tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post8021086208407012043..comments2024-03-28T16:45:51.051+00:00Comments on The IPKat: REVEALED: EPO Boards of Appeal reform plan Part III - Merpel's commentsVerónica Rodríguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-48130998094614939462015-05-08T07:50:34.189+01:002015-05-08T07:50:34.189+01:00JFK said....
interesting to hear that there is st...JFK said....<br /><br />interesting to hear that there is still a recruitment stop in Berlin...because of the plans to move BoA that are still not decided finally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-4626930568740357822015-03-11T16:20:03.615+00:002015-03-11T16:20:03.615+00:00But that only applies in times of war.
Oh.But that only applies in times of war. <br /><br />Oh.Old man of EPOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-19476191543467231102015-03-11T15:37:39.505+00:002015-03-11T15:37:39.505+00:00My Johnston's organ tells me that the subject ...My Johnston's organ tells me that the subject of the removal to another site wasn't even broached.<br /><br />In view of the overall picture it hardly mattered.<br /><br />Forget the Burgh House principles. I'm afraid that at the present stage, Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention is more to the point.A fly on the wallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-56021012083598250282015-03-11T11:29:53.516+00:002015-03-11T11:29:53.516+00:00Even more nuanced: they are admitting they are usi...Even more nuanced: they are admitting they are using social media mechanisms (which include blogs...?) in their story-telling.<br /><br />Sign me: CatbertCatbertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-59659017537687452362015-03-11T09:21:06.192+00:002015-03-11T09:21:06.192+00:00"The best way to build communication plans fo..."The best way to build communication plans for IP offices was intensively discussed, including <b>the use of story-telling</b> (emphasis added) for outreach purposes, in particular via the internet and social media."<br />(See: Kentze neke, above, Seminar on IP outreach)<br />They are actually admitting that they are telling stories!<br /><br />Dilbertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-30407346706142445772015-03-11T08:39:52.742+00:002015-03-11T08:39:52.742+00:00Any suspicion that the BoA's will be moved to ...Any suspicion that the BoA's will be moved to Riga seems to be well justified: look at this... :-)<br /><br />High-level IP Conference in Riga<br /><br />10.03.2015<br /><br /><br />VP2 presented the central role of the EPO in the European patent system <br /><br /><br />On 3-4 March VP 2, Alberto Casado, attended the IP conference "Intellectual Property and Beyond", where he gave a presentation on the role of the EPO in the European patent system. <br /><br />The conference was a key event within the context of Latvia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The broad range of high-level speakers ensured that each participant left the conference with new information and techniques relevant to their daily work. <br /><br />The conference was attended by over 150 representatives from the field of intellectual property - patent attorneys, university professors, delegates from governmental organisations, embassies, law enforcement institutions, NGOs, and representatives of intellectual property offices. <br /><br />Following the welcome address by Sandris Laganovskis, Director of the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia, Dzintars Rasnačs, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia, gave the opening speech. Other high-level speakers included Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO, Kerstin Jorna, DG Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Christian Archambeau, Vice President of OHIM. <br /><br />The topics covered emphasised how intellectual property affects every part of our daily life, and its importance in the development of our modern economy. Presentations covered trademark and industrial design protection, development of the European patent system, the impact of innovation protection on economic growth, and IPR enforcement. <br /><br />Sandris Laganovskis thanked Alberto Casado for the strong co-operation between the two offices and looked forward to implementing the projects defined in the Bilateral Co-operation Plan signed by himself and President Battistelli last December. <br /><br /><br />Clearly, BB has been buying support from the Contracting States by distributing bananas (as another commenter already noted).<br /><br />In February there was another ludicrous conference at the Danish PTO. Just read the press release (note the reference to "story-telling"):<br /><br />Seminar: IP outreach and communications<br /><br />10.02.2015<br /> <br />Communications experts from the national patent offices met in Denmark <br /><br /><br />Last week (4 -6 February) 50 communications experts from the national patent offices of 28 of our member states gathered at the Danish Patent & Trademark Office near Copenhagen. They met to share their experiences in reaching audiences with positive IP messages. <br /><br />This European Patent Academy seminar, organised jointly with OHIM and the Danish PTO, was introduced by Jesper Kongstad, Director General and CEO of the Danish PTO, who insisted on the leading role of national patent offices in communicating about IP matters, as they are closest to the businesses in greatest need. <br /><br />The many speakers coming from the NPOs, EPO and specialist agencies, considered such diverse issues as market segmenting, different approaches to clients and user groups (websites, seminars, exhibitions and press), and the dedicated tools and services provided by NPOs for connecting with their public and user groups, namely IP information services, pre-diagnosis and training of multipliers. <br /><br />The best way to build communication plans for IP offices was intensively discussed, including the use of story-telling for outreach purposes, in particular via the internet and social media. <br /><br />Participants agreed to take these points further in the framework of the European Patent Network. <br /><br />All this is being paid by users... <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Kentze nekenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-73169530430754662152015-03-11T08:16:02.219+00:002015-03-11T08:16:02.219+00:00Is there a link somewhere?
(From forbes.com
http:/...Is there a link somewhere?<br />(From forbes.com<br />http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/04/25/the-disturbing-link-between-psychopathy-and-leadership/ )<br /><i>It is not the image we like to have when we think of business leaders. But troubling research indicates that in the ranks of senior management, psychopathic behavior may be more common than we think – more prevalent in fact than the amount such seriously aberrant behavior occurs in the general population.<br />At first blush this may seem counterintuitive, even outrageous. We tend to think of psychopathy as the province of criminals, with leadership qualities that may land someone atop a fringe religious cult, say – not in a boardroom. But before discussing the research, let’s consider for a moment why this possibility is actually less bizarre than it may initially seem.<br />The hallmarks of the psychopathic personality involve egocentric, grandiose behavior, completely lacking empathy and conscience. Additionally, psychopaths may be charismatic, charming, and adept at manipulating one-on-one interactions. In a corporation, one’s ability to advance is determined in large measure by a person’s ability to favorably impress his or her direct manager. Unfortunately, certain of these psychopathic qualities – in particular charm, charisma, grandiosity (which can be mistaken for vision or confidence) and the ability to “perform” convincingly in one-on-one settings – are also qualities that can help one get ahead in the business world.</i>Fafnirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-14144100621400728562015-03-11T08:03:53.820+00:002015-03-11T08:03:53.820+00:00Have a look at the following news; I think this is...Have a look at the following news; I think this is indirect evidence (in the sense of T 1110/03 ;-)) that the BoA's will be moved to Riga (news published today in the EPO Intranet) :-). I wonder what the contents of the bilateral co-operation plan between the EPO and Latvia are...<br /><br />High-level IP Conference in Riga10.03.2015<br /><br />VP2 presented the central role of the EPO in the European patent system <br /><br /><br />On 3-4 March VP 2, Alberto Casado, attended the IP conference "Intellectual Property and Beyond", where he gave a presentation on the role of the EPO in the European patent system. <br /><br />The conference was a key event within the context of Latvia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The broad range of high-level speakers ensured that each participant left the conference with new information and techniques relevant to their daily work. <br /><br />The conference was attended by over 150 representatives from the field of intellectual property - patent attorneys, university professors, delegates from governmental organisations, embassies, law enforcement institutions, NGOs, and representatives of intellectual property offices. <br /><br />Following the welcome address by Sandris Laganovskis, Director of the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia, Dzintars Rasnačs, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia, gave the opening speech. Other high-level speakers included Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO, Kerstin Jorna, DG Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Christian Archambeau, Vice President of OHIM. <br /><br />The topics covered emphasised how intellectual property affects every part of our daily life, and its importance in the development of our modern economy. Presentations covered trademark and industrial design protection, development of the European patent system, the impact of innovation protection on economic growth, and IPR enforcement. <br /><br />Sandris Laganovskis thanked Alberto Casado for the strong co-operation between the two offices and looked forward to implementing the projects defined in the Bilateral Co-operation Plan signed by himself and President Battistelli last December. <br />Kentze nekenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-34982186068046442572015-03-11T00:17:48.344+00:002015-03-11T00:17:48.344+00:00To think that only a short while ago there were ma...To think that only a short while ago there were many who loudly proclaimed that this dispute was just about spoilt employees of the EPO being unhappy with having some of their privileges curtailed. What we actually see now is the mindless destruction of everything the founding fathers set up over 40 years ago. Only pure and unadulterated hatred seems capable of wreaking this this degree of destruction of the Office, its employees and the European Patent System as a whole.Why?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-74330039566556469172015-03-10T23:12:07.623+00:002015-03-10T23:12:07.623+00:00Remember George Orwell's "Animal Farm&quo...Remember George Orwell's "Animal Farm" - no further explanation is needed.Fafnirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-1366885356105391922015-03-10T22:30:26.945+00:002015-03-10T22:30:26.945+00:00One essential point of the proposed changes is tha...One essential point of the proposed changes is that the presidium - a body elected by the members of the boards - shall loose its main prerogatives, namely the drafting of the Rules of Procedure of the boards and of the yearly business distribution scheme, both of which will be taken over by the BOAC.<br />ObserverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-67967968699939833862015-03-10T22:26:56.061+00:002015-03-10T22:26:56.061+00:00Nothing to worry about its all ISO9001 compliant.
...Nothing to worry about its all ISO9001 compliant.<br />BB and his inner circle are seriously out of control and the AC will not lift a finger.Aliens in underpantsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-92198369887481232482015-03-10T21:26:37.901+00:002015-03-10T21:26:37.901+00:00Fly on the wall. ..,
I saw a reference to Burgh Ho...Fly on the wall. ..,<br />I saw a reference to Burgh House Principles. Any thoughts on 4.2 with regard to possibly moving to Berlin:<br />"No adverse changes shall be introduced with regard to judges’ remuneration and other essential conditions of service during their terms of office."<br />I would have thought moving judges' place of employment may well come under the term of 'conditions' and would at least be part of the spirit of the BHP with regard to not interfering with judges. Old man of EPOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-85186353403849232702015-03-10T20:55:23.831+00:002015-03-10T20:55:23.831+00:00concerned attorney:
From what I hear EPO staff i...concerned attorney: <br /><br />From what I hear EPO staff in Berlin have still not been officially told that the president possibly intends to "dedicate" the Berlin building to DG3, except of the CA document published by Merpel having been posted without further comment on some obscure corner of the intranet.<br /><br />The contempt of EPO management for the staff which they are supposed to support is simply breathtaking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-6794264784225189482015-03-10T20:48:03.672+00:002015-03-10T20:48:03.672+00:00@DoesThisCount?
I don't think that the compar...@DoesThisCount?<br /><br />I don't think that the comparison with the UK Supreme Court holds water. In my book there is a big difference between an Act passed by a democratically elected body and a proposal drafted by a handful of bureaucrats that are neither accountable to the general public nor interested in gathering the feedback of the users of the patent system. <br /><br />Furthermore, I don't think that any of the politicians supporting the creation of the UK Supreme Court was ever rumored to push for a change of building specifically in order to punish the members of the Court (which, as far as I am concerned is not a rumor at all, as I had it confirmed by a source which I consider absolutely reliable). <br /><br />You can't assess a measure for increasing the perception of independence without taking into consideration the overall context. In the present circumstances, a change of venue for the BoA (be it Berlin, or a charming location in the outskrts of Munich) would undermine rather than strengthen the perception of independence for many (if not most) users of the system.New at this...noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-48830306355877179392015-03-10T20:27:34.148+00:002015-03-10T20:27:34.148+00:00Dear Fly on the wall,
Sorry. But of course not un...Dear Fly on the wall, <br />Sorry. But of course not unexpected. I have never known a person displaying so little respect for their staff. His plans are all that matter. I suspect a crunch is coming. The proposed extensive ability to block staff from taking outside employment in the ip field may be the final straw. Old man of EPOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-1308678265148542952015-03-10T18:32:59.927+00:002015-03-10T18:32:59.927+00:00Today's meeting between DG3 and le Président w...Today's meeting between DG3 and le Président went extremely badly. <br /><br />CA/16/15 is non-negotiable, FULL STOP.A fly on the wallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-68341431090252026522015-03-10T11:13:54.515+00:002015-03-10T11:13:54.515+00:00Of course the Boards of Appeal should have their o...Of course the Boards of Appeal should have their own building. I hear there's a good one in Munich, at Bob-van-Benthem-Platz, which already has suitable facilities such as hearing rooms etc.<br /><br />Of course, any other occupant would have to move out to one of the other cities mentioned in the proposals. I can offer a very good deal on air fares between Paris and Riga.<br /><br />A travel agent A travel agentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-47537446596379675562015-03-10T09:42:49.040+00:002015-03-10T09:42:49.040+00:00That is only a clever manoeuvre on the part of Bat...That is only a clever manoeuvre on the part of Battistelli.<br /><br />Opstelten is lined up to become the new "President of the Boards of Appeal".<br /><br />He favours annual performance assessment for judges:<br />http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/02/03/judges-poor-performance-fire/<br /><br />Funny how nobody has ever tried to bring in performance assessment for Ministers.Dutch Couragenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-47013181705171691922015-03-10T09:31:35.318+00:002015-03-10T09:31:35.318+00:00"in no sane organization a proposal which is ..."in no sane organization a proposal which is going to be a pure waste of money and human resources with absolutely zero operational benefits would be put forward with such a preposterous aim such as to improve the perception of the independence of the Boards"<br /><br />Replacing the House of Lords with the Supreme Court required an Act of Parliament, a new building, and no doubt a lot of money basically to improve the perception of independence. It's hard (probably impossible) to objectively measure but I think it has basically succeeded in its aim. You may disagree, but the point is that the idea of physical separation is not without precedent, and I'm surprised to see it so universally criticised in this context.<br /><br />Certainly I agree with many of the criticisms. In particular, actual independence is important as well as perceived independence. But perceived independence *is* very important, possibly *as* important.<br /><br />New building in Munich would seem the best proposal to avoid the possible concerns about members choosing to retire rather than move city.DoesThisCount?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-42384549278779196872015-03-10T09:20:43.392+00:002015-03-10T09:20:43.392+00:00Indeed, I also agree with New at this.
It seems th...Indeed, I also agree with New at this.<br />It seems that making speed is a characteristic ofmodern times, in which everything has to go much faster and swifter. The legislation that has come out of the European Union (at least in the IP field) shows signs of sloppy preparation and last-minute amendments driven by political forces. As a result, this legislation is sloppy and needs to be repaired, whcih is the task of teh courts (either the EUCJ in case of the SPC regulations and the trademark directives) or in the future the UPC (in the case of the provisions on the UPC and UP).<br /><br />Sometimes I admire the legislative work of 5o years ago when it was possible to set up a complete system (the EPC) that got functional immediately and barely needed adaptations. <br />Thus, although it may be old-fashioned, I endorse the critic by Merpel and many of the commentators that there should be more consultation and maybe even a diplomatic conference. Millipedenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-50055400735672693122015-03-10T08:42:18.631+00:002015-03-10T08:42:18.631+00:00The last comment is absolutely spot on.
Have a loo...The last comment is absolutely spot on.<br />Have a look at this:<br /><br />http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31806086<br /><br />Are you surprised? I am not.KentzeNekenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-64363518744313724212015-03-09T23:36:25.591+00:002015-03-09T23:36:25.591+00:00I don't have much to add to Merpel's analy...I don't have much to add to Merpel's analysis (with which I agree 100%), but I would like to point out that the two major complaints about the reform, i.e. "the whole procedure is characterised by lack of consultation, or transparency. The whole thing seems completely rushed," etc. and the general dichotomy between the guiding principles of the reform and its actual contents are just the standard way things have been done at the EPO for some years now. <br /><br />A "reform" (big or small in scope, it does not matter) is planned somewhere, details are ironed out by the President together with his inner circle, and then it is pushed out and hammered through the management, (what's left of) the consultation bodies, and the Administrative Council itself with no regard for general principles of law, for any constructive feedback and, sometimes, for reality itself. <br /><br />A couple years ago, EPO users had a small yet instructive preview of this state of affairs when the EPO decided all of a sudden to enforce strictly Rule 49 EPC and not allow handwritten amendments anymore. Pratictioners were informed of the change effective from January 1st at the beginning of December; examiners (who generally do not read the OJ) were told the day before the EPO closed for Christmas. Chaos predictably ensued for those who had Oral Proceedings on January and February, because many attorneys were caught by surprise and most divisions had to figure out how to work in practice with this new directive. The situation became normal again only after additional explanations and FAQs were prepared a couple month later in order to provide practical guidance. What's rich, however, is that this change was supposedly motivated by the introduction of a new IT tool that allowed applications to be processed in electronic form; well, that tool was so full of bugs that at the time it was practically unusable, and even now it is not used for all applications because there are still instances where it breaks down. External observers might have assumed that this fiasco had been, erm, let's call it an isolated mistake in a normally functioning system, but this was not the case.<br /><br />I will skip the various "reforms" which have been implemented since then but affected, at least on their face, EPO staff only, and fast forward to the last "reform", that Merpel righly calls "one of the most important issues facing the IP world in Europe at the moment". No matter the importance, however, the modus operandi is going to be the same: it has now been decided that the reform will be operative by 2016, and this means that the AC will be pushed to approve it by December this year, come hell or high water, and no amount of protests or intelligent counterproposals will change anything of substance of the document which has been mande public yesterday. The parts of the document referring to the premises of the BoA are emblematic: in no sane organization a proposal which is going to be a pure waste of money and human resources with absolutely zero operational benefits would be put forward with such a preposterous aim such as to improve the perception of the independence of the Boards. Still, this is what the President will get, because he will not settle for anything less and there is no political will to remove him.New at this...noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-58668602357970948362015-03-09T22:31:04.821+00:002015-03-09T22:31:04.821+00:00In the banana republic, Big Monkey gives bananas t...In the banana republic, Big Monkey gives bananas to the AC monkeys.<br />The AC monkeys like bananas. With bananas, their national office can buy expensive cars, luxury offices, brand new computers, first class ticket plane. AC monkeys enjoy driving with expensive car, flying in first class, having a luxury office.<br />To get all those things, it´s very easy, the AC monkeys have to say always “yes” to Big Monkey. <br />But if one day, they say “no”… no bananas anymore. That would be catastrophic!<br />One day, Big Monkey suggests that the BoA kingdom must be independent. All the very little monkeys were happy. Freedom, freedom, freedom.<br />But, as usual in banana republic, the new elected BoA president is one of the best friends of Big Monkey. The AC monkeys couldn´t vote “no”. The bananas are so yummy.<br /><br />Big Monkey doesn´t worry. <br />BoA president will never make shadow. He will always remain a small (very tiny) monkey. Why ?<br />Because the BoA president has only peanuts to give to the AC monkeys. <br />The AC monkeys will never listen (and vote) for peanuts.<br />Big Monkey has bananas to give to the AC monkeys. Bananas are better than peanuts. <br />Big Monkey is happy. He is the king of the monkeys forever.Yummy Bananasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-1046693091063975592015-03-09T22:16:35.633+00:002015-03-09T22:16:35.633+00:00I would recommend one additional paragraph in the ...I would recommend one additional paragraph in the proposal under section 2, with a heading "Members of the AC", and reading: "Special regulations concerning possible conflicts of interest for members of the Administrative Council will be necessary. Any activities which could give rise to a suspicion of conflict of interest should be prohibited."<br />TheBeamInMyEyesnoreply@blogger.com