who Are Salaried by Mass Plagiarism Companies in Another Continent (America)
This isn't the behaviour of a moral person but of some sort of "crypto bro" or "slop bro"
Fired by IBM for Medical Leave, Rampant Censorship of IBM Critics Explained
We've already caught and showed many cases where thelayoff.com deleted comments that were not even remotely racist
Links 19/08/2026: First Amendment Under Fire by White House of Cards, "Universities Were Forced to Pay Up" for Not Censoring
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/08/2026: What Friendship Means, Sm0lNet/SmolNet, and New Feeds
Links for the day
No, WSL (Windows With Fake 'Linux') Isn't Growing Faster Than Ubuntu, This Was Disinformation Spread by a Microsoft Propaganda Site, Then Spread by Slopfarms
Be sceptical; Microsoft is truly desperate for anti-Linux spin right now, seeing that Windows is in a freefall
Microsoft's Mass Layoffs Impact the Ability to Run Microsoft
Can Microsoft still run Microsoft?
Microsoft's Active Directory ("AD") and "Entra" Are National Security Threats
Even the US government concluded Microsoft could not be trusted for security; it issued a formal report about it in April 2024
Instant Impact: GNU/Linux Skyrockets to 10% in China Days After Policy Changes
Let's see what the 'aftermath' looks like by year's end
Links 19/08/2026: Timothy James King (AmigaDOS) Dies, GitHub Goes Offline, Finland Wants to Shun Social Control Media
Links for the day
Slop's Achilles Heel: It Increases the Workload, Not Just Costs
Set aside its inability to scale well
Improving techrights.org
Technical debt (like 17 years with WordPress) is something that's better to address early, not later
Mass Layoffs at Dropbox, Blame the Debt, Not Slop Hype
The debt of Dropbox Inc., which isn't an imaginary (estimated) thing, is over 4 billion dollars
Microsoft is 'Angel of Death' to Developers (Even Its Own), 'Voluntary' Layoffs Happening Again
From what we are hearing and reading, there are 'voluntary' layoffs again
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 18, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Gemini Links 19/08/2026: Shirts, Handwriting, and Fights in Geminispace
Links for the day
Laos Leaving GAFAM Behind, Gradually
Yesterday evening it was measured at 10% for GNU/Linux at one point
They Were Wrong All Along
Two women combined won't deliver a healthy baby in just 4.5 months
A "Tech Journalist" Would Not Cover Vote on LLMs as a Sex Issue
For a moment there you have to pause and wonder, is this a "Tech Journalist" or the Daily Stormer?
20,000 by Year's End
The "New Techrights" will have 20,000 pages by year's end
Last Night GNU/Linux Measured at 9% in Africa
Nighttimes in Africa are times when GNU/Linux usage on desktop/laptop devices typically surges, based on Clownflare [...] It changes in favour of GNU/Linux
Gemini Links 18/08/2026: Google Bait and Switch (Getting College People 'Hooked' on 'Cheap' Storage, Then Backups Gone), a "Question of E-mail"
Links for the day
Bluesky is in Trouble
Bluesky is a private company (unlike Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. in Toronto, that one runs a pyramid scheme!), so it's hard to know for sure just how much money it is losing
China Says Goodbye to Microsoft
It is hardly surprising that Windows is shedding off userbase all around the world
Links 18/08/2026: US Abandons South Korea, New Legal Disputes Over Slop Plagiarism in the Music Scene
Links for the day
Linux Losing Interest in Users' Freedom, Pursues DRM Instead
"Linux" is (or was, as GNU/Linux) meant to empower - not artificially restrict - the users
GNU/Linux in Ecuador and Colombia: Growing, Still Below International Average
locals turn away from Windows and try GNU/Linux instead
IBM is Dead or Dying. Now It Asks Workers to 'Resign' Voluntarily.
To save face, to pretend no layoffs are happening (as it might alarm shareholders) [...] We keep hearing more and more stories like that
Links 18/08/2026: Sergey Brin Controlling State Policies, "Dario Amodei's (Anthropic) Wife Is Closely Linked to Jeffrey Epstein"
Links for the day
SBS News Interviews Daniel Pocock
The locals say this PR stunt (by the bigot, Farage) was a waste of money
Clownflare Sees One in 7 Web Requests in Libya Originating From GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has taken a (foot)hold there
Openwashing and Manifestos Composed in Private by Dictators With Deliberately Addictive (and Subsidised, Bundled) 'Tech'
It's long, so make a cuppa first
SLAPP Censorship - Part 153 Out of 200: Decades of Debt, Weaponising Borrowed Money to Try to Put Their Critics in Debt
they've always had a financial report by now
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 17, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, August 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/08/2026: Solar Power, Kipple and Impermanence, Catastrophe Ethics
Links for the day