Bonum Certa Men Certa

European Council Complicit in European Patent Office (EPO) Abuses

Answer from the European Council to MEP's question about the EPO

Clare Daly (GUE/NGL); CC BY-SA 2.0Summary: The EPO continues to become more of a massive liability to the reputation and functioning of the European Union (EU); tolerating the profound corruption of Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos for the sake of imposing an illegal 'legal' system is something we might expect from Putin's Russia, not Europe

READERS may remember this question which a member of the European Parliament submitted to the Council of the European Union (known as the "European Council").



Well, the answer has just been published.

"It seems that the members of the European Council have failed to understand something fundamental."Just to clarify, the European Council is "the EU institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union". The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.

So, what did the European Council have to say about the recent revelations concerning breaches of fundamental rights at the EPO?

Not a lot it seems:

The European Patent Office (EPO) is the executive body of the European Patent Organisation, an independent international organisation established by the European Patent Convention (EPC), which falls outside the institutional remit of the European Union.

The EPO Administrative Council, composed of representatives of the 38 States parties to the EPC, supervises all EPO activities and related administrative matters, including human resources questions. As the Honourable Member points out, the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation has ultimate jurisdiction over employment matters in the EPO.

It is therefore not for the Council to comment on this body’s internal matters.


So that's it then? The European Council is not prepared to comment on established breaches of fundamental rights at the EPO because - allegedly - these are "internal matters" for the EPO.

"The fact that the ILOAT has "ultimate jurisdiction" over employment disputes at the EPO, doesn't absolve the EU member states - all of which are also contracting states of the European Patent Convention - from their obligations under international law to safeguard and protect the fundamental rights of all EU citizens, including employees of the EPO."It seems that the members of the European Council have failed to understand something fundamental. The fact that the ILOAT has "ultimate jurisdiction" over employment disputes at the EPO, doesn't absolve the EU member states - all of which are also contracting states of the European Patent Convention - from their obligations under international law to safeguard and protect the fundamental rights of all EU citizens, including employees of the EPO.

There is something seriously wrong when the representatives of the majority of those states are prepared to repeatedly endorse measures which violate fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of association.

But apparently the European Council can't see that.

Reliable sources report that the MEP who submitted the question to the European Council was not impressed by the answer that she received and there may well be a follow-up.

Watch this space...

Recent Techrights' Posts

Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
 
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Addition Addiction and Nitride
Links for the day
Links 09/06/2025: Science, Hardware Projects, and Democracy Receding
Links for the day
Computers Got Smaller, So GNU/Linux Got Bigger
Many people here recognise the lack of urgency (or need) to get expensive new laptops
BetaNews is a Plagiarism and LLM Slop Hub, the Chief Editor Isn't Addressing This Problem Anymore
SS Fagioli is basically a parasite leeching off or exploiting other people's work
Links 09/06/2025: Chaos in Los Angeles and Hurricane Season
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Grows at Windows' Expense and Microsoft Trolls Infest and Maliciously Target Articles About It
Microsoft is - and has long been - organised crime
They Say I'm Mr. Bombastic
They didn't take good lawyers
Links 09/06/2025: Windows TCO and Many Data Breaches
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VI: Political Stunts by Former President Edyta Demby-Siwek and the Connection to Profound Corruption at EUIPO
it's like a money-laundering operation where one politician rewards another at taxpayers' expense
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Pipelines and Splitgate
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 08, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 08, 2025