Bonum Certa Men Certa

When You Know the EPO Distracts the Media (and Thus the Public) From Something

Video download link



Summary: There have been a lot more EPO press releases for puff pieces lately and that typically happens when they attempt to distract from something like the controversial Haar decision or lots of EPO staff going on strike

THE EPO's management is doing it again. It's bombarding its "news" page with pure nonsense or shallow fluff, basically saying nothing new or nothing of actual significance. We saw that in the days of Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos is just continuation of the same.



"The judges at the EPO never regained their independence and nobody in the media talks about it anymore."As noted in the video above and also mentioned this morning in a video, this is the kind of thing we saw when the EPO was desperate for media not to cover its Haar scandal, which remains relevant to this day. The judges at the EPO never regained their independence and nobody in the media talks about it anymore. To make matters worse, yesterday afternoon IP Kat distorted what had actually happened, claiming very falsely that the judges determined Haar is part of Munich (no such thing ever happened). As of hours ago, AstraZenecaKat acknowledged her mistake and said: "Thanks Proof of the pudding - duly corrected!"

So the article was corrected. Over a day late. No wonder people should prefer reading comments, seeing that articles in such blogs are typically published for personal gain by legal departments and law firms.

The video mentions how whenever the EPO bombards its "news" page and then mass-mails publishers (like WIPR this week) for puff pieces it's trying to distract from actual events like the Haar question being debated or staff going on strike. Today's latter puff piece is hours-old (warning: epo.org link) and almost "content-free". It's a bunch of Campinos quotes with "CII" mentioned (software patents) along with the obligatory buzzwords salad. Notice the lack of actual news here:

EPO President António Campinos and the Director General of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), Juan Lozano, met virtually today to take stock of joint efforts to improve patent services and support innovators since the signing of an advanced co-operation agreement between the two offices last year.

"We are very pleased to see the positive results of our strategic co-operation with Mexico, which is a key partner for Europe in terms of trade, investment and technology transfer," said EPO President António Campinos. "Aligning our approaches and practices can bring tangible benefits to both our offices and patent applicants alike. Not only does it benefit local inventors by making the process more efficient and user-friendly; it also provides improved conditions for applicants filing patents internationally via the EPO and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, thus further strengthening the global patent system."

IMPI Director General Juan Lozano said: "Effective public policies that put the citizen first make it possible to promote investment and technology transfer and promote the generation of wealth, income distribution and well-being of the general population. And not only that: Applying common sense and giving space to creative thinking has also allowed us to free up time and resources that can now be dedicated to meeting the national requests of Mexican inventors. There is no doubt that the most important lever for development can be found in those policies that prioritize innovation."


So two men "met virtually" (i.e. had a webchat) to speak about actual news (agreement) from last year. Then they sat down and wrote a paragraph each (or had the PR people do this for them).

How does that even qualify as "news"?

EPO insiders can guess or speculate what EPO management is so eager to distract from this time around.

Recent Techrights' Posts

EPO: Language of Conflict
A letter about this has already seen sent
Links 13/05/2024: Wikimedia Rides Hype Wave, XBox Expected to Go Through More Layoffs This Summer (July)
Links for the day
When Lunatics Attack Your Family (Especially Women)
The attacks on my wife and my mom are rather revealing. These are acts of extreme misogyny.
Linux is Released Too Often, Tested Insufficiently (Same as Chromium, Firefox, and Systemd)
Driven by schedule, not quality (objective criterion)
 
[Meme] Unconstitutional Proceedings in Foreign Languages for the Benefit of Corporations Outside Europe
Why does the UPC even exist?
Android Rises to 59% Market Share in Hungary, Windows Falls to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux in Hungary Reaches 3.5%
Approaching Our 3,000th Post (After Moving to a Static Site Generator Back in September)
the main purpose is to enable people to catch up
[Video] The Microsoft Crisis Isn't Over (More Mass Layoffs Planned)
We saw many attempts at suppressing information lately
Don’t Use Disney Minus. (Disney “Plus”)
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Gemini Links 13/05/2024: Kingdom of the Dead and Narrative Adventure Game Gem
Links for the day
Visually Enhanced Interviews With ESR and RMS on Free Software (With French)
Nom de code - Linux
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 12, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, May 12, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
GNU/Linux Rises to Record High in Macao
iOS and Android are very big there
Debian: Let's Pretend We Never Knew Daniel Pocock
Ad hominem is what happens when the message is hard to dispute
DPL Sam Hartman proves blackmail is alive and well in Debian
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
What is a safe space?
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Does Debian deserve an independent news service?
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Linux.com So Neglected If Not Abandoned That It Promotes Deals That Expired 4 Weeks Ago
Quite some "stewardship" by the Linux Foundation
The Fall of Meritocracy in Tech
nuff said
Microsoft Has Lost Malta
Android has caught up
In Asia, Baidu Has Become Bigger Than Bing and Yandex is Getting There Too
XBox and Bing are going through existential crises
"Having IBM Next to Your Name is a Scarlet Letter"
IBM staff just motivated not to work
Techrights Browsing Made Easier
a draft for discussion
Links 12/05/2024: XBox Founders Say Microsoft Lost Its Identity
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/05/2024: Enshitification and Mind Maps
Links for the day
Aside From Red Hat Spam and Partisan Media There's a Lingering Rumour of Layoffs
Some rumour said IBM had second thoughts about a WARN notice and delayed that a bit
The Albanian open source community is very healthy indeed
Windows nosedives from 99.1% to a lot less
When I discovered people trafficking in open source software
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Web Sites Hijacked by WIPO on Behalf of Microsoft-Sponsored SPI (and People Looking to Hide Embarrassing Facts)
debian.chat; debiancommunity.org; debian.day; debian.family; debian.finance; debian.giving; debiangnulinux.org; debian.guide; debian.news; debian.plus; debianproject.community; debianproject.org; debian.team; debian.video
Julian Assange on Privacy of People, Even Little Children
Facebook/Google (or GAFAM, an acronym I coined with Assange) knows you better than your mom knows you
[Meme] Miscomprehension of GDPR
Social control in general is a ticking timebomb
In Haiti, the Market Share of Windows Collapsed (From 97% to 27% on Desktops/Laptops)
A couple of months ago Windows was measured at 3.04%
In Most Countries It's Still Possible Not to Have a 'Smartphone' and to Pay for Nearly Everything With Cash
Withdrawing money will be possible as long as enough people use many ATMs (cash machines)
Expect Lots of Material From Daniel Pocock as Election Day Nears
The experiences of Daniel Pocock were an excellent example of reprisal or retribution against either whistleblowers or people who give a voice to whistleblowers
I've Been Promoting Free Software for Over 25 Years
I wrote my first computer program when I was about 14, maybe a little younger (I have visual memory of it)
Reminder: Richard Stallman's Talk is This Week in Paris (and in French)
Defending rms isn't the same as defending everything he has ever said
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 11, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, May 11, 2024
Online Bullying (Trying to Make People Unhappy)
Narcissists and bullies behind mice and keyboards, no honesty or fact-checking required
Talk About Software Freedom
"Linux" and "BSD" may mean a lot to more and more people, but they're still just brands or acronyms
Windows in South Korea: From 98.5% in 2010 to About 30% (Android Rises to Almost 50%)
Samsung ships like a million Linux devices per day
Improving Site Navigation for Easier Discovery and Catch-ups
This site is run by code we wrote ourselves
LibrePlanet 2024 Recordings
Let's hope independent recordings by viewers can help recovery of "lost talks" (recordings)
GNU/Linux Reaches 11% Market Share in the United States Of America - an All-Time High
The United States Of America is where the operating system started (Boston) and where Linus Torvalds works (Portland)
[Meme] Being Believed, Not Censored or Defamed
Daniel Pocock, Zini, and John Sullivan (FSF)
Links 11/05/2024: XBox Crisis, Spotify Exodus Continues
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/05/2024: Why to Delete GitHub
Links for the day
In Europe, Bing Fell Every Month This Year, Lost a Considerable Share Since "Bing Chat" and All the Chatbot Hype
Microsoft's Bing has had many layoffs lately
Links 11/05/2024: Analysis of the Microsoft Crisis and Backdoor-Looking Bugs
Links for the day
Attacking the Messenger?
Stack Overflow and LLM licencing
Microsoft Fired Loads of Staff in Kenya, Which is Another Large Country Where GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot
Microsoft pays Kenyans only 2 dollars an hour for an IT/office job
Knowing the True History of Debian, Owing to Irish Debian Developer Daniel Pocock (Currently Running to Become Member of the European Parliament)
Irish-Australian and scapegoat of a highly dysfunctional 'Debian family'
Attacking by Credentials
Modest people do not demand fancy titles
Microsoft Windows Used to Have 99% of the OS Market in Jordan, Now It's Just 13% (Less Than iOS)
Based on the data of statCounter, GNU/Linux in Jordan climbed from 0.62% in May 2014 to nearly 5% right now
More Nations Are Reaching and Exceeding 5% Market Share for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Wants to be Bailed Out Again
Microsoft is once again reaching out to Biden for a bailout - a subject we'll cover in a video some time this weekend
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 10, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, May 10, 2024
[Meme] What Do You Call a Woman Who Does BDS on Free Software? Elana Hamasman.
Here are some confused thoughts
[Meme] Mission Aborted
Mission Aborted: cancel RMS
Taking Things Up a Notch
we strive/aim towards 15-25 new pages per day, i.e. around 500 per month or 6,000 per year