From Techrights

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.

software patents all across Europe

↺ the EPC

IAM

SUEPO

Benoît Battistelli

CEIPI

Jesper Kongstad

Christoph Ernst

Raimund Lutz

Željko Topić

Elodie Bergot

Willy (Guillaume) Minnoye

ILO

UPC

Bristows LLP

António Campinos

France

EUIPO

Nellie Simon

Stephen Rowan

UKIPO

Germany

IP Kat

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

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:

2023 Articles (Latest First)

For an outline of recent events, see EPO in 2021.

EPO in 2021

Aigust 2023

Europe Needs More Patent Whistleblowers Like Martin Wilming

July 2023

Meme: The EPO SLAPP Machine, Blackmailing Critics While Donning Diplomatic Immunity

Martin Wilming (Hepp Wenger Ryffel AG) Exposes the Sham That is Patent 'Quality' at the European Patent Office (EPO)

Meme: ILOAT Cops or ILOAT Judges?

Dražen Petrović (ILOAT): Please Withdraw Your Complaint So I Can Fake 'Productivity' (Oh My! The Irony!)

Meme: Toothless Geneva

European Patent Office: Staff Motivation (and Hope) Dies Last

Meme: Which Team? A Team of Crooks?

Bringing Teams Together (BTT) at the European Patent Office Loathed by the Staff, Based on Internal Survey

It Might Be Too Late for the German Government to Fix the EPO (It Had a Lot to Do With This Current Mess)

Meme: German Efficiency

Meme: When Obeying Laws Means Making Less Money

EPO's Patent Invalidity and Low Patent Quality Issues Get the Attention of Christian Wichard (Deputy Director General at Germany's Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection)

Meme: EPO Manager's War Against the Law

EPO's War of Disinformation Against Patent Examiners (and Mindless Promotion of Microsoft Vapourware)

The European Patent Office, EPO, Has a Deep Crisis That Bribes Cannot Fully Hide

The European Patent Office (EPO) is Being Crushed to Pieces and EPO Staff Isn’t Gullible Enough or Sufficiently Blind to That

Meme: It’s Dead, Jim (or Dying Very Fast, Even Being Murdered)

BTT (Bringing Teams Together) Loathed by Staff of the EPO

Meme: Racing Towards Minimum Wage

European Patent Office is Struggling With Recruitment (Maddening Corruption Turns Out to Lead to That)

Meme: EPO Reforming Itself to Death (of the European Patent Convention)

Judging by What Happened to the European Patent Office (EPO) Workplace This Year, As Before, EPO Management Might be Intentionally Vandalising the Workplace

EPO Isolates Workers, EPO Workers Speak Out About Their Experiences

Meme: The New European Patent Office: Patent Examiners Without Desks

This Coming Friday ILOAT Will Rule on the New Career System (NO-Career System) of the EPO

What Will be Left After Neil Left IP Kat? More Lobbying for Illegal Agenda Such as Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC)?

June 2023

Meme: Vladimir Putin's Cousin From Germany

On Top of Setting Up Kangaroo Courts for Patents, EPO is Working to Drive Out the Best Patent Examiners to Lower Quality and Grant More Fake (Invalid) European Patents Which Kangaroos Can Then Endorse

Image/Meme: If the Glove Fits. European Commission (Battistelli's Friend, Mr. Breton), the EPO's ****ing President, and Mr. UPC (Who Issues Threats to Techrights).

Meme: EPO Mansplaining to the European Union and Commission

EPO and EPC Violations: With Unified Patent Court (UPC), Even the European Union and Commission Are Fully Culpable

Meme: European Union (EU) and Commission (EC) Talking a Lot About Poland, Not About the EPO, Which Obliterated the Rule of Law

EPO Staff Points Out That as the European Patent Convention Turns 50 It is Grossly Being Violated by Corrupt EPO Management

Meme: 'Independent' EPO/EU Courts for Patents

The EPO's NO-Career System Will be Scrutinised by a Tribunal, the ILOAT, 3 Weeks From Now

Judges of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Are Resigning Before It Even Starts and Team UPC Sprinkles Candy on This Illegal and Unconstitutional 'Court' (Rigged Kangaroo Court Designed to Authorise the EPO's Abuses Against the EPC)

Many Fake Patents Are Still Being Squashed and Patent-Centric 'Media' in Europe is Mostly Sockpuppets of the EPO

EPO (European Patent Office) Central Staff Committee on NO-Career System, Education, Boards of Appeal, and Update to Staff Changes List (More Secrecy)

EPO Management is Still Bullying the Staff (While Breaking the Law and Violating the European Patent Convention)

Do Not Assume Pensions Are Safe, Especially When Managed by Mr. EPOTIF Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos

May 2023

Meme: Makes No Sense for EPO (Now Connected to the EU) and Staff Pensions to be Tied to the UK After Brexit

Working Conditions at EPO Deteriorate and Staff Inquires About Pension Rights

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

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

Older articles:

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

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