Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Enlarged Board of Appeal Cannot Independently Rule on the Matter of Software Patentability

The corrupt 'Mafia' from the Office is already meddling in the affairs of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, pushing for an outcome not compatible with the EPC

Cops and Swan/Goose: Come here, we respect your independence; unless you do the 'wrong' thing



Summary: After all those years (almost 6 years after the notorious "house ban") the Enlarged Board of Appeal and other appeal boards still cannot do their work 'in peace'; the EPO has become dysfunctional in the oversight sense, with structural deficiencies one might expect to find in third-world countries

THE interference by António Campinos in the affairs and practice of judges is reminiscent of the old boss at the European Patent Office (EPO). Campinos knows nothing about software/coding, yet he's happy to meddle in decisions.



Benjamin Henrion attempted to gain insight into the said case (Campinos v BoA) because it involves software patents -- a subject FFII is interested in. But it wasn't possible to access without upfront registration, which meant that narrative in reporting would be tilted in favour of large litigation firms.

Kilburn & Strode's Gwilym Roberts and Alexander Worley wrote about the subject a day before the hearing, which we mentioned in light of the report from proponents of software patents in Europe (Marks & Clerk). They apparently paid to relay this further in Lexology. We've decided to respond in-line as we did the last time, with yellow highlight to distinguish our words from theirs:

The referral of G1/19 comes from a case relating to the simulation of pedestrians moving through walkways. It sounds a bit more detached from physical and technical considerations. Surely the decisions people are making when they walk through a building lead us completely away from technical subject-matter? [Those are the wrong questions to ask. The whole "technical effect" framing is misleading and misguided.]

Well, perhaps not. Crowds and traffic share a lot in common with the motion of fluids. [Simulating the motion of liquids should not be patentable, either] You’ve probably experienced a traffic jam on the motorway which seems to last for ages, only to come out the other end to see that, infuriatingly, there was nothing there to cause the slowdown. This was caused by a ripple which was set-off a few miles ahead and progressed back towards you. Once the ripple is set in motion it will keep going and can actually be predicted pretty accurately. This is also what happens when you have barriers at the tube station, or someone stops to tie their shoe lace in the middle of the pavement. [This is a veiled attempt to insinuate "usefulness", as if patents are to be granted based on such ludicrous grounds]

The same thing happens in fluids in pipes. [Humans are technically mostly water, but this analogy is laughable and simulating liquids does not make motion of liquids a human invention] When shutting-off a tap at one end of a pipe, the ripple progresses along the pipe and likely causes a burst somewhere behind your plasterboard. If the modelling of crowds is done in the same way as water in a pipe or electrons in an electronic circuit, should it still be excluded? [This is a straw man argument. Both should be excluded. Should we start having patents on water, too?]

[...]

The third question asks the first two questions again, but if the claimed method is recited as part of a design process. Perhaps a more palatable claim for the EPO to accept. This might allow the Enlarged Board to give us a better steer on where the boundary lies between electrons moving in a circuit (technical) and people making decisions on how to act (non-technical). [The circuit itself may be patentable, not the electrons. Another straw man argument.]

If the board answers any of the questions negatively, then this could overturn the reasoning of T1227/05 and alter the guidelines followed by examiners. [No, the guidelines of the EPO are never based on law and logic, as its track record has shown over the past decade.]

We would attempt to predict the outcome of the hearing tomorrow, but for a lack of physical parameters which can accurately model the Enlarged Board’s decision making process. At least, there is not long to wait.


One thing we know about "the Enlarged Board’s decision making process" is that it's already controlled or shaped by meddling by the Office. This isn't even secret anymore; and for that alone we ought to pause and ponder. Has the autocracy of EPO rendered the Enlarged Board incapable of ruling properly? See what happened in G 2/19 (Enlarged Board of Appeal) about a year ago.

Recent Techrights' Posts

WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
 
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore