30/11/2015

Actions continue at the European Patent Office

The next demonstrations will take place on:

  • Tuesday 01 December, starting at 12:00,  In front of the Dutch Ministry of Economy in The Hague.
  • Friday 04 December, starting at 12.30h in front of the Isar building in Munich.

With these demonstrations staff protests against the persistent attacks on its staff representatives, culminating in the suspension of and disciplinary procedures against 3 Union officials in Munich.

24/11/2015

CODEX on the EPO homepage - what is missing

Claiming a wish to increase transparency, the EPO has published part of its Service Regulations online.  Unfortunately, the Circulars mentioned below, as well as the Financial Regulations and the Tender Guidelines, amongst others, are missing. In the interest of potential job applicants and of the public in general, SUEPO calls upon Mr Battistelli to publish the missing parts.

  • Circular No. 347 Circular on Strikes
  • Circular No. 355 Regulations for the Staff Committee elections
  • Circular No. 356 Resources and facilities to be granted to the Staff Committee
  • Circular No. 364 Implementation of the career system. Minimum qualifications for recruitment, grading on recruitment, promotion and other rewards
  • Circular No. 365 General Guidelines on the EPO Competency Framework
  • Circular No. 366 General Guidelines on Performance Management
  • Circular No. 367 Absences for Health Reasons

24/11/2015

[Pierre-Yves Le Borgn'] Publication of Mr Battistelli's reply to Mr le Borgn'

French MP Pierre-Yves le Borgn', who also represents French nationals living in Germany and Austria ( among other countries), wrote to the Minister of Economy M. Macron to report on the deteriorating situation at EPO following the suspension of 3 union officials in Munich and attacks on a further two representatives in The Hague.

Read here the exchange of letters which followed publication of this alert: they seem to show Mr Battistelli has lost both his control and his capacity for discernment, all the while accusing SUEPO officials of any number of extravagant and extraordinary crimes:

  • Blog post of MP Pierre-Yves le Borgn' (translations available in English, German and Dutch)
  • Letter to Minister Macron (translations in English, German and Dutch)
  • New post of MP PierreYves le Borgn' following Mr Battistelli's answer to him and Minister Macron
  • Answer of Mr Battistelli to MP le Borgn' and Minister Macron (translation in English)

ex15424cp (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpe (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpg (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpd (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cp_letter (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpe_letter (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpg_letter (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15424cpd_letter (pdf) published 18/11/2015
ex15430cp (pdf) published 20/11/2015
ex15430cp_letter (pdf) published 20/11/2015
ex15430cpe_letter (pdf) published 20/11/2015
23/11/2015

Email sent by the staff representatives of the ECB to their colleagues

The following email has been distributed to all staff of the European Central Bank by its staff representatives, with ECB management approval:

From: Staff Committee
Sent: 23 November 2015 15:36
To: **All ECB Staff (with management approval)
Subject: 3 Staff Representatives suspended at European Patent Office!

 

Dear Colleagues,

We regret to inform you that three Staff Representatives have been suspended at the European Patent Office last Friday, 13 November 2015 (note from SUEPO: three staff representatives were suspended on Tuesday, 24 November, not Friday, 13 November 2015). The (EPO) has the privilege of setting their own rules independent of national framework, which in the absence of adequate checks and balances leads to many abuses. The (EPO) has been suffering from a wave of suicides in recent years and the social tensions are very high (see reports of the French newspaper Le Monde, attached).

Staff Representatives have to be protected from retaliating actions so that they can accomplish their function, which is to bring more balance to power.

In an e-mail last year, we already informed you about the shocking dismissal of the President of the Staff Association of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

With this e-mail to all ECB staff, we aim to foster awareness of these events and contribute to have them satisfactorily addressed.

With kind regards,

Your Staff Committee.

“Additional information can be found here:”

http://www.fosspatents.com/2015/11/epo-labor-dispute-getting-completely.html

http://www.worldipreview.com/news/epo-suspends-more-staff-claims-threats-of-violence-9187

http://www.pyleborgn.eu/2015/11/courrier-a-emmanuel-macron-sur-la-crise-a-loffice-europeen-des-brevets/ (French MP's letter to the French Minister of Economy and Finance) 

 

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22/11/2015

[JUVE] Europäisches Patentamt: Drei Mitglieder der Mitarbeitervertretung suspendiert

JUVE comments on the suspension of three union executives.

ex15429cp (pdf) published 20/11/2015
21/11/2015

[IPKAT] Plunging off the abyss -- or merely grinding to a halt? More bad news from Eponia

IPKAT comments on the governance of the EPO and sends a message to the members of the AC:

The institution for the governance of which you are legally responsible is teetering between malfunction and dysfunction.  From being a highly praised and much-admired organisation it has become a hotbed of suspicion, rumour, allegations of corruption and insurgency, accusation and counter-accusation.  It has lost the respect of a substantial number of users, employees and officers.  Its public relations policy -- if indeed it has one -- has failed to engage with the issues that concern the intellectual property community and which form a large part of its current agenda.  Its apparent inability to stem the exponential surge in staff disputes has all but brought the International Labour Organisation's mechanisms for dispute resolution to a grinding halt.  Its integrity has been increasingly questioned and its image has become a laughing stock and a byword for a dictatorial management style that has no place in an open, democratic Europe.

You, as members of the Administrative Council, are responsible both for the approval and formation of EPO policy and for its execution.  How many of you have sought and been given advice from your respective governments with regard to current events in Eponia? How many of you, in the light of your other commitments, have the time, the resources and the information to enable you to play an effective role within the Administrative Council?  How many of you can honestly say that you are happy with the present state of affairs? And how many of you are simply too scared to be able to stand up to the EPO's management?

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21/11/2015

[FOSS Patents] EPO labor dispute getting completely out of hand: three union leaders suspended, others pressured

FOSS Patents comments on the conflict between the leadership and staff representatives of the European Patent Office.

ex15421cp (pdf) published 18/11/2015
21/11/2015

[IPKAT] By Juve! The EPO responds to Professor Broß

IPKAT indicates that they received from the EPO an English-language translation of the Lutz rebuttal regarding Professor Broß's criticism.

ex15422cp (pdf) published 18/11/2015
21/11/2015

[Merkur] Europas Patentamt schasst Gewerkschafter

Merkur comments on the suspension of three union executives. Translations are available in English, French and Dutch.

ex15423cp (pdf) published 19/11/2015
ex15423cpe (pdf) published 19/11/2015
ex15423cpf (pdf) published 19/11/2015
ex15423cpd (pdf) published 19/11/2015
ex15423cpg (pdf) published 19/11/2015
21/11/2015

[Pierre-Yves Le Borgn'] Courrier à Emmanuel Macron sur la crise à l'Office Européen des Brevets

Pierre-Yves Le Borgn', a French Member of Parliament, sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron, French Minister of Economic Affairs, about the crisis at the EPO.

ex15424cp (pdf) published 18/11/2015
letter (pdf) published 18/11/2015