Letter dated 17 October 2017 from Ms Gabi Schmidt, member of the Bavarian State Parliament to Mr Benoît Battistelli, President of the European Patent Office. The letter to Mr Battistelli is available here.

We are in a transition phase: not only the chairmanship of the Administrative Council (AC) has changed, but we are also soon to welcome a new President of the Office. SUEPO has kindly asked Mr Ernst (AC Chair) to invite the candidates for President of the EPO to answer a few questions. The letter to Mr Ernst is available here.

 

This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in September 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:

Other press articles published related to UPC - Unitary Patent - ILOAT - Trade unions etc.,

• "Staff representative in Germany - a risky Job?" (courrierinternational.com, 21-09-2017). The .pdf paper version of the article published in French by courrierinternational.com is available here. Original article is in German and published by Süddeutsche Zeitung on 03 July 2017 (paid-subscription article).

• "German complaint against Unified Patent Court Agreement: deadline for submitting views is end of October" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 12-09-2017).

• "UPDATE: Complainant against UPC ratification in Germany confirmed as Ingve Stjerna" (IPKAT, 07-09-2017). See comments.

• "UPC: Düsseldorfer Rechtsanwalt Stjerna legte Verfassungsbeschwerde ein" (Juve.de, 06-09-2017). The .pdf paper version of the article published by Juve.de is available here. Translations are available in English and French.

In its 124^th session the Tribunal delivered a total of 80 judgments, of which only nine (!) concern the EPO. Of those only two cases were fully reasoned. Both concerned disciplinary sanctions. Six cases, of which 5 coming from the EPO, were summarily dismissed. This paper discusses the latest cases that illustrate the on-going changes in the jurisprudence the Tribunal. We also informs about changes in the composition of the Tribunal and the recent developments in the Appeals Committee.

This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in August 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:

• "Der neue Chef ist als Schlichter gefragt" (General-Anzeiger Bonn, 09-08-2017). Translations are available in English and French.

• "Chef mit Sozialkompetenz gesucht" (Münchner Merkur, 03-08-2017).

• "Sorry, psycho bosses, it's not OK to keylog your employees" (The Register, 02-08-2017).

Other press articles published related to UPC - Unitary Patent - ILOAT ect.

• "German court reveals reason for Europe-wide patent system freeze" (The Register, 22 August 2017).
  Translation is available in French.

• "Karlsruhe: Patentanwalt enthüllt Gründe für UPC-Verfassungsbeschwerde" (Juve.de, 18-08-2017).

• "UPC – Finally some News from the German Federal Constitutional Court" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 16-08-2017). Translation is available in French.

This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in July 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:

• "Gesucht und gefunden? Das Europäische Patentamt bekommt einen neuen Präsidenten" (Legal-Patent, 31-07-2017).

• "Chef mit Sozialkompetenz gesucht" (Stuttgarter-Zeitung.de, 31-07-2017). Translations are available in English and French.

• "Den Chef nennen sie Putin" (wiwo.de, 31-07-2017). 4 pages! The .pdf paper version of the article published by Wirtschaftswoche is available here.
  Translations are available in English and French.

• "Europe's 'one patent court to rule them all' vision may be destroyed by EPO shenanigans" (The Register, 20-07-2017).

• "Einheitliches Patentgericht: Unbekannter Kläger bremst Ratifizierung aus" (Legal-Patent, 13-07-2017). Translations are available in English and French.

• "EPO Begins Process For New President, Administrative Council Head" (IP-Watch, 12-07-2017).

• "Need a change? Well, the Euro Patent Office needs a new president..." (The Register, 06-07-2017).

• "Search for successor of EPO president Benoît Battistelli has started" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 06-07-2017).

• "Gewonde door val van nieuwbouw in Rijswijk" (AD.nl, 05-07-2017).

• "Persoon maakt metershoge val bij nieuwbouw octrooibureau" (Omroepwest.nl, 05-07-2017).
  Translations are available in English, German and French.

• "The Battistelli era will soon be over at the EPO; perhaps the current EUIPO boss is being lined up to succeed him" (IAM, 04-07-2017).

• "Europäisches Patentamt: Deutscher löst Dänen an Verwaltungsratsspitze" (Heise.de, 03-07-2017).

Question avec demande de réponse écrite E-002338/2017 à la Commission Européenne
European Patent Office (EPO) and social abuses
Question E-002338/2017 to the European Commission
Translations are available in English, German and Dutch.

______________________________________________


Answer by Ms Bieńkowska on behalf of the EU Commission E-002338/17 from 30 June 2017

This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in June 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:

• "EPO staff strike again" (WIPR, 30-06-2017).

• "Europäisches Patentamt: Deutscher wird neuer Chef des Verwaltungsrats" (Juve.de, 29-06-2017).

• "EPO Staff Calls General Strikes To Protest Presidential Reform Plans" (IP-Watch, 27-06-2017).

• "Keine rich­ter­liche Unab­hän­gig­keit beim Euro­päi­schen Patentamt?" (Legal Tribune Online, 16-06-2017). Translations are available in English and French.

• "Verfassungsbeschwerde gegen den UPC: „Unziemliche Hektik ist nicht geboten“ " (Juve.de, 21-06-2017).

• "Yet more reform efforts at the Euro Patent Office, and you'll never guess what..." (The Register, 17-06-2017).

• "Breaking News: Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court pulls Emergency Break on UPC Agreement" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 13-06-2017).

• "Patentwelt in Schockstarre: Unbekannter Kläger bremst UPC-Ratifizierung" (Juve.de, 13-06-2017).

• "German court delays UPC ratification" (WIPR, 13-06-2017).

• "Germany puts halt on European unitary patent" (The Register, 13-06-2017).

• "Verfassungsbeschwerde bremst EU-Gemeinschaftspatent aus" (Heise.de, 13-06-2017).

• "Germany delays common European redress for patent violations" (Reuters, 12-06-2017).

• "EU-Patent wegen deutscher Verfassungsklage auf Eis" (Finanzen.net, 12-06-2017).

• "Steinmeier wird Gesetz vorerst nicht unterzeichnen" (Handelsblatt.com, 12-06-2017).

• "BVerfG stoppt EU-Patent" (Legal Tribune Online, 12-06-2017).

• "Karlsruhe stoppt EU-Patentgericht" (F.A.Z., 12-06-2017).

• "Europäisches Patentamt: Nachfolger für umstrittenen Chef Battistelli gesucht" (Heise.de, 06-06-2017).
  Translations are available in English and French.

This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in May 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:

SUEPO now addresses the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR):

• "SUEPO takes case about strike to European Court of Human Rights" (USF, 10 May 2017).

• "Patent office conflict heads to court of human rights" (EPSU, 10 May 2017).

• "Europäisches Patentamt: Gewerkschaft zieht vor den Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte" (Heise.de, 10 May 2017).

• "Trade union complains to ECHR over EPO immunity" (WIPR, 10 May 2017).

• "European Patent Office dragged to human rights court – by its own staff" (The Register, 10 May 2017).

• "SUEPO takes the Netherlands to human rights court over EPO tension" (IPPro Patents, 09 May 2017).

• "EPO trade union files complaint against The Netherlands before European Court of Human Rights" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 09 May 2017).

• "Aanklacht tegen Staat om problemen Octrooibureau" (De Telegraaf, 09 May 2017). Translations are available in English, German and French.

• "Klacht tegen Nederland over onschendbaarheid octrooibureau" (FOK.nl, 09 May 2017).

• "Klacht tegen Nederland over octrooibureau" (Nieuws.nl, 08 May 2017).

• "Klacht tegen Nederland over octrooibureau" (Nederlands Dagblad, 08 May 2017). Translations are available in French and German.

Other news articles published related to SUEPO - EPO - UPC - Unitary Patent - ILOAT etc.,

• "The Rule of Law, the EPO and the Ugly Writing on the Wall" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 25 May 2017).

• "Euro Patent Office staff warns board of internal rule changes" ( The Register, 23 May 2017). Translations are available in German and French.

• "‘Successor EPO president Benoît Battistelli to be chosen this autumn’" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 19 May 2017).

• "Scheiden tut weh" (Report.at, 11 May 2017).

• "WIPO Boss Seeks to Silence Press Critics and Whistleblowers" (GAP, 09 May 2017). See also WIPO: Criminal complaint against journalist.

• "NOW UN TOO DECIDES MEDIA IS THE ENEMY: WIPO, FAO, in unprecedented move, waive immunity to sue journalists for defamation" (theelephant.info, by Rasna Warah, 05 May 2017).

Summary
On 5 May 2017 the Tribunal held a symposium to mark its 90^th anniversary.  The program can be found at the Tribunal’s website^[1].  As can be expected from such an event there was much praise for the Tribunal. While some of it is merited, not all of it is: the Tribunal is showing its age. It needs to catch up with the current legal and practical developments. The present paper explains the reasons.