Bonum Certa Men Certa

Greenwashing the Corruption of the European Patent Office

Leslie Byrne, a Democrat from Virginia, was told by a colleague, “Always lean to the green. … He was not an environmentalist”Lawrence Lessig

Greenwashing definition



Summary: The greenwashing agenda of the EPO is rather revealing; we're supposed to respect the EPO as if it's a saviour of the planet whilst it's crushing its staff, breaking the law, stealing money and so on

Corrupt EPO management carries on with truly ridiculous greenwashing for the third time in September. The majority of September "news" in the EPO's site can be described as 100% greenwashing. Team Campinos, covering up for Battistelli and actively participating in more of the same corruption, is trying to play the "good citizen" card.



"The EPO is trying to champion PR tactics while its crimes are being investigated to some degree."This tactic isn't unique to the EPO. That's why it already has a widely used term, namely "greenwashing" (we did not make up the word). Days ago there was "EPO marks EMAS 25th anniversary" (warning: epo.org link) and shortly afterwards "EPO and IEA team up to shed light on trends in sustainable energy technologies" (warning: epo.org link) -- basically repetition of the old nonsense that the EPO's PR people used to plant a bunch of puff pieces in the press throughout September.

The EPO is trying to champion PR tactics while its crimes are being investigated to some degree. There are inquires.

The first one says:

The Office today celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The EPO is one of thousands of organisations worldwide registered for the scheme, highlighting the importance of corporate environmental and climate protection initiatives.


So they celebrate something of somebody else, predating by 1.5 decades the Battistelli/Campinos regime. More of that greenwashing propaganda said that the "IEA is supporting clean energy transitions all over the world in order to help achieve global sustainability goals."

"So they celebrate something of somebody else, predating by 1.5 decades the Battistelli/Campinos regime."Again, this is pride by association. The opening sentence says: "The EPO and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral co-operation with the aim of promoting innovation in sustainable energy technologies. Under the MoU, the two organisations will publish a series of joint studies over the next three years to inform policymakers and the public about technology trends in areas that are critical for the energy transition and climate change mitigation."

Man's faceBut the EPO actually grants monopolies of these things, hence discouraging their widespread use. We wrote about this before. In that sense, EPO does the exact opposite of "climate change mitigation."

"And this is basically what today's EPO boils down to: PR and crime. The former helps distract from the latter."Separately, on the same say, the EPO said it had signed a "Memorandum of Co-operation" over webchat (no photo ops, obviously, as that would show how ridiculous the whole thing is). No flight then, eh? One passenger fewer is green enough... and whether Mr. Campinos can board a plane without getting drunk out of his mind may forever remain a mystery (it's hard to rely only on an eyewitness testimony on planes). The EPO says (warning: epo.org link) that "[o]n Friday 25 September EPO President António Campinos met [sic] with the Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Toshihide Kasutani, who took office on 20 July 2020. In their video conference, the two Heads of Office agreed to further strengthen their co-operation, which is based on a comprehensive Memorandum of Co-operation concluded in 2019."

Another bunch of fluff, this time sans the handshakes and photo ops. No substance to it, just pure PR. And this is basically what today's EPO boils down to: PR and crime. The former helps distract from the latter.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Why Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Won't Work
American companies don't follow laws, they work around them
Net Gain of 50 Gemini Capsules in Just One Month
a big jump in just one month
Keeping Linux Reliable
If Linux becomes a lot more reliable in the future, it'll be an "hey hi" miracle. If Linux becomes a lot less reliable in the future, we'll know why and who is responsible for it.
Cyber Show on the Fallacy of Salary/Ego as a Function of Wisdom in the Era of Pyramid Schemes (Cheating People Using Buzzwords and Complicit Media)
"the remuneration fallacy and the role of reluctance as a negative feedback force."
EPO's Local Staff Committee Munich Organises General Assembly Next Week, the Goal is to Oust the Corrupt President and Derail His Unlawful Agenda
They're aiming to show Campinos the door
 
Earlier This Year Microsoft's Chief Liar Frank Shaw Lied About the Layoffs. Now He's Leaving.
he's nowhere near retirement age
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Small Things and "Hitching Your Wagon"
Links for the day
Links 11/09/2026: Tristan Buckmaster Ripped Off by Slop, Social Control Media Spreads Hatred for Profit
Links for the day
Animals Smarter Than Chatbots
Quack quack goes the chatbot
IBM Isn't Reporting Layoffs, But It Removes Tens of Thousands of People From Its Workforce
Red Hat and IBM already mark people for removal
"A Tale of Two Antónios" Will Resume Soon
In November the site turns 20
Links 11/09/2026: Cyberattack in Berlin (Windows/Microsoft TCO) and Hype About Slop as 'Existential' Something; Scam Altman et al Caught Stealing/Plagiarising "Mathematical Breakthrough"
Links for the day
Microsoft/GNOME 9/11
Garrett and Graveley (Microsoft/GNOME) will have a lot to explain
9/11 Was a National Event, Not an International Event
They insist that back doors will "save lives"
Very Sloppy PR From a Dying IBM, Company in Disarray and in Need of Distractions
IBM could really use distractions right now
What a Price-Fixing Cartel Can Look Like
If your prices increase five-fold or ten-fold and so do your revenues/income, what does that tell us?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 178 Out of 200: Explaining to Your American Clients That Spending 130,000+ United States Dollars on a Single Hearing in Another Continent Means the UK's National Archives Will Retain in Perpetuity What Your Spouse or Girlfriend Said
Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley should ask Garrett how much money he has lost so far
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 10, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, September 10, 2026
Latest IBM Gossip is, Over 25,000 People to be PIPed (by Year's End)
That figure, 10%, is different from 15% (what we saw a lot). 10% is over 25,000 staff.
Solidarity at EPO
"Many colleagues have made personal and professional sacrifices by participating in the ongoing strike and work-to-rule action"
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Culture Stuck, Robot Symphony, and Back to Geminispace
Links for the day
Links 10/09/2026: Facebook Unsafe for Kids, Fake Songs (Against Right of Publicity, CG Forgeries Basically) a Growing Problem
Links for the day
Rust is Financially and Technically Controlled by Microsoft. Rust Foundation is a Front for Microsoft's Proprietary Software.
Rust is not and has never been about security
Gemini Links 10/09/2026: "I Don’t Want to Interact With Stochastic Parrots" and "ROOPHLOCH 2026!"
Links for the day
What the British School Closure (BSN Senior School Leidschenveen) Means to EPO Staff
The only European thing about the EPO is the staff
Standing in Solidarity With Matt Mullenweg
I don't trust the people and companies that want Mullenweg out. Neither should you.
Links 10/09/2026: "Smear Campaign Says Anti-Flock Movement Is Chinese Propaganda" and "Flock Employee Calls Cops on Reporter Filming Them"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 09, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 09, 2026
IBM's Senior VP of Infrastructure is Out, Silent Layoffs Still Going On
Some people imagine the CEO will also "retire" very soon (and "ahead of time")
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: Mechanical Cameras, "Super App", and Prusa Issues
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 177 Out of 200: Manosphere Without Financial Transparency
It has moreover replaced a female worker with a male
Deadline Tomorrow (10th of September) to Appeal the EPO's Fleecing of Staff (Union to Make Legal Challenges)
Join them. Fight the good fight.
linuxstans.com Died, Then Came Back as Slop (LLM Junk)
Don't make the mistake or the assumption that merely 'dabbling in' or 'experimenting with' LLMs can be forgivable as it is a trust destroyer
Links 09/09/2026: GAFAM Fatalities in Miami International Airport, "Britain’s Health Crisis Is Becoming a Political Crisis"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: "Adjective Is Subjective" and Walled Gardens
Links for the day
Plagiarism is Hardly a New Problem, It Predates Mainstream Media Getting Paid to Whitewash It as "Training" or "Hey Hi", Then Conflate Plagiarism With "Intelligence" or Deferred "Value"
"Quantum" isn't new either; it's a 'circle-jerk' for companies without direction, only hype
Links 09/09/2026: Airport 'Down' (Glasgow and Edinburgh), 'Open' 'AI' Losses Rise to Pace of 50 Billion Dollars in Losses Per Year
Links for the day
Unsafe at Any Speed, "Modern" Appliances
Appliances have gotten worse
SLAPP Censorship - Part 176 Out of 200: The Sex-Obsessed Non-Experts
We heard some sexual stories
European Patent Office (EPO): No Transparency and No Paper Trail
The incompetence is that of the management, i.e. sheer incompetence of people who never examined a patent in their entire lifetime
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: Going Out, Smartphone Addiction, Mapping the Geminispace
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 08, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 08, 2026