Dear SUEPO Members, dear Colleagues
As you remember, to defend the interests of its members when attacked by President Battistelli, SUEPO sought protection from the Dutch courts in the form of an injunction. An injunction is meant to prevent a violation of rights likely (if not certain) to cause irreparable damage. Disappointingl y, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld the EPO’s immunity.
A host state has a heavy duty of care. On the one hand, it must take reasonable steps to safeguard the immunity of an international organisation, when such immunity is necessary for the lawful operations of the organisation. On the other hand, the host state must see to it that all individuals within its jurisdiction have effective means to protect their rights when menaced.
When the legal system applicable to an international organisation does not provide for protection in the form of an injunction, which is essential to prevent irreparable damage, and even worse when it is virtually indisputable that the organisation is violating rights, the host state has a serious difficulty. In our opinion, it has only two options: either to lift the immunity of the organisation for the benefit of a party aggrieved, or to take itself action against the rogue organisation by resorting to international arbitration (in the EPO’s case, Article 23(1) PPI).
Being unwilling to do either, in our opinion The Netherlands have failed (so far) to discharge their duty of care, thereby allowing a breach of fundamental rights on their soil and de facto condoning, if not endorsing, the EPO’s abuses.
Therefore, on 8 May 2017 SUEPO has filed a complaint against The Netherlands before the European Court of Human Rights.
As usual, we will keep you informed of any essential development.
Your SUEPO central
In its 123rd session the Tribunal delivered a total of 97 judgments, of which 33[1] cases involving the EPO. Of the EPO cases, only 3 cases were partially won[2] by the complainants. Of the remaining cases 13 were summarily dismissed. In the 123rd session the Tribunal again stressed that it will only judge on “individual” decisions, thereby confirming its unwillingness to exercise normative control. Its tendency to send cases back to the EPO further contributes to the backlog at the EPO and at the Tribunal.
[1] The high number of Judgments dealt with in this session made it impossible to report on all cases and forced us to ignore some cases that would have merited a discussion.
[2] Only cases that were won on the substance are considered as won. Cases that only led to an award of costs and damages for procedural delays are considered lost. Note that whereas many cases are fully (even summarily) dismissed, the few cases that were won are only partially won. The present paper discusses selected cases and the overall implications.
Press Release - STAFF UNIONS VEOB AND SUEPO TAKE CASE ABOUT STRIKE TO ECHR.
Amsterdam 8 May 2017 – Today, two staff unions at the European Patent Agency, VEOB and SUEPO, filed a complaint against the Netherlands with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for violation of article 6 ECHR in combination with articles 10, 11 and 13 of the Convention.
The unions are represented by lawyer Prof. Liesbeth Zegveld.
USF (see Union Syndicale Fédérale) in Brussels wrote to ALL Members of the European Parliaments to inform them about the situation at EPO
Translations are available in German, French and Dutch.
Dear Colleagues,
Following Council's request that the FICSA membership be provided updates relative to staff-management relations in some of the more troubling organizations, we would like to provide you with the attached document published yesterday by a lawyer who is currently defending a Geneva-based journalist who had reported on the relatively recent FICSA/CCISUA organized demonstration against the WIPO Director General.
The document states that the Swiss Ambassador who this time lent his name to the WIPO Director General's criminal complaint, is the same Ambassador who had allegedly helped the WIPO Director General when WIPO staff members' stolen personal effects were illegally transmitted to a Swiss laboratory for DNA analysis several years ago, without the staff members' knowledge and consent. An OIOS investigation was blocked due to the Swiss/Geneva authorities' refusal to cooperate with the OIOS investigators.
The WIPO Director General has now put into place his own Staff Council, denying the rights of more than 600 WIPO Staff Association dues-paying members to be represented and defended by the elected leaders of their Staff Association in discussions and negotiations with the WIPO Director General.
FICSA will continue to provide advice and assistance to the WIPO Staff Association for as long as this unacceptable situation persists.
You can access the document via the following link:
RESPECTING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AT THE UNITED NATIONS - article by Matthew Parish 25-04-2017
With best regards,
Gemma
Gemma Vestal
FICSA General Secretary
______________________________
FICSA secretariat, Palais des Nations
Office Dep. 201, CH-1211 Geneva 10
Tel. (41) (0) 22 917 3150
Fax. (41) (0) 22 917 0660
Email: ficsa@unog.ch
Web: http://www.ficsa.org
Please be informed that according to the the website of the Bayerische landtag, the Freie Wähler motion, regarding basic rights for EPO employees, will be discussed today, 25.04.2017, between 14.00-23.00 hr. Unfortunately we cannot inform you on the exact time. We can only inform you that it is motion 23 of 29 motions to be discussed.
For further information see https://www.bayern.landtag.de/aktuelles/:
Plenarsitzung des Bayerischen Landtags - Dienstag, 25. April 2017 14:00 Uhr – 23:00 Uhr
[...]23. Antrag der Abgeordneten Hubert Aiwanger, Florian Streibl, Gabi Schmidt u.a. und Fraktion (FREIE WÄHLER): In München nichts Neues: Grundrechte der Bediensteten des Europäischen Patentamts endlich sicherstellen!, Drs. 17/15259, 17/16099 (A).
Beratungszeit: 32 Min. | Gesamtredezeit der Fraktionen: 24 Min.
Im federführenden Ausschuss für Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten sowie regionale Beziehungen waren
Berichterstatterin: Gabi Schmidt
Mitberichterstatter: Walter Taubeneder
This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in April 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:
"UK Election called: UPC timetable likely to slip" (DEHNS Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys - Dr. Alex Robinson, 18 April 2017).
"Alles neu mit Fragezeichen - Wie wird das Europäische Patentgericht arbeiten?" (FAZ, 18 April 2017).
"Euro Patent Office reforms hit another stumbling block: Reality" (The Register, 13 April 2017).
"Europäisches Patentgericht: Briten zaudern bei UPC-Ratifizierung" (Juve.de, 11 April 2017).
"FREIE WÄHLER kritisieren Grundrechtseingriffe beim Europäischen Patentamt in München / Schmidt: Staatsregierung muss endlich handeln" (Bundespresseportal.de, 07 April 2017). Translations are available in English and French.
"New IP advocacy group warns: trolls now accounting for 20% of German patent suits" (Foss Patents, 05 April 2017).
"The EPO and the Problem of the Right Speed (IV) – Appeal Proceedings" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 07 April 2017).
"The EPO and the Problem of the Right Speed (Part III) – Opposition Proceedings" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 06 April 2017).
"The EPO and the Problem of the Right Speed (Part II) – Examination Proceedings" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 05 April 2017).
"The EPO and the Problem of the Right Speed (Part I) – Introduction" (Kluwer Patent Blog, 02 April 2017).
"The UPC after Brexit - is CJEU jurisdiction a deal-breaker?" (The IPKat, 04 April 2017). Please note that the comments are also worth reading.
This document provides a non-exhaustive list of some articles, blog posts or videos published in March 2017 (sorted in reverse chronological order, not necessarily by relevance). Latest additions are highlighted in yellow:
King Battistelli's swish penthouse office the Euro Patent Office doesn't want you to see (The Register, 22 March 2017).
Translations are available in German and French.
President Battistelli under pressure to improve ‘unacceptable’ social situation at EPO (Kluwer Patent Blog, 21 March 2017).
Effort to fire EPO president beaten back – again (The Register, 20 March 2017).
"Euro Patent Office hit with wave of anti-Battistelli letters" (The Register, 16 March 2017).
Translations are available in German and French.
"Are The EPO President’s Days Numbered?" (IP-Watch, 15 March 2017).
"Curtain - Merpel's final EPO post" (The IPKat, 10 March 2017).
"Euro nations push for vote to axe Europe's patent office president" (The Register, 08 March 2017).
"Minister Koenders: snel verbeteringen bij Octrooibureau of anders actie ‘op hoog niveau’" (Omroepwest.nl, 07 March 2017).
Translations are available in English, German and French.
"Come in King Battistelli, your time at the Euro Patent Office is up" (The Register, 07 March 2017).
"Euro Patent Office puts itself on Interpol's level, demands access to staff phones and laptops" (The Register, 03 March 2017).
Letter of support from the International and European Public Services Organisation (IPSO), The European Central Bank's recognized trade union for ECB staff to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas on dismissal at the European Patent Office.
Translations are available in English, French and Dutch.