back to article Déjà vu: Euro Patent Office prez ignores yet another formal rebuke

The president of the European Patent Office, Benoit Battistelli, is ignoring yet another formal rebuke of his policies by disregarding two decisions by the International Labour Organization. In letters going back and forth between EPO management and the organization's main staff union, SUEPO, representatives are refusing to …

  1. Baldy50

    Bat shit crazy!

    It's not surprising and not uncommon, someone running 'something' and elected or not, thinking himself more important than the importance of what they are running, like the security guard at the gate who acts like he owns the place, typical/despicable human nature.

  2. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
    Flame

    A question of (lack of) trust?

    It's not the first time that some European organization has got into this sort of mess, with a power-hungry type who's hard to be sacked creating a little empire. The need for every government to agree to sack him seems typical of these groups, no-one trusts the others to do the right thing so they insist on full agreement of all 30-odd people before any major decision gets taken. Inevitable result: no major decisions ever get taken (well, except for salary increases & expenses payments, of course). Meanwhile, of course, we (the taxpayers) continue to finance this fiasco.

    Come the revolution that wall is going to be very crowded...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A question of (lack of) trust?

      Just to clarify - it's not actually a European organisation. Its an international organisation based in Munich, the Hague and (a little bit) Berlin. It is not funded by the EU at all, but instead by fees levied for patent searches and examination.

      And you, the tax payer, should educate yourself a little more about what you actually vote to reject.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: A question of (lack of) trust?

        Just to clarify - it's not actually a European organisation.

        It is not funded by the EU at all

        I very carefully didn't mention the EU at all, because I am well aware that it isn't an EU organisation. It is, however, a European one (the clue is in the name: European Patent Organisation) and while it may be funded by the patent applications, the Administrative Council that oversees it, and about which I was commenting, is made up of "representatives of the contracting states" who are most assuredly financed by their respective taxpayers.

        And you, the tax payer, should educate yourself a little more about what you actually vote to reject.

        And you, the Anonymous Coward, should perhaps remove the Brexit chip from your shoulder long enough to actually read the post you reply to.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rebukes and Requests

    I love (actually hate) the way politics works.... people do heinous things and get a "formal rebuke"... like anyone who is doing bad stuff gives a damn about a 'rebuke'.

    Worlds apart from the real world where you do bad stuff at work and get formal warnings, then get fired.

    Fu*king "rebukes".... typical of the have / have not society. Maybe one day maybe he'll be rebuked into a slightly less than €100s of 000 euros and have to manage on just one summer house.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All I can say is that he must have some real dirt on someone, somewhere to have kept his job this long.

  5. lnLog

    The host country may not be able to do anything directly, but as with anyone under diplomatic immunity they could say that he is no longer welcome, and ask him to leave. But unlikely to happen.

  6. Adrian 4
    WTF?

    Why no action from the administrative council ?

    Here's the list of members of the administrative council. Perhaps they need to explain why they're not doing their job ?

    https://www.epo.org/about-us/organisation/administrative-council/representatives.html

  7. Steve 114
    Facepalm

    Wozzit for?

    Does this entity do anything useful at all, apart from making headlines with complaints about their boss?

  8. Andy 97

    That stock picture looks like one of The Chuckle Brothers, was this a concious decision?

  9. Oh Homer
    Mushroom

    A corporate dictatorship with diplomatic immunity?

    I find it deeply disturbing that a commercial organisation can attain a status comparable to a sovereign nation, operate as a dictatorship, then be essentially immune to any government intervention, merely because it's "international".

    So is Google, Microsoft and Apple, but that doesn't make them immune to government intervention.

    Frankly I think the EPO is an abomination that should be exterminated and replaced with something that is fully accountable in every jurisdiction in which it operates, starting with its present Gangster-in-Chief.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The EPO staff has no fundamental rights at all.

    I read in the comment of Int.og: ¨ The host country may not be able to do anything directly, but as with anyone under diplomatic immunity they could say that he is no longer welcome, and ask him to leave.¨. This could surely be a possible reaction of Germany and The neteherlands.

    The German prime minister Angela Merkel said to the new US President Trump:

    "Germany and America are bound by common values — democracy, freedom, as well as respect for the rule of law and the dignity of each and every person, regardless of their origin, skin color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or political views. It is based on these values that I wish to offer close cooperation, both with me personally and between our countries’ governments.”

    Mr Heiko Maas, Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection is well informed that there is a bad copy of Donald Trump President of the European Patent Office: namely Benoit Battistelli of french nationality. He is a bad copy because he has no respect for the rule of law, even not for the European Patent Convention, and the dignity of each and every person.

    A nice overview you can find in the document for the Bavarian State Parliament published on 02 February 2017: Request - finally ensure the fundamental rights of the staff of the European Patent Office! https://www.bayern.landtag.de/www/ElanTextAblage_WP17/Drucksachen/Basisdrucksachen/0000009500/0000009748.pdf

    It is for me and many others not clear what the reason is why Mr. Maas did nothing until now and many people working at the EPO have to suffer day after day.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nutral persons should confirm that Battistelli´s decisions are right (or not).

    Mr.Battistelli tells the world outside the EPO that everything is going well inside the EPO. Quality and production are top. Only a few troublemakers are against him and his reorganisations. Most of the EPO personel and one of the unions accept or even love him and his decisions. His decisions are all right and not in conflict with any law he said. No decision of him is against human rights. His values are democracy, freedom, as well as respect for the rule of law and the dignity of each and every person.

    When this is true, why does he not accept that independent persons analyse the situation in the EPO and confirm that he, Battistelli, is right and doing everything well. Then the ¨troublemakers¨ have to stop. Or is there something he has to hide?.

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