EPO
From Techrights
Contents |
General Introduction
The European Patent Office (EPO) has been granting software patents all across Europe despite the law (as per the EPC) explicitly forbidding it. The profit motive ultimately compromised patent quality; the problem was obscured by publishers like IAM but repeatedly stressed by SUEPO, the Staff Union of the EPO. There were even more mischievous practices going on, especially after the EPO's former head, Alison Brimelow, got replaced by a megalomaniac called Benoît Battistelli (now in CEIPI), who gradually drove away anything or anyone who threatened his undemocratic ambition of total power. He was helped by Jesper Kongstad, Christoph Ernst, Raimund Lutz, and Željko Topić. There was a culture of blatant nepotism (e.g. Elodie Bergot) and disrespect for courts, e.g. Willy (Guillaume) Minnoye stating intent to ignore (disobey) court rulings. He even rejected ILO rulings and sought an unconstitutional court, the UPC, promoted by big litigators such as Bristows LLP. Battistelli chose António Campinos, a French dual national (born in France) from EUIPO, as his successor (soon joined by former colleague Nellie Simon and Stephen Rowan from UKIPO). Both block Techrights at all EPO sites, not just in Germany, in order to prevent staff from accessing facts; IP Kat was also temporarily blocked (until it stopped exposing EPO abuses). EPO problems persist to date, but European media is reluctant to mention these.
Articles Index
We've archived older articles in the following pages: EPO 2022 Archive | EPO 2021 Archive | EPO 2020 Archive | EPO 2019 Archive | EPO 2018 Archive | EPO 2017 Archive | EPO 2016 Archive | EPO 2015 Archive | EPO 2008-2014 Archive
In recent years Techrights wrote about the EPO in the below long and short posts, organised chronologically, with addition of the following colour coding for improved organisation based on theme:
| Scope | Repression | Labour | Above the law | Credibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software (abstract) patents | Institutional abuse | Staff deaths/suicides | Ignoring court orders or due process | Budgetary issues |
| Patents on life | Censorship/Gagging | Crushing protests | Crushing oversight or other branches | Reputation issues (EU) |
| Patent maximalism/UPC | DDOS | Union-busting | Character assassination/Defamation | Favouritism/Nepotism |
| Patent trolls | Legal bullying | Abolishing workers' rights | Propaganda/Misinformation/Paying the media | Conflict of interest/Dubious connections |
| Systemic synthesis | Illegal surveillance | State within a state | Alleged bribery | Organisational crisis |
2023 Articles (Latest First)
For an outline of recent events, see EPO in 2021.
May 2023
- With EUIPO in Focus, and Even an EU Kangaroo Tribunal, EPO Corruption (and Cross-Pollination With This EU Agency) Becomes a Major Liability/Risk to the EU
- European Patent Office (EPO) Management Not Supported by the EPO's Applicants, So Why Is It Still There?
- EPO Applicants Complain That Patent Quality Sank and EPO Management Isn't Listening (Nor Caring)
- German Media About Industry Patent Quality Charter (IPQC) and the European Patent Office (EPO)
- When the Patent Office Controls Kangaroo Patent Courts and Judges
- The Illegally 'Revised' Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) is Disgracing the Perception of Law and Order in the European Union
- FFII: German President of the Unified Patent Court Rewrites the Treaty Like a Dictator
- Meme: Captain António's Strategic Plan SP2028
- Comments on the European Patent Office's Strategic Plan to Survive Another 5 Years
- Meme: Illegally and Unconstitutionally Starting ‘Unified Patent Court’ in Violation of Numerous Conventions
- Meme: Only the Very Best Judges
- No Patent Quality and No Independence for EPO Judges (Cautionary Tale About Patent Maximalists in UPC Rota)
- Europe’s Second-Largest Institution (the EPO) is Sabotaging Itself by Repelling Staff
- The EPO, Europe's Largest Patent Office, Becomes Even More Secretive
- The European Commission and European Patent Office
- Meme: Smokescreens and Secrecy for Corporate Obfuscation While Your Colleagues Disappear
- EPO Abuses 'Data Protection' to Hide Its Own Abuses
April 2023
- Meme: Mental Abuse as a Motivator
- The Same Mismanagement and Micromanagement (Stalking/Bullying) That Caused the 'Suicide Wave' Under Benoît Battistelli
- Meme: Europe-US-International Patent Office (EUIPO)
- The European Commission is Playing With Fire When It Comes to Patent Policy and Why the European Union Will Suffer
- Corrupt Administration at the European Patent Office is Causing a Mental Health Crisis
- Meme: Unified Patent Court Versus Judges (That Aren't Fully Controlled by the EPO's Junta, the Controversial Granting Authority)
- What the Hard Data Says About Gender Inequality in Europe's Second-Largest Institution, the EPO
- Copyright Trolls: Anatomy of a Troll Attack on Techrights
- Meme: UPC/ICC: London is in Manhattan, Let's Get the Unitary Patent System Rollin'!
- EPO Staff Union: The Most Experienced Patent Examiners Are Leaving in Droves, Office Severely Understaffed
- Techrights Plans for Impending Easter Weekend (copyright lawsuit threats linked to EPO)
- Meme: Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC): ‘Doing a Putin’ on European Patent Courts
- Union Syndicale Fédérale (USF) Takes a Closer Look at the EPO and Worsening Staff Conditions in a Series of New Articles
- Environmental Sustainability at EPO Must Become More Than a Buzzword
March 2023
- Translating the Lies of António Campinos (EPO)
- Meme: Too Many Fake European Patents? So Start Fake European Courts for Patents.
- Thomas Magenheim-Hörmann in RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland About Declining Quality and Declining Validity of European Patents (for EPO and Illegal Kangaroo Courts)
- Meme: Grabinski the Opportunity
- Union Syndicale Fédérale Cautions the EPO's Administrative Council About Initiating an Illegal Kangaroo Court System for Patents (UPC) While EPO Breaks Laws and Sponsors the Ukraine Invasion
- Germany's Lobbyists-Infested Government Sponsors the War on Ukraine via the European Patent Office (EPO)
- Meme: The Meme That Team UPC (the Collusion to Break the European Laws, for Profit) Threats to Sue Us For
- Meme: EPO's Management Brainstorm
- The Photo Ops Festival of the Funky President António Campinos and Revolt From the Patent Examiners Whom He Perpetually Oppresses
- The European Patent Office's Central Staff Committee Explains the Situation at the EPO to the 'Yes Men' of António Campinos (Who is Stacking All the Panels)
- Remuneration and Pensions at the EPO Reduced (Relative to Inflation), Guaranteeing a Decline in Quality of Work
- The EPO Treats Its Own Staff Like Trash and Quality/Legitimacy of the EPO's Work is, Expectedly, Reduced to Trash
- EPO Weaponises International Women’s Day to Cover Up Its Attacks on Women
- The Only 'Green' EPO Management Understands is Money
- The EPO Grants Illegal Patents. EPO Managers Hope That a Kangaroo Court Can Endorse Illegal Patents.
- The EPO's Attack on ALL EPO Staff Explained Using a Parable/Analogy
- The European Patent Office Cannot Survive This Way
February 2023
- EPO Has 'Guidelines on Rewards', But Promotions Are Down Sharply and Potential to Recruit is Very Low (Except Scabs)
- The EPO Crisis, as Explained by EPO Insiders
- António Campinos is Unable to Recruit Patent Examiners, Europe's Largest Patent Office in State of Crisis
- The EPO's Human Resources (HR) Crisis Visualised
- Private Letter From Some of the EPO's Biggest Applicants, Complaining That Quality of European Patents is Plunging
- EPO Central Staff Committee Says António Campinos Became Like Benoît Battistelli After 4 Years at the Office ('Lost From Sight')
- The EPO's War of Attrition Against Its Own Staff
- German UPCA Ratification Was Expected, But It Does Nothing to Resolve Brexit (UK Cannot Ratify), So Unified Patent Court (UPC) Remains Illegal and Unconstitutional, Violating Several Conventions and Harming Europe's Image, Economy, Access to Justice
- Who Will Assess the Performance of the Corrupt EPO? Nobody. It's Above Scrutiny.
- Management of the European Patent Office Has Laid Off All the Staff That Fed the Employees (Despite Drowning in Money Generated by Granting Fake European Patents)
- Management of the European Patent Office is Lying About Office Space
- How Much Longer Can the EPO Deny That It Has a Patent Quality and Patent Legitimacy Crisis?
- Reality Versus Fiction: EPO Insiders Versus EPO Web Site and UPC 'Churnalists'
- Back to Focusing on Unified Patent Court (UPC) Crimes and Illegal Patent Agenda, Including the EPO's
- European Patent Office Staff Votes in Favour of Freedom of Association (97% of Voters in Support)
January 2023
- EPO Management Isn't Listening to Staff, It's Just Trying to Divide and Demoralise the Staff Instead
- Meme: António Campinos Wants to Be F***ing President Until 2028
- European Patent Office Staff Losing Hope
- Meme: Thanks to the German Government, the EPO is Immune/Protected From Prosecution (Persistent Law-breaking in the Name of 'Upholding' Patent Law)
- Patent Practitioners Complain That the EPO is Secretive and Incompetent
- Meme: A Kinder, Gentler EPO Leadership
- Meme: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht): Can't See, Won't Hear, Don't Speak
- Management of the European Patent Office (EPO) is Gloating That the German Authorities Protect the EPO Even When Laws and Constitutions Are Broken
- [Meme: How EPO Presents the Male-Dominated EPO
- Edda Franz, EPO's Principal Director General Administration, Leaves EPO Amid Growing Chaos and Orchestrated Efforts to Divide the EPO's Staff
- Meme: Censorship of Self-Incriminating Evidence
- More Than Half a Dozen Copyright Litigation Threats Sent to Techrights in Less Than Six Months Over EPO and UPC Articles (Misusing Copyrights for Censorship/Intimidation)
- Team UPC is Trying to Misuse Copyright Law in Order to Censor Critics of the UPC Collusion (a Scheme to Violate Constitutions and Craft an Illegal Kangaroo Court in Defiance of International Conventions)
- Meme: Only Pretending Proposals Were in Fact Discussed With Staff!
- Insufficient Time for Staff of the European Patent Office to Comment on Managers' Proposals
- Meme: The Only Language EPO Management Can Understand
- The EPO is Cruel to Patent Examiners Because Corporations, Not Even European Ones, Always Come First
- The EPO is Lying or Just Strategically Faking It. There's No 'Unitary Effect' at the EPO. There's No Unitary Patent or Unified Patent Court (UPC) Either.
- Edvard Munch: Klaus Grabinski Met António Trump in 2022
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