Bonum Certa Men Certa

The EPO's War on Justice and Assault on the Law -- Part 20: Summing up

Previously in this series:



Josefsson and kangaroo
Some concluding observations about the "kangaroo court" procedure in G 1/21.



Summary: The litigation treadmill, including lawyers who promote European software patents, may have fully taken control of the courts that decide on such matters through Josefsson and his circle, installed and backed by Battistelli and his friends

In the present series we have taken a detailed look behind the scenes at the EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal as it proceeds - with what many consider to be indecent haste - to issue its decision in referral case no. G 1/21.



Many observers would be inclined to take the view that the decision has already been made by Josefsson and his "learned colleagues" on the Enlarged Board. From this perspective the scheduled hearing is likely to be an empty charade designed to lend a veneer of legitimacy to what is effectively a pro forma rubber-stamping exercise.

"Many observers would be inclined to take the view that the decision has already been made by Josefsson and his "learned colleagues" on the Enlarged Board. From this perspective the scheduled hearing is likely to be an empty charade designed to lend a veneer of legitimacy to what is effectively a pro forma rubber-stamping exercise."In the meantime, the EPO's propaganda department is doing its level best to deflect public attention from all of the awkward "elephants in the room", in particular the issues raised by the critical comments that have recently appeared in the IP blogosphere.

However, only the gullible and naïve are likely to be taken in by the "unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides" which are spewed out at regular intervals by the EPO's PR "Nebelwerfer".

Despite the best efforts of Team Campinos, it is becoming increasingly difficult to conceal the serious governance deficits festering behind the EPO's Potemkinite façade.

In particular, the cheesy attempts to portray the "Master of Eglfing-Haar" as a thoughtful and cultivated connoisseur of modern art cannot disguise the desolate state of judicial independence at the Boards of Appeal.

"In the meantime, the EPO's propaganda department is doing its level best to deflect public attention from all of the awkward "elephants in the room", in particular the issues raised by the critical comments that have recently appeared in the IP blogosphere."There are clear signs that the unhealthy state of the EPO's judicial organ which already attracted a great deal of public attention during the Battistelli era has deteriorated even further on Josefsson's watch.

As we have seen, the erstwhile student radical and self-proclaimed "Habermasian" seems to be doing his level best to squeeze out the lifeblood of democracy inside his judicial fiefdom.

This is illustrated in a striking manner by the dramatic decline of the once highly active Association of the Members of the Boards of Appeal (AMBA).

Back in 2015, in the middle of the Boards' struggle to maintain their independence in the face of Battistelli's increasingly outrageous encroachments, IPKat reported on the launch of AMBA's "sparkly new website".

Six years down the road - and four years after Josefsson took charge in Haar - AMBA appears to have been neutered. Judging by the current level of activity on its website, the association has - for all practical intents and purposes - become defunct.

In addition to the "nobbling" of AMBA that has taken place on his watch, Josefsson is reported to display a consistently hostile attitude to any staff committee or union activities on the Boards of Appeal premises.

"In addition to the "nobbling" of AMBA that has taken place on his watch, Josefsson is reported to display a consistently hostile attitude to any staff committee or union activities on the Boards of Appeal premises."The manner in which Josefsson now conducts himself behind EPOnia's "Iron Curtain" of immunity is in stark contrast to the public image which he once cultivated in his home country.

As we have seen in the present series, back home in Sweden Josefsson was involved in the founding of Magasinet Arena - a political and cultural magazine with a progressive libertarian left-wing orientation.

Publicly available records indicate that he was still involved with the activities of the Arenagruppen shortly before he made his lucrative career move to the EPO in 2017.

As recently as 2015, Josefsson was listed in the annual report [PDF] of Arenagruppen as a member of the legal advisory council ("juridiska rÃ¥d") of Arena Idé.

Arena Idé (which means "Arena Idea") describes itself as a progressive, non-partisan think-tank with a focus on "labour market, economic policy, welfare, democracy and rights issues". It operates as a non-profit association funded by the Swedish trade union movement.

In 2017 Josefsson contributed to a book published by Arena Idé, under the title "Rätten till rättvisa". Translated into English the title means: "The right to justice" [PDF].

"The manner in which Josefsson now conducts himself behind EPOnia's "Iron Curtain" of immunity is in stark contrast to the public image which he once cultivated in his home country.""Calle" has certainly shown himself very skilled in "talking the talk" when it comes to such matters but sadly there still doesn't seems to be much evidence of any tangible "right to justice" at the EPO these days.

The sorry state of affairs at the Boards of Appeal provides yet another example of how the EPO remains a "captive organisation" operating in a legal no-man's land - outside of generally recognised "rule of law" norms and conspicuously exempt from effective independent oversight.

Apart from a fresh coat of paint, things have not really changed very much since the Battistelli era.

An interview with Josefsson published in JUVE in July 2019, reveals the basic modus operandi of the EPO's governance circles:

We are currently preparing a document which outlines the most important elements that can contribute to the quality of our decisions. In autumn this year, this document will be discussed with user associations and the Boards of Appeal Committee. Eventually, it will be made available to the general public.


It is important to note that the "user associations" to which Josefsson refers do not represent the public interest. They might better be described as "lobby groups" representing the interests of big business and the litigation industry.

Translated into plain English, the above statement can be understood to mean the following:

First of all we decide what we want to do behind closed doors. Then we have a consultation with lobby groups representing "vested interests" to check that they have no objections to our plans. Finally we get the Administrative Council to rubber-stamp the package.

After that the public is presented with a fait accompli.


What else could one realistically expect from a fully paid-up card-carrying member of Team UPC?

Nevertheless, it does seem rather incongruous to see a self-proclaimed "Habermasian" endorsing such an arrangement.

"It is important to note that the "user associations" to which Josefsson refers do not represent the public interest. They might better be described as "lobby groups" representing the interests of big business and the litigation industry."To put things into perspective, what we have here is a type of legislative decision-making process which takes place in a secretive manner behind closed doors and whose outcome remains immune from of any kind of independent democratic oversight or normative control.

The self-serving cliques who control these decision-making processes try to justify their actions by claiming that they are dealing with very complex technical issues beyond the understanding of mere mortals. They insist that such matters can only be dealt with in an appropriate manner by committees of "experts" meeting behind closed doors.

However, this line of argumentation is clearly skewed in favour of the "vested interests" that dominate the global IP system, namely those of the international litigation industry and its corporate paymasters.

"They insist that such matters can only be dealt with in an appropriate manner by committees of "experts" meeting behind closed doors."The paid shills and hacks who promote such views conveniently gloss over the fact that it is the general public that ultimately has to bear the social costs of the patent system, in particular the costs of its dysfunctions and governance deficits.

It goes without saying that such considerations are unlikely to be of much concern to Josefsson and his confrères in the EPO's governance circles, as they remain snugly ensconced inside their magic bubble of "immunity".

All things considered, Josefsson gives the distinct impression of someone who prefers to kowtow in a subservient manner to the "vested interests" that dominate the patent system, rather than someone who is genuinely interested in making an effort to take account of and safeguard the interests of the general public in the EPO's contracting states.

The litigation industry and Josefsson
Josefsson seems to be in his element rubbing shoulders with members of the international litigation industry.



The photographic record of the 33rd US Bar / EPO Liaison Council meeting which took place in November 2017 indicates that "Calle" is in his element rubbing shoulders with members of the international litigation industry.

"It goes without saying that such considerations are unlikely to be of much concern to Josefsson and his confrères in the EPO's governance circles, as they remain snugly ensconced inside their magic bubble of "immunity"."Of course, Josefsson would never openly admit to this and he always takes great care to pay lip service to the public interest.

For example, in the JUVE interview referred to above he offered the following well-rehearsed pious platitude for public consumption:

"We must meet expectations from society on the highest quality of our decisions."


That sounds wonderful indeed but it remains to be seen whether or not the decision making process in the pending referral case G 1/21 will measure up to these expectations.

The signs emerging from the procedural record so far are not very promising.

EPO further extends pilot for opposition hearings by VICO
6 days ago the EPO arrogantly extended the 'programme' or 'pilot' in question, without bothering to even wait for a decision on the legality (as if it had already fixed the outcome and has no doubts about it).

Recent Techrights' Posts

Ubuntu Desktop Director of Engineering Has Only One Blog Post. It Promotes Microsoft Windows.
Remember that even 15 years ago (more or less, maybe 16 years ago) Canonical appointed a a 'former' Microsoft manager (Spencer) to lead Ubuntu on the desktop
IBM Red Hat on "era of cloud computing", pushing "hey hi" (AI) hype in Microsoft Azure
LLM slop might actually be more benign than Microsoft promotion
Corruption and Rule-Breaking Prevail at the European Patent Office (EPO), Europe's Second-Largest Institution
The law does not really exist at the EPO; it can be perceived as merely a "recommendation"
404 Media Says "Workers at NASA Told to Drop Everything to Scrub Mentions of Indigenous People, Women from Its Websites" But There's Also Accessibility in the Firing Line
In the case of abandoning accessibility, everyone stands to be hurt and proprietary software can be brought in to replace standards
 
Tons of Anti-Linux 'Articles' Published by Bots (LLMs), Maybe Microsoft's
Upon closer inspection, all this FUD turned out to be LLM garbage
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Voicemail Sucks and Night of Lights
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: YouTube Takedowns Out of Control, 'DOGE' Breaking Laws
Links for the day
statCounter: More Countries Where Windows is Around 1% "Market Share" (People Have Moved to Android/Linux)
in some nations Windows is already 1% or less
When BetaNews Writes Real Articles About "Linux" They Promote Windows
The Web is in a bad state. We need to at least try to correct this.
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Cynicism and "Real Magic on the C64"
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: New Sanctions, Layoffs, and Executive Orders
Links for the day
Distros and Desktop Environments, Devices
GNU/Linux focused
New Rumours of IBM Layoffs in 2025, IBM Consulting Still Struggles, Based on Management
"Hey hi" (AI) has been a common excuse for business failure
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 05, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Links 05/02/2025: Kessler Syndrome and News Online
Links for the day
statCounter: Monaco Now 7% GNU/Linux ("Proper")
GNU/Linux, not counting Chromebooks, is on the rise
Many Parts of Google Lose Money
It's quite apparent that many parts of Google - even some that rely on ad revenue or push ads - aren't profiting
European Internet Forum (EIF) is Dominated by American Corporations and Microsoft Lobbyists, Staff Take the Lead
Should the officials over here or the European Parliament pay attention to these people?
Links 05/02/2025: Connection without Connectivity and Unionised Grocery Workers
Links for the day
Just Because People on Top of the Microsoft Pyramid Made a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean Microsoft is Wealthy
The bigger they are the harder they fall
Gemini Links 05/02/2025: Learning, Madman Ruling a Mad Country, Back in Geminispace
Links for the day
statCounter Shows "WIntel" Chasing a Dying Market
Microsoft acts as if it's running out of money
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Still Raising Money, Richard Stallman Contributes
total exceeding $430k
A Lot of Stuff About "Linux" in Google News is LLM Slop, Fake 'Articles'
It seems to be getting worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 04, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, February 04, 2025
'Official' Debian Sites That Sell Proprietary and Surveillance
"Azure API throttling strikes back"
statCounter: Only 1 in ~40 Web Users in Ireland Uses Microsoft Browser, One in Six Uses Windows
When/if Windows market share goes down, so will Edge
Links 04/02/2025: Social Control Media Bans and US Fighting Its Allies, Not Russia
Links for the day
Links 04/02/2025: Birth of a Calf, FOSDEM, and More
Links for the day
Anti-Linux FUD Sites cybersecuritynews.com and gbhackers.com Turn Out to be LLM Slop, Even Plagiarism That Spreads Lies
Beware false headlines and fake text from cybersecuritynews.com and gbhackers.com
BetaNews Began Removing LLM Slop About "Linux", But More of It Keeps Coming From Guardian Digital, Inc (at linuxsecurity.com)
the other Serial Slopper, Guardian Digital, Inc
Mollamby, Suicide Cluster, not trademark, the real reasons for Debian legal expenses, evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 04/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Salesforce, Economic Pressures, Trade Wars
Links for the day
The Latest Microsoft Layoffs Are a Wake-up Call: The Company is Running Low on Money
in most areas it is not even profitable
[Video] Richard Stallman Auctioning a GNU (Gnu) at Surathkal, India
clip is only a minute-long
Software Freedom Month at NITK Surathkal and Yesterday's Talk by Richard Stallman
the message being spread by the person who started it all
Richard Stallman Has Another Talk in India Tomorrow, at Least Fourth India Talk in Recent Days
In the past month he has given at least half a dozen talks
statCounter: GNU/Linux and ChromeOS Now Measured at 2.78% in Japan (It Used to be Less Than 0.5%)
really 'took off' half a decade ago
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States, Based on statCounter
Windows is the loser; GNU/Linux grows at its expense
LLM Hype (Chatbots Hyped and Wrongly Characterised as "Artificial Intelligence") Cause Net Inflation
Net as in Internet, not limited to the Web
It Looks Like BetaNews' Managing Editor Wayne Williams is Taking Over From Fagioli After Repeat Pattern of LLM Slop (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) About "Linux"
The most plausible explanation is, Fagioli got caught or his conduct could no longer be ignored
statCounter Reckons Less Than 10% in Mexico Still Use Windows to Access to Web and GNU/Linux Surges to All-Time High (Plus, Microsoft's Latest Debt Crisis)
Looking at Mexico in isolation
From India to Italy: Richard Stallman's Next Talk is Next Week in Torino
Announced less than a day ago
Corporate Media is Intentionally Lying for Microsoft, There's Now a Hiring Freeze, No Replacements for Workers Laid Off in Two Mass Layoffs Last Month
Maybe the media - at least some of it - actually deserves doom. If it covers up for the powerful to muzzle and gaslight the oppressed, then what sort of media is that anyway?
Gemini Links 04/02/2025: Tolkien and New Job
Links for the day
Covering EPO Scandals in an Age of Mass Censorship (and Europe Being Afraid to Introspect, for It Might "Help Putin")
It was all along expected that "external enemies" would be invoked to suppress discussion about EPO crimes
Facebook Finally Admits That It Censored Linux and Banned People for Mentioning It; statCounter Shows Rapid Growth for GNU/Linux in Southeast Asia
So GAFAM is losing its power
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 03, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 03, 2025