tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post3343295973091618079..comments2024-03-28T09:05:22.006+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Developments at the European Patent Office - Parliamentary oversight and lack of itVerónica Rodríguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-86135695954745018522015-01-08T08:24:58.062+00:002015-01-08T08:24:58.062+00:00The EPO is a cash-generating cow for its members, ...The EPO is a cash-generating cow for its members, and for some of those it is a relatively large pile of cash. No govt is interested in the patent system for the right reasons.<br /><br />Calling someone a Baron or Baroness doesn't make them competent, useful or interested in the real issues.<br /><br />There were no gardens or bushes at my school. We must have attended different institutions.<br /><br />Je suis Charlie HebdoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-4036217608472874802015-01-08T00:30:11.406+00:002015-01-08T00:30:11.406+00:00According to one of the commenters above, the AC i...According to one of the commenters above, the AC is lightweight. It may be even worse. Rumour has it that the representative of an important country has been promised an important post at the EPO. And less important countries have received subsidies by the EPO, according to another rumour. It may be interesting to keep an eye on future nominations to important posts at the EPO. Yet another rumour says that even the members of the AC do not know the terms of the contract between the EPO and BB, only the chairman of the AC seems to know them. An some further rumours guess BB's income as being around € 6 million. But the salaries of the examiners, who are responisble for the good reputation of the EPO, are much too high and need urgently to be reduced, by about 30%, according to yet another rumour. If even half of all these rumours is true, the picture is worrying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-8330157811610233852015-01-07T16:32:47.815+00:002015-01-07T16:32:47.815+00:00150 does not even replace those who retire... surp...150 does not even replace those who retire... surprisingly in the last three months about 15 examiners were employed as contractors and there are quite a few comming from under-represented countries, e.g. 3 from Greece...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-89062147280378564232015-01-07T09:48:48.241+00:002015-01-07T09:48:48.241+00:00It seems that the AC is intended to fulfil the rol...It seems that the AC is intended to fulfil the role of the 25 barons of the original <a href="http://magnacarta800th.com/schools/the-25-barons-of-magna-carta/" rel="nofollow">Magna Carta</a>. <br /><br />That level of oversight soon got removed from subsequent versions of the Magna Carta as generally inconvenient to an absolute monarch. It took 400 years and a bloody Civil War for such safeguards to be reestablished. <br /><br />Let us hope that the current level of debate will encourage the AC to take a less supine role in the affairs of the EPO. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.Meldrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09841440718012449720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-55185721205623054532015-01-06T21:11:39.596+00:002015-01-06T21:11:39.596+00:00"If the European parliament is of the opinion..."If the European parliament is of the opinion that they have no competence over the EPO, then they better see that they get some ASAP, because the EPO is the institution to which the grant of EU patents is entrusted."<br /><br />Dutch MEP Dennis de Jong seems to be getting in on the job ... <br /><br />https://www.sp.nl/column/dennis-jong/2015/weeklog-onrust-bij-europees-octrooi-bureau<br /><br />If it's all double Dutch to you, then Google Translate might help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-89312717390648740052015-01-06T19:13:12.320+00:002015-01-06T19:13:12.320+00:00With the DG3 affaire Battistelli has gone a step t...With the DG3 affaire Battistelli has gone a step too far and now the coalition of judges will unmask his real face. Just wait and see. Soon or later he will be forced to go and his cronies at the EPO and in the Administrative Council will abandon him, big cowards as their are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-66884467645446333832015-01-06T18:44:21.224+00:002015-01-06T18:44:21.224+00:00I went to school with a now Baroness,she doesn'...I went to school with a now Baroness,she doesn't beat about the bush,as her party colleague Lady Garden can confirm.The AC is lightweight,only at a higher level can sanity be restored!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-66002959981007794952015-01-06T18:27:20.690+00:002015-01-06T18:27:20.690+00:00If the European parliament is of the opinion that ...If the European parliament is of the opinion that they have no competence over the EPO, then they better see that they get some ASAP, because the EPO is the institution to which the grant of EU patents is entrusted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-52647938581531195132015-01-06T17:32:35.390+00:002015-01-06T17:32:35.390+00:00I am rather puzzled as to why Edward Vaizey Minist...I am rather puzzled as to why Edward Vaizey Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy responded to the MPs question, and not Baroness Neville-Rolfe, who is the Minister for Intellectual Property at present. But I also cannot figure out who is more senior, Mr Vaizey I suspect.<br /><br />Whoever it was, lets hope HM Govt continues to take this seriously.... <br /><br />The line from Mr B in his Christmas BLOG posting .......<br /><br />"I would also urge all commentators, especially those having a legal background, to be mindful in their public expression on a case which is still under investigation, in order to protect the rights of the defence and to guarantee the impartiality of the investigation under the supervision of the Administrative Council which is the decision making body" <br /><br />is disconcerting indeed, and the EPO will soon wield enormous commercial power via the UPC.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-75878724694677818512015-01-06T16:53:35.609+00:002015-01-06T16:53:35.609+00:00"His comment that " the rule of law appl..."His comment that " the rule of law applies to all employees of the Office." left me metaphorically speechless."<br /><br />Why is that, pray tell ?<br /><br />The rule of the author's own personally handcrafted "law" (e.g. Investigation Guidelines etc.) does indeed apply to all employees of the Office.<br /><br />For those familiar with the current situation at the EPO, the comment is rather "unsurprising" and merely characteristic of a certain person's neck which according to reliable metallurgical research is made from an alloy of copper and zinc.<br /><br /><br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-73241915939495742322015-01-06T16:13:33.848+00:002015-01-06T16:13:33.848+00:001518,
When Alison Brimelow ran am internal blog sh...1518,<br />When Alison Brimelow ran am internal blog she got responses (non-anonymous too). Not always sensible but at least people did feel able to comment. Now nobody would dare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-37635259212485705972015-01-06T15:18:47.687+00:002015-01-06T15:18:47.687+00:00I just came across BB's blog of 19th December ...I just came across BB's blog of 19th December on the EPO web site. His comment that " the rule of law applies to all employees of the Office." left me metaphorically speechless. The blog has attracted "no comments" yet, or perhaps it is a case of "no publishable comments". <br /><br />An earlier post in http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/what-is-eating-european-patent-office.html noted that the EPO was seeking to recruit lawyers. A notice on the EPO's web site says that they are also seeking to recruit examiners. That notice on does not give numbers, but a vacancy notice in the JOBS section of CIPA's web site that says that they want to recruit over 150 examiners in 2015. It will be interesting to see if they manage to fill the vacancies or whether the job situation in continental Europe is sufficiently dire that the EPO will still be more attractive than the alternatives. I recall reading that the UK IP0 was unable to fill all its examiner vacancies a year or so ago, although I understand a subsequent campaign was successful.<br />Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-31876757353912677242015-01-06T14:22:57.812+00:002015-01-06T14:22:57.812+00:00@Anon at 11:28
Why would those with "zero und...@Anon at 11:28<br />Why would those with "zero understanding" be "unsurprised" that the answer is "no"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-61435341417183545072015-01-06T14:22:46.377+00:002015-01-06T14:22:46.377+00:00Not sure what Anonymous at 11:28 is implying or pu...Not sure what Anonymous at 11:28 is implying or purporting to have deduced from the quoted extract (unless he/she simply failed to spot that the word used was "unsurprised", rather than "surprised"). I was certainly unsurprised that the answer was "no", as I'd guess were most IPKat readers...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-33988192057050819322015-01-06T14:04:28.016+00:002015-01-06T14:04:28.016+00:00"...the Administrative Council simply de fact...<i>"...the Administrative Council simply de facto endorsed the Presidential action"</i><br /><br />One possibility is that the Administrative Council saw that the President was wrong to jump the gun and act unilaterally as he did. But they may nevertheless have felt that, had the decision been left to them as it should have been, then they would still have suspended the BoA member pending investigation.<br /><br />That is consistent with what we know so far. But I've no idea if it's correct. Probably we never will know that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-87597516115535177162015-01-06T13:45:42.417+00:002015-01-06T13:45:42.417+00:00Apart from whether the information provided by Mer...Apart from whether the information provided by Merpel on the EPO draws an unbalanced picture or not...<br /><br />It is starting to annoy me some anonymous folks (Eponians, possibly?) who utter such accusations do not bring in any balance themselves by providing further information on what the situation with the EPO really is.<br /><br />I sincerely trust Merpel will not issue disciplinary measures against such commenters posting opinions (founded by facts and arguments) that are very different from her own opinion.<br /><br />Moving to another sub-topic:<br />I am still very surprised the AC has ignored letters from highly respected magistrates specialised in IP law and has sanctioned the "house ban". Albeit it may be the AC had different intentions with the suspension than the president of the EPO had (removing a fuse from a barrel of TNT?). I hope this is the case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-53465951229277633762015-01-06T12:29:28.180+00:002015-01-06T12:29:28.180+00:00At Anon @11:28
"Unbalanced"? Could you p...At Anon @11:28<br />"Unbalanced"? Could you please explain what is unbalanced in this report? Or should you be signing your posts as BB?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-86592314065844726572015-01-06T12:21:30.193+00:002015-01-06T12:21:30.193+00:00Old (common sense) folklore:
If a wolf finds food...Old (common sense) folklore:<br /><br />If a wolf finds food at your back door, the chances are high that the wolf will visit again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-40900696822791089882015-01-06T11:46:27.852+00:002015-01-06T11:46:27.852+00:00The EPO is not an EU organisation.
That is correct...The EPO is not an EU organisation.<br />That is correct. <br /><br />However, the EU has entrusted patent administation tasks to the EPO in the context of the EU Unitary Patent.<br /><br />The EU is obliged to secure the protection of intellectual property under the terms of Article 17(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.<br /><br />How can the EU claim to be complying with its duty in this regard if it has entrusted such tasks to an organisation over which it cannot exercise any oversight ?<br /><br />Something doesn't quite add up there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-59803287778535173892015-01-06T11:36:49.761+00:002015-01-06T11:36:49.761+00:00Anon at 11:28 - and what about the UK Government&#...Anon at 11:28 - and what about the UK Government's clear statement, which is about as robust as it is possible to be without being undiplomatic? <br /><br />I suppose you think that the UK Government is "unbalanced", as well?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-11460737221405036322015-01-06T11:28:47.129+00:002015-01-06T11:28:47.129+00:00"Readers may be unsurprised that the answer i..."Readers may be unsurprised that the answer is "no"."<br /><br />Only those with zero understanding of the fact the EPO is not an EU organization. But don't let that stop what is clearly going to be an unbalanced article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com